XLsanitair – Magento and supplier integrations

The project at a glance

From online store to a connected commerce operation

For a growing bathroom retailer, much of the complexity sits behind the buy button: suppliers, product data, stock and order processing need to work together. As interim CTO, we helped XLsanitair build and develop that technical foundation.

Our role

4 years as interim CTO and platform developer

The challenge

Connect thousands of products and multiple suppliers

What we delivered

A Magento platform with supplier integrations and order routing

How the solution fits together

1. Connect suppliersIntegrate twelve suppliers through REST and FTP interfaces.
2. Bring information togetherProcess product and stock information around the Magento catalogue.
3. Make orders manageableBring supplier orders, reservations and tracking together in a custom dashboard.

A schematic explanation of the approach described; not a live system view.

Where we went beyond implementation

Consider the entire operation

As interim CTO, we looked beyond the storefront. The supplier chain, order processing, hosting and the division of system responsibilities were part of the technical decisions.

Set deliberate boundaries for Magento customisation

Magento remained the sales platform, while complex processes lived in external systems. This division guided the architecture and made supplier logic and future development more manageable.

Preserve knowledge through team changes

We documented integrations and system decisions and transferred knowledge. Technical context remained available as the team changed, without successors having to reconstruct those decisions.

The duration and results below refer to the engagement described.

Project overview

XLsanitair started as a sanitaryware startup aiming to build a largely automated e-commerce operation. As interim CTO, I guided its technical development over four years. The original project account records growth from no revenue to €200,000, providing a foundation for further expansion.

The project included a Magento-based ecosystem with 8,000 products, integrations with twelve suppliers and a custom ordering dashboard.

Technical architecture and strategic choices

Platform foundation

The platform used Magento Commerce, the Breeze theme and Hypernode hosting. Magento handled sales, while more complex operational logic ran in separate systems to protect storefront performance.

A modular architecture

Instead of centralising every feature in Magento, we assigned specialised tasks to different systems. This made maintenance more manageable and provided flexibility for future extensions.

Integration challenges

A multi-supplier ecosystem

Connecting twelve suppliers meant working with different systems and formats, ranging from REST APIs to older FTP servers. Each supplier required its own implementation.

PIM integrations automated product data synchronisation. Stock was synchronised in real time where supported, with batch processing for less time-sensitive information.

Managing data by priority

A hot/cold data strategy distinguished stock and prices from product descriptions and specifications. Critical information received frequent updates; less urgent content was synchronised through daily batches. This balanced performance with resource use.

A custom ordering system

The ordering dashboard acted as a central hub for supplier communication. It supported automatic order routing, tracking updates and stock reservations.

Custom development was necessary because the combination of twelve supplier systems could not be handled by a standard integration alone. Exception handling allowed complex orders to be reviewed manually.

Business results and operational impact

Revenue and automation

The original case study records €200,000 in revenue within three years. Automated processes supported that growth while limiting manual handling.

The system processed product updates, price changes and stock movements, and routed orders using supplier availability, prices and delivery times.

Operational efficiency

The automation ran around the clock within defined parameters. Alerts highlighted exceptional situations requiring attention rather than demanding constant manual monitoring.

Organisational challenges

Team changes and knowledge management

The team changed during the four-year engagement. Documentation and knowledge transfer helped maintain technical continuity. Integrations and architectural decisions were documented so that maintenance could continue independently of individual team members.

Ongoing development

At the time of the original case study, development continued on system optimisation, supplier expansion and refinements to automation. The existing revenue provided a base for further growth.

Planned improvements included performance work, additional supplier integrations and analytics to support business decisions.