Belazu - Trade Website

Client: Belazu
Sector: Food ingredient supplier serving supermarkets and restaurants
Scope: Bespoke Software, Modernisation, Integration, Support

Overview

Belazu needed a new B2B trade website where its customers could buy ingredients online. They already had a trade website, but it had become old and out of date. The goal of the project was to redesign the experience and make it much simpler and easier for trade customers to use.

The Challenge

One of the biggest challenges in the project was integrating with Belazu’s legacy Defacto ERP system. The system was old, documentation was limited, and there was no single source of knowledge for how integration with Defacto should work. That made delivery more complex, as the integration approach had to be understood and shaped through investigation, collaboration and practical problem-solving.

In practice, the hardest part was the lack of documentation. We had to dig into the system, work things out carefully, and identify exactly what needed to be used in order to build a reliable integration.

What We Did

EDBWN delivered the project end to end. We were involved from the initial scoping and planning stages through to architecture design, development and testing. That meant shaping the solution, defining how the website and ERP would work together, building the new trade platform, and helping make sure the finished system was reliable and ready for use.

A major part of the work was bringing the website into the modern era. We redesigned the experience to feel much more current, improved website speed significantly, and made the journey simpler and quicker for customers to use.

We used the BigCommerce platform and highly customised its template to create a much better trade experience for Belazu’s customers. The new trade website also integrated directly with Defacto, helping connect the customer-facing experience with Belazu’s core business systems.

The integration covered all of the key operational data needed to make the platform work effectively, including products, pricing, stock, customer data and orders. This included supporting Belazu’s per-customer pricing model, as well as customer-specific trade rules around product availability, account permissions, order limits and delivery rules.

We also focused heavily on speed and usability. The new website was much faster than the previous platform, and we introduced features that made repeat ordering easier, including a quicker way for customers to order items they had purchased before.

Technologies and Capabilities

• .NET
• Azure Function Apps
• SQL
• BigCommerce

Outcome

The new trade website improved the experience for Belazu’s customers, which led to higher customer satisfaction. Support requests decreased, and with a smoother buying experience in place, revenue increased as well.

How We Worked

We used SCRUM and took an agile approach throughout the project. We spoke with stakeholders at every stage and kept the work highly collaborative, making sure the solution reflected what Belazu actually wanted rather than making assumptions along the way.

The project did not stop at launch. We continue to support and evolve the platform, helping Belazu improve it over time as the business and customer needs develop.