Case study · Retail
An e-commerce platform handling ~11,000 orders a month
A custom storefront and order-management system that replaced a patchwork of spreadsheets and plugins, from checkout through to dispatch.
The challenge
Best in Bury wanted to expand their hugely successful business to a nationwide customer base. There wasn't a platform out there that could accommodate the high level of customisation they required for their meat packs. As well as pre-selected packs, customers needed to be able to build their own packs from 100s of products. With up to 100 packs available at any one time, and any number of bolt on products, the site had to be both easy to administer and for customers to buy from. Limited time deals needed to be available too, without the need for someone to manually add them, then remember when to manually remove them; so a scheduling function was also required. To help with order preparation, the system needed to produce data exports in the correct format for processing and packing orders, plus integrate with couriers for dispatch. Sometimes something goes wrong with suppliers or deliveries, so an SMS module had to be added for staff to send text messages to customers with updates, as they are more instant than emails.
Our approach
Vigeo Systems had already built an API for a Christmas order mobile app, so it made sense to expand that to accommodate the current and any future requirements. Once that was built for core functionality, the content and order management system was built to allow products and deals to be uploaded. Next was the website for customers to order from, which provided the challenge of making the deals and bolt-ons available, whilst easy to navigate on a mobile device. We solved this using some simple but clever page design, using product cards and tracking the chosen deal when the customer wanted to add additional products to their order. Each stage involved a minimal release, with incremental updates to maintain a rapid development pace.
“Vigeo have helped us grow from 50 orders per week at the start to 700 per day when Covid hit! Things have settled now but they've been a solid partner all the way through.”
The outcome
At its busiest, during Covid, the system was handling 700+ orders a day without needing extra headcount to keep up. The site now handles around 11,000 orders per month, with administrators able to generate accurate picking and packing lists, shipping lists, and support customer enquiries. The automated preparation reports save around 5 hours per day from what would have been a manual task. The system continues to grow...
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