Bluespresso B.V., the Dutch distributor of International coffee brand Lavazza has launched a new store on BigCommerce platform to support sales in the Netherlands and Belgium. Lavazza’s new site for the Netherlands and Belgium was developed by BigCommerce premier partner rb2. The sites use a composable commerce architecture and a variety of technology integrations to deliver an optimal customer experience for both B2C and B2B buyers.
By taking a headless approach, Lavazza Netherlands and Belgium can quickly make changes and improvements to either the front-end or back-end of the platform without disrupting the other. Previously, Lavazza account managers would meet with customers. They would then inform inside sales colleagues about the customer-specific product catalogue and price list. Inside sales staff then used the information to issue price quotes. The process was both time-consuming and vulnerable to errors.
The previous platform offered limited opportunities for business customers to view agreed-upon terms and conditions, the selection of available products and specific prices and discounts. It also limited Lavazza’s ability to conduct targeted, personalised marketing campaigns to B2B customers to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty.
“Our collaboration with rb2 and BigCommerce has really enabled us to expand the features and functionality of our eCommerce site,” said Jay-Jay Slikker, eCommerce manager for Lavazza Netherlands and Belgium. “By leveraging a composable approach, we were able to build a powerful, flexible site that can easily be adjusted no matter what happens in the future.”
A future-proofed storefront
For the new store, rb2 developed several specific B2B features on top of the BigCommerce platform. Lavazza field sales staff can use a mobile application to enter product requirements, special pricing and other conditions into the ERP system during customer appointments. As a result, inside sales staff can produce quotations faster. Lavazza has realised significant cost savings because of the improved efficiency. Customers can have an account to manage employee usage rights and view the customer-specific product catalogue and associated price list.
“Lavazza Netherlands and Belgium now has a powerful, flexible, future proof B2C and B2B store. It delivers a great experience for its customers and sales teams,” said Richard Birkensteiner, CTO at rb2. “We have combined the composable architecture with the integration power of CoreConnect. As a result, able to deliver a working system quickly while continuing to add more features and functionality.”
Leveraging rb2’s CoreConnect integration layer, the headless store integrates seamlessly with Lavazza’s existing applications including Adyen, Prismic, Piggy and Zegris. By combining a composable architecture with integration of CoreConnect, rb2 was able to deliver a working system within a week. While the team continued to work on the B2B features and the development of Lavazza’s UX/UI requirements.
CoreConnect new features include:
- Streamlined order and customer management with a single BigCommerce store instance featuring multiple channels (including Netherlands, Belgium and marketplaces.) In addition to a single platform for both B2C and B2B users.
- Connections with several different back-end applications through a GraphQL API base on .NET deployed in Azure container apps. This provides a fully managed environment for running microservices and containerised applications on a serverless platform.
- A foundation for a BigCommerce B2B app with headless-friendly, API-based functionality to manage the B2B companies, their employees, address books, invoices and more.
According to Mark Adams, senior vice president and general manager of EMEA at BigCommerce. “For a merchant like Lavazza that serves both business customers and consumers, composable is an excellent approach. Our partner rb2 delivered a beautiful site that delivers both incredible functionality and an engaging customer experience.”
Earlier in the year BigCommerce launched its Multi-Storefront (MSF) solution to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The solution enables multiple unique storefronts from one store and was previously only available for enterprise merchants. However, it is now available as a self-service feature and accessible to small and midsize BigCommerce merchants directly. Merchants can now manage multiple storefronts to grow sales in new regions. The company says the solution streamlines operations for multiple brands and customise various customer segments to drive global growth.
Enterprise Times: What this means for business.
Composable commerce is quickly becoming the must-have architecture for ambitious brands and retailers. Particularly those enterprises that need the ability to scale and require the flexibility to adapt to changing needs and environments. Lavazza has built up a reputation for innovation and developing new product types that meet consumer needs. The company joins a growing list of enterprise retail merchants leveraging BigCommerce’s composable approach. This includes Ted Baker and MKM Building Supplies. This approach allows merchants to build a flexible site which can efficiently adapt to changing needs and priorities.
Last month, Enterprise Times interviewed Mark Adams in a wide-ranging discussion. Mark suggests that for enterprises to be growth companies, brands and retailers must seamlessly operate across channels. Furthermore, they must find a way to achieve this cost-effectively, converting consumers on those channels. Partnering with technology vendors that have a big focus on the customer experience. Mark suggested three key areas that brands and retailers need to focus on to be successful.
