Case study · Ecommerce & Web Applications
Willow Direct
Helping an ambitious ecommerce business build far beyond the storefront.
We've worked with Willow Direct since 2015, supporting their ambition to be the UK's leading importers and suppliers of basketware.
Over that time, the work has grown far beyond designing and developing an ecommerce website. We've built systems connecting customers, staff, suppliers, warehouses, accounting software and logistics, while continually refining the experience customers see on the surface.
It is a good example of what a long-term development partnership can become when a client is prepared to keep investing in making things better.
Working together since
2015
Platform
Laravel / Bespoke ecommerce
Relationship
Monthly ongoing development & support
Work
Ecommerce · CRM · Integrations · Supplier systems
Bespoke ecommerce
Ecommerce built around the business
Willow Direct has requirements that don't fit neatly into an off-the-shelf ecommerce platform.
Customers order commercially, sometimes in significant quantities. Stock has long lead times and travels internationally. Different payment, delivery and taxation rules can apply depending on where the customer is based and how they choose to buy.
We have continually developed the website around these real-world processes rather than making the business adapt to the limitations of an off-the-shelf ecommerce platform.
That has included detailed checkout logic for card and invoice customers, UK, EU and Northern Ireland requirements, delivery options, packaging rules, commodity codes and integrations with logistics providers including DPD and Palletforce.
We've also repeatedly revisited the front end: refining navigation, product pages, the basket and ordering journey as customer expectations and Willow Direct's own requirements have changed.
Systems integration
Connecting ecommerce with Sage
Sage remains central to Willow Direct's accounting and stock management.
We implemented and maintain the integration between the website and Sage 50 through Zynk, synchronising information including customers, orders, payments and stock.
A successful integration means data moves reliably between the two systems, stays consistent and is handled correctly when something fails. We've been able to implement this in a robust manner so that it adapts to how their team works, rather than force them to adapt their workflow to the system.
That principle runs throughout much of what we build for Willow Direct.
System flow
From an order on the website through Zynk to Sage, with stock and invoices coming back
- 01 Build order
- 02 Checkout / acceptance
- 03 Zynk connector
- 04 Sage 50
- Card or proforma
- Stock from Sage
- Invoices from Sage
Supplier platform
From a UK website to a factory in China
One of the more unusual parts of the project sits thousands of miles away from the ecommerce website.
We built a dedicated supplier platform used by Willow Direct and its factory in China to help manage purchasing, manufacturing and shipping.
Suppliers can work with orders, quantities and shipping information, while Willow Direct retains higher-level control across products, containers and the overall pipeline.
The platform deals with details such as partial shipments, remakes, expected shipping dates, stock and bill-of-material information. When a container leaves the factory, quantities and shipment information can be recorded directly in the system.
It replaces disconnected communication and spreadsheets with information both sides can see and work from.
System flow
From Willow UK through the China supplier portal to shipping
- 01 Willow UK
- 02 China supplier portal
- 03 Manufacturing / quantities / remakes
- 04 Optimal shipping container
- 05 Shipping to the UK
Long-term development
Continual development
Willow Direct doesn't regard its website as something that was built once and finished.
Their commitment to improving the business has included an ongoing development retainer of more than 80 hours per month, regular front-end refreshes, new internal systems and continual refinement of the customer ordering experience.
The best digital platforms usually become good through hundreds of sensible decisions made over time: simplifying something awkward, removing a repetitive task, connecting two pieces of information or spotting an opportunity to make buying easier.
From our side
What we enjoy about Willow Direct is the challenge of building something that works for the business. Over the years we've got to know the business in granular detail, from what a customer sees when they order to what happens when a container leaves a factory in China.
Those are the projects we find most satisfying: where we're solving problems for the business, not just working on a website.