Decora is one of Estonia’s most well-known construction store brands. They have been Lumav’s client since 2017 when Lumav created a new website for them on the Adobe Commerce (formerly Magento 2 Commerce) platform (read the case study on the store’s development).
In the information age, data is gold, and Decora, looking ahead to the future, wanted to implement a tool that would significantly speed up data processing.
The first and, in our view, most cost-effective development idea was the automation of external assortment, including reducing manual checks.
Analysis
At the time, the Decora team had also adopted the product enrichment software Akeneo PIM alongside their new online store, meaning that a crucial component for the solution was already in place. The external assortment capability was already available in the e-store, and a customized checkout solution was implemented to separate orders when the cart included both in-stock and made-to-order products.
The starting position was strong. To foster innovation, there was no need to rebuild the entire system; it was enough to add new solutions.
Three principles we at Lumav considered when proposing the new solution:
- A larger product range means higher revenue. A customer cannot purchase a product that is not visible in the online store.
- The solution must allow the assortment to continue growing both in quantity and quality.
- To stay competitive, it is crucial to speed up the introduction of new products and the enrichment of product information, enabling the adoption of additional innovative data processing options as needed.
Lumav Sync Solution
To improve the transfer of product information from external suppliers, we implemented the licensed Sync solution. The information flow architecture was designed to optimize the development cost of the first phase and ensure scalability.
The architecture of the solution, in brief:
- Sync retrieves products, categories, stock levels, attributes/filters, and prices from external suppliers.
- Sync processes the information, for example, by removing VAT from prices. In the future, other data processing tools can be added.
- All product information is sent to the PIM, where products, based on enrichment rules, are either a) sent directly to the e-store or b) sent for manual review.
- Information about confirmed products flows from the PIM to the e-store.
- Only when an order is placed for an external assortment product does the merchant create the product in the ERP.
Primarily, the development aimed to expand the product assortment, but the solution also allows for the creation of a buffer for popular products. If the product is in stock both with the customer and the supplier, the items from the customer’s stock are sold first, and only then is the product ordered from the external supplier.
The automated solution allowed approximately 1,700 products, previously unavailable in the e-store, to be listed for sale immediately after activation, with the same number in review status for team approval. The next suppliers are already under analysis. But most importantly, the foundation is in place for implementing future innovative solutions. 😉
In our opinion, adopting the Sync service is one of the highest ROI solutions that any large e-store should invest in. Implementing this solution took less than six weeks.
Thanks to Decora for their trust, and we are preparing for the next steps to gain a competitive edge in this challenging market.
“I always think long-term when it comes to development, but Lumav dares to challenge my annual plans with their proposals, in a good way. Thank you :)”
Grete Allik
Decora Strategic Head of E-commerce
