Magento Epicor Case Study: Versa Valves

Magento Epicor Case Study: Versa Valves

Jun 17, 2024

Magento epicor Case Study

Versa Valves

Transforming Versa Valve’s Digital Presence

Versa Valves

History and Summary of Versa Valves

With over 70 years of experience, Versa Valves is a leading authority in valve automation and fluid power solutions. Specializing in designing, manufacturing, and delivering valves and accessories to precise specifications, they offer unmatched quality and a 10-year warranty. Their commitment to excellence shines through unparalleled quality, boasting unmatched flow rates, rigorous product testing, and an unprecedented 10-year warranty. With a catalog of over 75,000 parts, all assembled in Paramus, NJ, USA, they ensure quick access to the right valves through a responsive sales team and global distribution network. Committed to customer satisfaction, 90% of orders ship within 1-5 days with a 99% on-time delivery rate. Their mission is to deliver long-lasting products and exceptional service.

The Challenge

Versa Products encountered critical challenges concerning their website, Magento and Epicor Commerce Connect (ECC) system, necessitating immediate attention to bolster operational security, efficiency, and user experience. Firstly, the reliance on an outdated version of Magento exposed the website to serious security vulnerabilities because it lacked essential patches. This made the store vulnerable to potential attacks and breaches. Upgrading to the latest supported Magento version was crucial. However, the process was challenging and risky because transitioning from the old version to the new one involved complexity.

Moreover, disparities between the code repository and production server made it hard to deploy updates smoothly. To fix this, a master branch rebase was necessary. Furthermore, the mismanagement of 3rd party extensions via the code repository rather than Composer posed risks of compatibility issues and security breaches.

In addition, Versa was dissatisfied with a previous developer’s inability to provide timely resolutions and apparent incompetence in problem-solving. This bad experience emphasized the need to quickly deal with the technical problems mentioned to strengthen Versa’s digital infrastructure and restore confidence in its online operations.

Our Solution

To tackle these challenges, InteractOne initiated the project by establishing a solid foundation. This involved setting up a new development environment for the upgrade project, resyncing the existing staging development environment, and resetting the Bitbucket repository. With everything now organized, InteractOne ensured optimal conditions for the upgrade process. Starting with the development space allowed them to identify and fix existing problems without slowing down the upgrade.

With this groundwork in place, the team was well-prepared to navigate the complexities of the upgrade seamlessly. The meticulous setup and organization proved instrumental in facilitating the efficiency of the entire project. By addressing potential issues upfront, InteractOne was positioned to execute the upgrade with precision and confidence.

Initiating the upgrade from the development environment enabled the team to identify and rectify any preexisting issues without impeding the project’s momentum. This strategic approach allowed for a smooth progression, ensuring the upgrade proceeded without interruption while addressing underlying concerns.

Versa Valves Epicor Magento Case Study Mockup

The Results

Despite the complexities involved, InteractOne successfully completed the upgrade project within the set 3-month timeframe and under budget by 30%. The strategic approach to setting up the development environment enabled smooth progression through the upgrade process. Implementing and customizing Epicor requires significant technical knowledge. Even post-implementation, continual testing and adjustments are needed whenever Epicor undergoes upgrades, requiring ongoing effort. Versa Valves was thrilled with the smooth and top-notch execution of the Magento and Epicor upgrade project. They opted to have InteractOne handle ongoing maintenance and support for the production environment, solidifying their trust in our partnership.

Click here to visit https://www.versa-valves.com/

Don’t Just Take Our Word for it…

“We had a great experience working with InteractOne to upgrade our Magento Adobe Commerce platform. They not only delivered outstanding results but also exceeded our expectations by completing the project on time and under budget. The InteractOne team is truly remarkable – their professionalism, expertise, and dedication to our project were evident every step of the way.

Communication was key throughout the process, and InteractOne excelled in this area. They kept us informed and involved at every step, ensuring our needs and preferences were always prioritized. We also appreciated their honest advice regarding platforms, UX, and cost-efficient options. Our weekly meetings were particularly noteworthy for their clarity on request specifications and even addressing some issues on the spot during our status meetings.

Overall, our experience with InteractOne was excellent. We are extremely happy with the outcome of our Magento upgrade and highly recommend InteractOne to anyone seeking top-notch e-commerce solutions.

We are excited to continue our partnership with InteractOne and entrust them with future site updates. Their commitment to quality and customer satisfaction makes them an invaluable asset to our business.”

– Debra Purdy, Marketing Manager

Versa Valves

    Get expert help today!

    An InteractOne Senior Team Member will get back to you within a day.

    Drop Us a Line At:

    Our Contact Form

    Or, if you prefer an old-fashioned phone call:
    Phone (USA): (513) 469-3362

    Proudly headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio

    Magento Case Study: Ohio Hydraulic Equipment

    Magento Case Study: Ohio Hydraulic Equipment

    May 7, 2024

    BIGCOMMERCE Case Study

    Ohio Hydraulic Equipment

    Transforming Ohio Hydraulic Equipment’s Digital Presence

    Ohio Hydraulic Equipment

    History and Summary of Ohio Hydraulic Equipment

    Ohio Hydraulic Equipment, established in 1953 by Mildred and James Shaw in Columbus, Ohio, is a hydraulic industry leader. With over 70 years of experience, they’re dedicated to providing the highest-quality OEM hydraulic products and services, backed by factory-trained professionals. Proudly serving various sectors, including the U.S. Military, they offer over 10,000 hard parts and 500 repair kits in stock, with access to over 100,000 additional items. For years, customers have trusted Ohio Hydraulic Equipment for reliability, expertise, and top-notch customer service.

    The Challenge

    Ohio Hydraulic Equipment’s outdated website was costing them valuable opportunities. The site, running on ShopSite Pro, failed to meet modern user needs on desktop or mobile. Despite attempts to migrate to the BigCommerce eCommerce platform with a previous developer, technical blunders left them with a dysfunctional site plagued by glitches.

    Recognizing the urgency for change, Ohio Hydraulic Equipment sought a fresh start. InteractOne provided a simple, practical solution: a new website built on BigCommerce tailored to their needs and as robust as their hydraulic equipment.

    Our Solution

    InteractOne embarked on a mission to revolutionize Ohio Hydraulic Equipment’s online presence by developing a brand-new website. With meticulous attention to detail, we crafted a solution that not only addressed their immediate needs but also set the stage for future growth.

    Extensions Installation: We implemented a popular existing BigCommerce theme with custom branding to breathe fresh life into their digital storefront. Its contemporary design and user-friendly interface provided the perfect canvas for showcasing Ohio Hydraulic Equipment’s products and services. The theme enhances both merchant and customer experiences with built-in features like product image zoom, quick view, multi-level navigation, and customizable banners. Its full responsiveness ensures smooth adaptation to various screen sizes and devices, addressing previous site issues for customers.

    Training Provided: Recognizing the importance of empowering our clients, we offered training sessions focused on the essentials of navigating the BigCommerce admin panel and making content edits. By equipping them with these foundational skills, we enabled Ohio Hydraulic Equipment to autonomously take charge of their website management. Through self-directed learning and hands-on experience, the client expanded their knowledge base, further enhancing their website’s functionality and effectiveness.

    OHE Desktop Display

    The Results

    Ohio Hydraulic Equipment’s revamped website makes a considerable leap in enhancing customer satisfaction and user experience. The transformation is palpable, with a marked improvement in every aspect of the online shopping journey.

    Enhanced Customer Experience: The new website delivers an exceptional customer experience. It represents a substantial improvement over its predecessor, addressing the shortcomings of outdated functionality. Cumbersome catalog organization and clunky browsing are now relics of the past. Instead, users encounter a seamless and intuitive interface, facilitating effortless navigation. The search functionality, once basic, has been dramatically enhanced, empowering customers to locate their desired products quickly. Overall, the website’s redesign has set a new standard for user experience, fueling deeper satisfaction and loyalty among Ohio Hydraulic Equipment’s clientele.

    Today, Ohio Hydraulic Equipment stands as a testament to progress. It boasts a website as resilient as the hydraulic systems it provides and is ready to serve customers with unparalleled efficiency and ease.

    Click here to visit https://ohiohydraulic.com/

      Get expert help today!

      An InteractOne Senior Team Member will get back to you within a day.

      Drop Us a Line At:

      Our Contact Form

      Or, if you prefer an old-fashioned phone call:
      Phone (USA): (513) 469-3362

      Proudly headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio

      Magento Case Study: ACG Brands

      Magento Case Study: ACG Brands

      Feb 7, 2024

      Magento Case Study

      ACG Brands

      Magento Upgrade

      Alliance Consumer Group (ACG Brands)

      History and Summary of ACG Brands

      Alliance Consumer Group (ACG Brands) is a multinational consumer products company based in Fort Worth, TX with support offices in the United Kingdom and China. Throughout their 45-year history, ACG has been crafting products across 6 core brands with the purpose of enhancing their customers’ lives. They’ve sold products in more than 50 countries and can be found in over 50,000 retail stores across the globe.

      Check out their newly optimized company website! 

      Our Services

      • Custom Adobe Commerce (Magento) Website Development 
      • Adobe Commerce (Magento) Code Analysis
      • Custom Extension Upgrades
      • Adobe Commerce (Magento) Maintenance & Support
      • User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX) Optimization

      The Challenge

      ACG was referred to InteractOne by a satisfied client to help with updating their Magento websites for each brand and to provide ongoing maintenance and support. Their Magento ecosystem was burdened with a faulty architecture and over 18 extensions with poorly built customizations, making necessary upgrades very difficult.

      Our Solution

      InteractOne’s initial step was conducting a code analysis to pinpoint each architectural challenge. These insights provided a shared understanding of the project objectives between ACG Brands and the Adobe Commerce (Magento) experts at InteractOne. ACG Brands endorsed InteractOne’s “do it the right way” approach to fix the issues. This led to the meticulous upgrade from Magento 2.4.3-p3 to Magento 2.4.5-p1 and the optimization of each website’s architecture to streamline future patches and updates. 

      Due to the success of the initial upgrade, ACG contracted InteractOne as their on-going development resource, where InteractOne made several UI/UX changes. The UI/UX improvements included a revamped checkout UI/UX for all websites, the implementation of a blog with fully customized UI, a rebrand to two websites with a new brand identity and color theory, and the removal of eCommerce functionality UI/UX for another brand website.

         

        The Results

        • Major Adobe Commerce (Magento) version upgrade
        • Reduced Technical Debt
        • Improved Code Base Quality
        • Restructured Brand Websites
        • Improved Website Speed
        • Upgraded Architecture for 18 Custom Extensions
        • Enhanced Security

         

          Get expert help today!

          An InteractOne Senior Team Member will get back to you within a day.

          Drop Us a Line At:

          Our Contact Form

          Or, if you prefer an old-fashioned phone call:
          Phone (USA): (513) 469-3362

          Proudly headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio

          Magento Case Study: Aladdin Temp-Rite

          Magento Case Study: Aladdin Temp-Rite

          Sep 18, 2023

          Magento Case Study

          Aladdin Temp-Rite

          Magento Upgrade, B2B Customizations 

          Aladdin Temp-Rite

          History and Summary of Aladdin Temp-Rite

          The Aladdin name has been used on products for more than 100 years, starting with a superior kerosene lamp that gave off white light instead of a bunch of smoke. That ancestral company grew and popularized consumer-oriented lines of lunchboxes, stoves, and innovative vacuum thermoses and containers. The current company took shape officially in 1968, adding the Temp-Rite name in 1988, with increasing emphasis on the business to business (B2B) market through the success of its insulated tray and an array of meal service equipment lines.

          The company was an early adopter of online B2B, working with InteractOne to build and launch their Magento 1 site in 2012.

           

          Our Services

          • Custom Magento (Adobe Commerce) Design & Development
          • Custom Integrations
          • Custom Shipping Logic
          • Checkout Optimization
          • Personalized Location Information & Mapping

          The Challenge

          In business and in life, things are always moving and changing.  While Magento 1 had been a great platform for Aladdin Temp-Rite to launch online B2B selling, Magento 1 had come to the end of its useful life since Magento had ended support for version 1 and recommended merchants migrate to version 2. As well, the old site was not mobile friendly and the design (UX/UI) was outdated. 

          After 10 years and a completely changed eCommerce and business landscape, a rebuild was needed. 

          The particular challenge with this project was ensuring a smooth data migration.  Since this site supports mostly B2B selling, all of the customer data, purchase records and catalog permissions needed to be seamlessly orchestrated to migrate to the new site when it was launched. This required a high level of attention to detail to ensure we had a confidence-inspiring plan and a tested process prior to the go-live data migration process.

          Our Solution

          Having worked with the Aladdin Temp-Rite team for many years, InteractOne was very familiar with the tailored needs of the company’s operations. Fortunately, updating them to Adobe Commerce 2.4.5 provided a strong base for the many custom B2B features we needed to build, including:

          • Customer application – Users must apply to become customers by way of a multi-stage application process Aladdin manages through the Adobe Commerce admin tools.
          • Catalog price permissions – Only specific customers are able to view pricing. The feature had to  include custom pricing, dependent on a group variable specific to the customer’s company.
          • Catalog buying permissions – Users are shown only approved items for purchase, based on their company group. 
          • Quote Request – Customers can request a quote on every product. The module assigns and alerts the correct salesperson, based on the customer’s location. These area definitions change occasionally, so we built them to be admin-selectable (not hard coded!)
          • Consultant Resource Center – This area is only available to users that belong to a specific customer group and contains many useful documents and information specifically for Aladdin consultants.

           

          We employed extensions from Aheadworks, Xtento, Magefan, Mageplaza, Mageme and Firebear to help construct many of the custom modules.

          Interactone built a custom, mobile-friendly theme based on the default Magento front-end code base. Because we avoided altering any core functionality when executing the design, the Aladdin Temp-Rite team can manage their front-end – building and modifying pages, adding elements and widgets, changing existing layouts – via the Adobe Commerce admin and the Page Builder tool.

          After launch, Interactone provided training to the Aladdin Temp-Rite team on how to manage the catalog, custom module functions, quote requests, customers, orders, blogs and content pages all from the Adobe Commerce admin.

          Aladdin tells us that customers have commented on how much they enjoy using the new and improved site. This has led to better engagement from customers – regardless of which device they are using.

          Analytics results improved dramatically. 

          Customer engagement and time on site has skyrocketed.

          Year over year revenue is up by 16%

          The new site loads much faster than the old site.

          Click here to visit aladdintemprite.com

            Get expert help today!

            An InteractOne Senior Team Member will get back to you within a day.

            Drop Us a Line At:

            Our Contact Form

            Or, if you prefer an old-fashioned phone call:
            Phone (USA): (513) 469-3362

            Proudly headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio

            Magento Case Study: Hydraulic Supply Co

            Magento Case Study: Hydraulic Supply Co

            Jul 10, 2023

            Magento Case Study

            Hydraulic Supply Co

            Epicor Integration, Magento Rebuild, Core Restoration

            Hydraulic Supply Company

            History and Summary of HSC

            Since its 1947 founding as Aero Hardware and Supply Inc. HSC has been an innovative leader in bringing fluid power product lines to the market. Initially focused on supplying hardware and tools to the burgeoning airline industry, the company helped popularize such recognizable brand names as Aeroquip and Proto tools. Hydraulic Supply Company now carries more than 100 brands, and employs more than 200 team members in its central office and distribution center, repair and service center and 24 retail locations. They are recognized as a premier distributor in the fluid power industry.

             

            Our Services

            • Custom Magento (Adobe Commerce) Design & Development
            • Custom Integrations
            • Custom Shipping Logic
            • Checkout Optimization
            • Personalized Location Information & Mapping

            The Challenge

            To understand the state of HSC’s Magento (Adobe Commerce) site, prior to their contacting InteractOne, we could use an analogy: Let’s say you leased a car. You told your mechanic you needed to be able to drive in the snow and that you frequently take long trips. But, when your car was returned to you, you were surprised to find the front wheels had been replaced with a set of skis and that a massive gas tank now occupied the space where the back seat had been. The car’s inherent flexibility and usability had been compromised by permanent modifications. Further, because of the mods, you will not be able to turn the car in and get an updated vehicle when your lease is up. Similarly, in an attempt to meet HSC’s complex pricing requirements, their Magento (Adobe Commerce) site and integrations had been changed in ways that crippled important functions of the softwares, the integration with Epicor P21 and would not allow for routine updates or upgrades. Customers had difficulty finding products on the site when using particular browsers or device formats. Pages took more than 7 seconds to load, on average. In other words, users had to adapt to the clunky conditions they found on the site, instead of the site being adaptive to all users. This is the specter that is raised when you hear InteractOne talk about “core hacks” or “technical debt”!

            Our Solution

            Understanding HSC’s business, the Epicor Commerce Cloud and the Epicor P21 integration was key to untangling the knots of modified code. InteractOne worked with the client to define the intended functionality of each required feature – where the data originated and how it needed to be used – both by the customer and by HSC. In this way, the customizations could be rebuilt while preserving the full functionality of each moving part (eCommerce, Epicor P21, API and PIM).
            In this case, the process had to begin with a clean instance of Magento (Adobe Commerce) on the Epicor Commerce Cloud. Complex, real-time pricing required InteractOne to build the means for Magento (Adobe Commerce) to talk to the API in real time as the page loads, using pricing rules pulled dynamically from HSC’s Epicor P21 instance. The net result for the user is a searchable, nearly instant display of grouped product grids – drawing from HSC’s massive 60k-SKU catalog! Integration of the Akeneo PIM was required to enrich the data coming into Magento (Adobe Commerce). InteractOne refactored and extensively reworked the integration code before launching the site. All of this effort goes beyond technical correctness, of course. The improvements in the code translated to vastly improved page-load speed, increased user engagement, cart value and ultimately revenue.  Click here to see the completed site.

            The Results

            41% Growth in Revenue

            100%  Increase in New Users

             

            66% Increase in Organic Sessions

            Google Tag Manager Implementation

             

            FedEx custom shipping logic

              Get expert help today!

              An InteractOne Senior Team Member will get back to you within a day.

              Drop Us a Line At:

              Our Contact Form

              Or, if you prefer an old-fashioned phone call:
              Phone (USA): (513) 469-3362

              Proudly headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio