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Issue 041BriefingReplatformingRef 134

The problem with treating replatforming as a design project

Replatforming is an exercise in engineering and operational continuity, not a mere aesthetic refresh. Prioritising design without understanding the underlying commerce machinery leads to significant project overruns and functional compromise.

Ian Gordon· Business Development Director
4 min readReviewed November 2025
"Replatforming is fundamentally an engineering and operational undertaking, not a mere aesthetic refresh."
Written by
Ian Gordon, Business Development Director at iWeb
Ian Gordon
Business Development Director
31 years at iWeb

Ian co-founded iWeb and leads commercial strategy across enterprise commerce programmes. He writes the notes on rescue engagements, procurement failure, platform selection politics, and the point where a transformation programme becomes an operating-model problem instead of a technology one. Focused on commercial clarity, realistic delivery economics, and the gap between what procurement asks for and what the business actually needs.

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Issue 042Teardown · Replatforming

Why ecommerce rebuilds fail before anyone writes code

Ecommerce rebuilds often fail due to systemic issues before development even begins. Problems like unclear objectives, scope creep, and poor stakeholder alignment can derail projects early.

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Issue 040Position · Replatforming

The replatform decision a steering committee should refuse to make

A replatform decision is a capital commitment, not a technical one. Without quantified business drivers, a steering committee risks approving an expensive project with ambiguous returns.

Neil··4 min read
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Sent on the last Thursday of the month. The most useful five notes from the previous four weeks, written by the operators, architects, engineers and commercial leads running the work.
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