What's the biggest mistake in replatforming from a commercial perspective?

The biggest mistake is failing to link every major feature or development task directly to a specific commercial outcome. Projects often become 'feature-led' rather than 'value-led'. This results in overspending on functionalities that offer minimal business benefit and delays the delivery of truly impactful changes.

How do you quantify the commercial value of a feature like improved search?

For improved search, quantify by projecting potential increases in conversion rate or average order value. For example, if current site search users convert X% lower than category page users, and enhanced search is expected to close some of that gap, you can model the revenue uplift. Also consider reductions in customer service queries related to product discovery.

Should we aim for an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) or a comprehensive launch?

An MVP approach is generally more commercially sound. It allows you to launch faster, validate core assumptions, and start generating commercial return sooner. Subsequent phases can then be informed by real user data and commercial performance, reducing the risk of building features that aren't truly needed.

What's the role of user experience (UX) in commercial grounding?

User experience is a direct driver of commercial outcomes. A poor UX leads to abandonment, low conversion, and increased support costs. Investing in good UX design is directly tied to improving metrics like conversion rates, customer satisfaction, and repeat purchases. It's not a 'nice-to-have' but a commercial imperative.

How often should we review commercial progress during the project?

Commercial progress should be reviewed regularly, ideally in sprint reviews or monthly steering committee meetings. This ensures that the project remains on track, allows for early identification of deviations from commercial objectives, and provides opportunities to pivot if initial assumptions prove incorrect. Continuous feedback loops are critical.

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Issue 038BriefingReplatformingRef 129

How to keep a replatform commercially grounded

Replatforming is a significant investment. Keeping it aligned with commercial goals requires a disciplined approach, strategic prioritisation, and a clear understanding of what drives value for the business.

Tom Williams· Head of Development

25 Aug 20255 min readReviewed August 2025

"Keeping a replatform commercially grounded means every feature and integration decision must be traceable back to a quantifiable business objective."

Written by

Tom Williams

Head of Development

10 years at iWeb

LinkedIn →Speak with Tom about your brief →

Tom heads the development team at iWeb and leads the data practice across PIM, search relevance, product data and operational commerce systems. He writes about migration economics, punchout, catalogue structure, order-management complexity, and the product-data decisions that quietly shape platform performance long before launch. Particularly focused on B2B operational reality and AI-ready commerce data.

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