A digital e-commerce transformation
Engineering scalable growth for New Zealand's safety leader
Project Background
New Zealand Safety Blackwoods (NZSB), a leading safety and industrial supplies company, needed to meet modern customer expectations. Their existing digital presence lacked 24/7 B2B and B2C convenience, limiting market reach and operational efficiency. They required a unified e-commerce platform to streamline inventory management, enable data driven personalization, and provide a seamless customer journey to drive revenue growth.
Building a scalable, multi channel e-commerce platform to fuel growth for New Zealand Safety Blackwoods
Objectives
Expand market reach: Launch a modern, responsive e-commerce site accessible 24/7 for B2B and B2C customers.
Streamline complex operations: Integrate with legacy IBM i (AS/400) and DB2 systems for real time inventory, pricing, and order management.
Enable enterprise grade B2B features: Implement punchout catalog capabilities (CXML, OCI) for large corporate clients and integrate with their procurement systems.
Enhance customer experience: Develop an intuitive interface with advanced search and personalized content to reduce friction and increase satisfaction.
Lay a data driven foundation: Build a platform that leverages analytics for personalized marketing and strategic decisions.
Key Features Delivered
Unified B2B & B2C e-commerce store: A single, scalable platform serving diverse customer needs with tailored experiences.
Advanced search & discovery: Powered by Elastic Search, enabling customers to find products quickly with intelligent filtering and suggestions.
Enterprise punchout integration: Seamless CXML and OCI integrations allowing large clients to connect their procurement systems directly to NZSB's catalog.
Headless CMS with Strapi: A flexible system for marketing teams to manage static pages, banners, and promotions without developers.
Real time legacy system sync: Middleware ensuring accuracy between the online storefront and core inventory and order management on IBM i and DB2.
Responsive & modern UI/UX: A customer centric design providing an optimal experience across devices, from desktop to mobile.
Our Approach
Digital400 led this transformation using a multi phase Agile methodology. We began with discovery workshops to map NZSB's business processes and legacy systems. Our approach balanced innovation with stability, building a modern, cloud-native frontend with Next.js and TypeScript, and secure APIs to connect with IBM i and DB2 systems. The architecture was containerized with Docker and deployed on Azure for scalability. We used Figma for collaborative design, validating every user interaction before development.
Results
The new platform has become central to NZSB's growth strategy, delivering transformative outcomes.
Substantial revenue growth: The improved user experience and 24/7 access led to a significant and sustained increase in online sales.
Operational excellence: Achieved seamless integration between the digital frontend and legacy backend, streamlining order management and inventory accuracy.
Enhanced customer satisfaction: The intuitive design, fast search, and personalized journey dramatically improved the customer experience, fostering loyalty and repeat business.
Future proof foundation: The modern, modular tech stack allows rapid iteration, easy feature additions, and sustained competitiveness.
High value delivery: Delivered through a collaborative partnership, investing over 50,000 development hours to build a platform engineered for long term success.
Tech stack:
.NET, TypeScript, Next.js, IBM, Microsoft Azure, Figma, Docker
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