What was actually wrong.
Most commerce problems are not just front-end problems. They sit between how customers buy, how teams work, and how the systems behind the business behave.
Assa Abloy needed cleaner product data and a more maintainable catalogue so the Builders & trade business could trade with confidence.
This was not a brochure storefront. Buyers arriving for a specific item needed enough product information and context to identify it with confidence, while stock, account pricing and purchase history had to support the same buying decision.
Product information, catalogue structure and supplier feeds were likely sources of operational friction, with editorial and trading teams working around fragmented data.
The commerce layer had to sit cleanly alongside ERP, without turning every operational dependency into a launch risk.
Account-led ordering and self-serve buying had to live on the same stack without one audience compromising the other.
The work had to stabilise a live commerce surface without resetting what already worked for the business.
The platform change also depended on product information being structured, enriched and governed well enough to support the catalogue. Product data was a major workstream within the wider commerce delivery, not a separate outcome claim.
What happens if it isn't fixed.
When those gaps are left alone, the website becomes the place where operational problems show up. That can mean unclear data, pricing questions, repeated support queries and customers who cannot complete the job they came to do.
Unclear product, pricing or fulfilment information can create friction before an order is placed.
Most relevant to Builders & trade teams weighing similar platform decisions.
If catalogue and operational data drift, buyers can lose confidence in product information, pricing, stock and purchase history. That can delay or abandon an order, while internal teams absorb the uncertainty through manual checking and customer service.
For repeat buyers and trade accounts, uncertainty creates friction every time an order is placed again. Wrong-part risk, unclear account terms and a harder repeat-order path can frustrate buyers and move the burden back to account teams and support.
The cost of leaving this in place is rarely visible in a single quarter. It compounds across accounts, channels and renewal cycles.
Five things, in order.
Delivery is not just a list of features. The order matters, because the wrong sequence can turn technical dependencies into business risk.
- 01Mapped the buying journey before the interfaceStarted with how customers actually order here: account relationships, repeat-buy patterns and the operational context behind each purchase.
- 02Rebuilt the commerce foundation around how the business operatesStabilised the live commerce surface and replaced the parts that were failing without resetting customer expectations.
- 03Connected the systems that the storefront cannot work withoutThe commerce layer had to sit cleanly alongside ERP without coupling the launch to every system on day one.
- 04Stabilised the product data feeding the live platformProduct information, enrichment and catalogue structure were treated as a delivery workstream that enabled the commerce change. Technical data and downloads had to remain connected to the product context buyers used to identify the right item.
- 05Scoped the rules per audience, not per platformAccount-led ordering and self-serve buying were shaped as distinct journeys on the same foundation.
Systems, one operational truth.
Where this could have gone wrong.
Measurable, not adjectival.
The useful proof is not a bigger adjective. It is the project shape, the systems involved, the trading model supported and, where available, the numbers recorded from the work.
What the client said.
A client quote should support the case study, not carry it. The project story still needs to stay grounded in the work that was delivered.
Ultimately, iWeb has helped Assa Abloy become a PIM-minded organisation in which every team member is aware of the importance of the PIM system and where the system itself contributes to the success of our business.”
What moved into support.
A project like this does not stop mattering at launch. The same catalogue, account, integration and trading logic has to keep working once real customers and internal teams are using it.
The project did not end when the platform went live.
Support mattered because the manufacturing and industrial still depended on parts data, pricing imports, account behaviour, inventory feeds, integrations and customer-facing information after launch.
Keeping the build decisions and system ownership visible gave the support team a clearer basis for tracing issues and maintaining the connected trading system after launch.
Surfaces from the live project.
These screens show where the operational work becomes part of the customer, account buyer or internal team experience.
Projects with a similar shape.
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