MEGABAD launches its own B2B Pro Shop with synaigy in seven months
One of Europe's leading online retailers in the bathroom segment opens a new sales channel with a dedicated shop for tradespeople, planners, and installers. Only seven months passed between the initial decision and the on-schedule go-live, without a single page of requirements documentation.
Facts and figures
7 months
from the initial decision in July 2025 to go-live on March 16, 2026
0 pages
of requirements documentation. The project started with a phone call and clear guardrails instead of months of planning.
100 %
on-time delivery. The shop went live as scheduled, and the revenue target for the first month was achieved.
7 | 5 | 1
seven specialized systems, five strong partners, one seamless platform
The starting point. B2C scale without a dedicated B2B channel
Status quo. One of Europe's leading online shops for bathrooms and sanitary products
MEGABAD is an established player in the B2C business. Founded in 1932, the retailer has operated one of Europe's highest-reaching online shops for bathrooms and sanitary products since 2003, reaching around twelve million users annually and being named Germany's best online shop seven times in the FOCUS Deutschland test. Tradespeople, installers, and planners had long been purchasing from MEGABAD, but through the B2C shop, which was neither designed for their purchasing processes nor their pricing models.
This was exactly where the opportunity lay. A target group that already trusted the brand but had been forced to work with the wrong tools. A dedicated B2B channel could change that. In July 2025, CTO Stefan Beyler picked up the phone and asked synaigy an unusual question: whether such a shop could be built without a discovery phase and without a requirements specification. There was no legacy shop to replace, no legacy features, and no existing B2B infrastructure. That phone call became the starting decision, with no planning workshop beforehand and no functional specification afterward.
The challenges of building a B2B shop from scratch
There was no existing B2B infrastructure, a real challenge, but also a rare opportunity. The shop could be built entirely from a greenfield approach, without legacy systems or legacy features.
Time was the most critical factor because every month without a dedicated channel meant tradespeople, planners, and installers continued purchasing through a shop that was not designed for their processes.
At the same time, MEGABAD was introducing a new PIM system and undergoing a rebranding initiative, both of which had to be closely aligned with the shop project.
Integration with the ERP system and the new Atamya PIM had to be coordinated and implemented iteratively.
An e-commerce project without a requirements specification
Shopware 6 standard instead of months of planning
Instead of spending months specifying requirements, MEGABAD and synaigy agreed on an iterative delivery model. The rationale was simple. No one needs a requirements specification for the homepage, listing pages, product detail pages, cart, and checkout because these functions are already included in Shopware 6 and only need configuration. The Shopware Commercial B2B Suite also provided quotation tools, quote requests, and approval workflows out of the box. Typical B2B requirements such as pricing groups, registration approvals, and hidden pricing for non-logged-in users were introduced by the business departments during the project after the standard features had been configured.
What structurally replaced the requirements specification
These guardrails did not simply replace the requirements specification formally, they replaced it structurally. Requirements from the business departments were continuously gathered, prioritized, and handed over to development by the Product Owner. This created an agile way of working based on Scrum principles.
Standard before custom, meaning as many out-of-the-box functions as possible.
A template-based approach instead of creating a custom design from scratch.
Small decision-making groups instead of lengthy alignment cycles.
Time was treated as the most critical criterion in every decision.
Regular steering meetings with the MEGABAD management team to quickly remove blockers and resolve uncertainties.
A Shopware 6 B2B shop in seven months
The synaigy approach. Agile delivery with rigorous backward planning
A dedicated core team from synaigy began configuring the Shopware 6 standard setup, including templates and plugins, in August 2025. By October, the first working MEGABAD-branded shop was already available, with new business requirements continuously incorporated. Parallel workstreams focused on search integration and implementation of the new branding.
Despite the agile approach, project management remained tightly controlled. Planning worked backward from the targeted March go-live date. End-to-end testing was scheduled for February, finalization for January, and a quality gate with a feature freeze was set for December 15, 2025. By this milestone, the PIM and ERP integrations and all required features had to be completed. This deadline was communicated internally at MEGABAD as binding and helped keep the project on track.
ERP and PIM integration without friction
The ERP integration was implemented through middleware based on Azure Service Bus and progressed remarkably smoothly. This was made possible through close daily collaboration with the MEGABAD IT team, which assigned two dedicated developers to the project. Instead of an extensive interface concept, the teams worked with a shared kickoff, clearly defined tickets, and early proofs of concept for both ERP and PIM integrations to identify obstacles early. The new Atamya PIM was connected using an existing Shopware plugin.
Constructor search integration in three phases for a secure go-live
Shortly before go-live, the decision was made to use Constructor as the search technology. To avoid putting the go-live date at risk, the integration was divided into three phases. At launch, autosuggest and the search results page went live. The second phase, after go-live, adds filter and product listing pages, while the third expansion stage focuses on AI-powered recommendations. This approach kept the project moving while still enabling a powerful search experience.
synaigy's services at a glance
Built a complete B2B shop from scratch in seven months, including ERP and PIM integration.
Implemented individual B2B requirements such as pricing groups, registration approvals, and hidden pricing for guest users during the ongoing project.
Delivered rigorous project management with backward planning, quality gates, and transparent risk visibility through regular steering meetings.
Included a security scan before go-live as a fixed part of the delivery approach.
Implemented Constructor search integration in phases to protect the go-live schedule.
Results
On-schedule go-live and 30,000 users in the first month
The B2B Pro Shop went live as scheduled on March 16, 2026, seven months after the initial decision. By April, the first full month of operation, 30,000 tradespeople, planners, and installers were already using the new channel, and the revenue target had been achieved. For tradespeople, planners, and installers, the new platform provides dedicated access with purchasing processes and pricing models tailored to their business needs.
The value becomes just as clear at a structural level. The consistently standards-based platform can be enhanced rapidly, the established approach of small decision-making groups and short delivery cycles continues beyond go-live, and the ongoing expansion of search capabilities together with data-driven optimization marks the beginning of the next phase. After all, real optimization only starts once real user feedback becomes available in a live environment, and that was the intention from the very beginning.
Learnings
What you can take away from an e-commerce project without a requirements specification
The most important insight from this project is that speed does not come from less planning, but from better decisions. Better decisions do not require complete requirements up front. They require a clear mindset, solid structures, and a willingness to make decisions even when not everything is yet known.
A standard solution that is live delivers more value than a perfect concept sitting in a drawer. A functional shop with real user feedback beats delayed perfection, and UX optimization after launch is not a shortcoming but a deliberate principle. At the same time, abandoning a requirements specification only works when the right guardrails are in place. Standard before custom, an MVP focus, and close decision-making cycles replace the document structurally rather than merely formally.
For retailers facing similar circumstances, the project offers two additional lessons. B2B is not an extension of B2C but a distinct business model with its own processes, which also requires a cultural shift. And parallel initiatives such as a PIM implementation or a rebranding are not reasons to wait. They can be the very reason to start now, building on the momentum that is already underway.
Your contact person
- Olga Schick
Client Strategy Partnersynaigy
Show phone numberShow mobile numberShow email address
Let's talk about your project.
Every project you see here started with a simple conversation. Send us a quick note explaining what it's about. We'll figure out the rest together.
Please accept the corresponding cookies to view this embedded content.