Danforth Pewter faced a critical challenge with the impending expiration of their Magento 2 license, necessitating a swift re-platforming to BigCommerce. The tight timeline demanded careful scoping and prioritization of customizations while maintaining functional parity and improving UI/UX, all while leveraging the BigCommerce management API for efficient data handling.
A significant hurdle was developing custom engraving functionality and integrating it with Acumatica, their third-party ERP system. This required extensive checkout customizations using the Checkout SDK to ensure proper ordering, stock management, and pricing flows. The team utilized AWS services to support the integration and enhance overall system performance.
Unexpectedly, the gift card functionality, initially outsourced to a third-party vendor, became a major obstacle when the client rejected the proposed solution. The development team pivoted quickly, creating a custom middleware hosted on AWS to connect the new BigCommerce site with the third-party system, enabling real-time data synchronization through the BigCommerce management API. This last-minute addition further compressed the already tight timeline.
Despite these challenges, the team successfully executed the re-platforming without compromising functionality.
The project demonstrated the team’s ability to adapt to unforeseen challenges. We developed the engraving feature, integrating it seamlessly with the ERP using the Checkout SDK and BigCommerce management API. The custom middleware for gift cards, powered by AWS, ensured smooth operations. The result was an enhanced UI/UX, a streamlined customer experience, and a fully functional e-commerce platform that met all of Danforth Pewter’s unique requirements.
