B2B Commerce setup & Integration for Bonds of London

What We Did

Created dual-platform B2B sales solution
Developed customer-facing mobile eCommerce app
Built sales rep management platform
Integrated SAP with Magento backend
Implemented customized product range mapping
Enabled targeted promotional capabilities
Streamlined ordering for retail customers

Outcomes

Overview

Bonds of London, a premium UK confectionery company since 1895, faced challenges with their traditional B2B sales model where sales representatives manually visited stores to take orders, occasionally missing visits and leading to inventory stockouts. Management sought to modernize their approach while maintaining the valuable personal connections their sales team had built with customers. They needed robust CRM-like capabilities to give sales reps a 360-degree view of store performance, product adoption, and inventory data—ensuring that relationships with clients remained at the forefront while embracing digital efficiency.

Net Solutions developed a dual-platform solution combining a mobile eCommerce app for store managers and a web-based platform for sales representatives, enabling automated ordering while preserving the human element of their sales process. The system integrated SAP, implemented customer range mapping, and provided enhanced reporting capabilities.

“Net Solutions never fails to amaze me. I have worked in development teams most of my career, and no team has met their work ethic and standards!”

Kevin Widdrington

Chief Digital Officer, IB Group

Big Takeaways

01. Modernizing Traditional Sales

02. Platform Evolution and Enhancement

03. Technology Integration

01. Modernizing Traditional Sales

Dual Platform Strategy

The solution centered on two complementary applications: a Xamarin-based eCommerce app for stores and a Python-based web application for sales representatives. This approach maintained personal relationships while adding digital efficiency.

Customer-Centric Features

The eCommerce app enabled store managers to place orders independently when inventory ran low. Custom range mapping ensured stores only saw products available, simplifying the complex ordering process for larger estates.

Sales Rep Empowerment

The sales representative platform provided comprehensive customer insights, including store information, inventory levels, and order history. This data-driven approach enhanced the effectiveness of personal store visits. The consistent user experience across tablets and smartphones increased adoption rates among sales reps and store managers, seamlessly integrating in-person relationship building with digital ordering capabilities.

02. Platform Evolution and Enhancement

Sales Rep Tool Enhancement

The platform expanded to include adoption tracking, product highlighting capabilities, and order history access. Sales representatives gained the ability to add products directly to store carts and manage customized promotional offers.

eCommerce Optimization

Store-facing applications received improved search capabilities, focusing on recent orders to accelerate purchasing. This enhancement streamlined the ordering experience for retail customers.

Management Control

Advanced reporting features gave management detailed visibility into platform usage by stores and sales representatives. The system allowed for customized report creation based on specific criteria. The phased implementation approach allowed Bonds of London to roll out new features gradually, ensuring minimal disruption to existing processes while steadily modernizing their sales operations.

03. Technology Integration

Technical Architecture

The solution leveraged multiple technologies to create a robust ecosystem, including Xamarin, PHP, Magento, Python, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Kong API Gateway, and AWS.

Enterprise System Integration

SAP integration with Magento created a seamless connection between front-end ordering and back-end operations, ensuring accurate product availability and order processing.

Scalable Infrastructure

The platform’s architecture supported continuous feature expansion and performance optimization, enabling ongoing digital transformation initiatives.

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