Headless e-commerce platform as a foundation for further growth

The digitalisation of Van den Assem started years ago with the self-development of an e-commerce platform. The system was further expanded step by step and consisted of many custom components. As a result, the dependency on one system and own development became increasingly larger. In addition, Van den Assem has experienced exponential growth online and is among the top Dutch e-commerce players in the shoe industry. The strong growth ambitions result in new desires for the e-commerce platform.

Desires for the new platform

Time for change: Van den Assem was ready for a new, strong and flexible e-commerce platform that helps realise the intended growth ambitions. For both assem.nl, assemshoes.com and shoeclub.nl. The new webshops needed to handle a lot of traffic, without compromising site speed. It was also a wish to better ensure the continuity of the webshops and to offer more opportunities for marketing purposes. The technical knowledge and expertise in the field of omnichannel shoe retail and experience with headless commerce were important reasons to choose XSARUS as the implementation partner.

Solution: headless commerce setup

XSARUS, together with the Van den Assem development team, has revamped the complete IT architecture. Where Van den Assem previously had a self-developed e-commerce platform, a separate system has now been implemented for each specific domain. The headless setup uses two environments: Magento Open Source as the e-commerce platform and Prismic as a content management system for all inspirational content. Data from both systems is combined within the headless NuxtJS frontend.

• Magento Open Source is the e-commerce engine of the webshop and ensures the continuous flow of orders. The ERP system (ACA) and the cash register systems drive Magento Open Source via APIs. Due to the large number of products and orders placed daily, many processes are automated.
• The Prismic CMS contains all content and its management. A very user-friendly solution that offers room for creativity. For example, Van den Assem is able to place inspiring, trend-oriented blogs on the webshop and schedule content changes.
• The headless frontend ensures complete freedom and flexibility in terms of design and also optimal performance. Content can also be forwarded to screens in the stores and the mobile app.

In the headless setup, all components work seamlessly with each other. This results in a fast webshop (capable of handling many simultaneous visitors) with a customised appearance at the front end and a back end based on standardisation and efficiency.

Insight into and managing stock

The total inventory, also from physical stores, is collected in the TableTop module Inventory. Within this, logic is implemented towards the webshop. The result is that only the actually saleable inventory is displayed online. Online reservations in the e-commerce platform are also registered in TableTop Inventory. A reservation can be taken from the inventory for a certain period of time, so that the consumer can be assured of viewing the product in the physical store.

Furthermore, within TableTop, it is indicated which Van den Assem stores and drop shipment branches participate in online sales, with the correct delivery time automatically linked. Thanks to an API, the current stock can always be requested within the e-commerce platform to be shown to the customer.

Integration with tritonX

XSARUS has also realised the integration with Customer Data Platform tritonX. This platform makes customer data insightful for Van den Assem. For instance, purchases per customer are recorded, it is determined to which segment they belong, customer-specific pricing applied, and a points saving system is adopted in the physical shops and online.

Content Delivery Network & Data Platform

The XSARUS Content Delivery Network and XSARUS Data Platform are also valuable components within the landscape. The XSARUS XCDN ensures the scaling and optimal distribution of product images.

Within the XSARUS Data Platform, important data from various source systems such as Magento Open Source, Datatrics, Google Analytics and other marketing sources, is automatically collected in one place. The data from these sources can be used for numerous purposes. On assem.nl, the XSARUS Data Platform ensures, among other things, that the Van den Assem marketing team can create product sorting profiles with various parameters. With these profiles, they can determine at category level the order in which products are sorted.

Go-live in just four months

The development of the Van den Assem webshops accelerated rapidly. In a period of just four months, the new webshops went live. Currently, about 10 to 15 employees actively work with the new e-commerce platform. XSARUS provided various Magento Open Source and Prismic training sessions during the collaboration process to familiarise employees with the new landscape.

Mastery of the required stack; Magento Open Source headless experience in combination with our own components such as TableTop, and the pleasant, agile collaboration with Van den Assem contributed to the short lead time. Van den Assem now has a fast e-commerce platform that, thanks to its headless setup, serves as a stable foundation for further growth.