SERRV's CV3 to BigCommerce Migration

SERRV International, one of the world’s earliest fair-trade organizations, was founded in 1949 to assist displaced European refugees in earning income through the sale of their handmade crafts following World War II. Since then, the organization has expanded its global reach, supporting over 8,000 artisans and farmers annually by distributing their beautiful, handcrafted goods and delicious food products. Our client serves both Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) and Business-to-Business (B2B) customers.

The company faced significant challenges with its existing eCommerce platform, CV3, which was becoming increasingly outdated, difficult to maintain, and lacking in essential features needed for growth. To better meet the needs of its diverse customer base, SERRV decided to go for a CV3 to BigCommerce migration, a modern and robust eCommerce platform.

SERRV’s existing eCommerce platform, CV3, was an aging architecture that no longer met the growing demands of their business. The platform required time-intensive maintenance and lacked the modern features necessary to effectively serve both B2B and DTC customers. As SERRV’s business evolved, the limitations of CV3 became more pronounced, creating a need for a more scalable, flexible, and feature-rich solution.

The primary objectives of the CV3 to BigCommerce migration were:

• Enhance User Experience: Provide a seamless and differentiated shopping experience for both B2B and DTC customers.
• Reduce Maintenance Effort: Transition to a platform with lower maintenance requirements and a more modern infrastructure.
• Expand Functionality: Leverage advanced features and integrations to better serve customer needs and streamline business operations.
• Maintain Budget and Timeline: Ensure that the CV3 to BigCommerce migration was completed on time, within scope, and on budget.

To address these challenges, SERRV partnered with Wagento, an experienced eCommerce solutions provider to conduct the CV3 to BigCommerce migration. The project involved several key phases: discovery, planning, and migration, including the integration of necessary third-party tools.

• Discovery and Planning
  • Understanding Requirements: Wagento conducted a thorough discovery phase to understand SERRV’s specific needs, particularly the distinct requirements of their B2B and DTC customers.
  • Single Storefront Strategy: Although BigCommerce offers a Multi-storefront option, SERRV opted for a single storefront to minimize the complexity of site management. This decision was driven by the need to reduce the operational burden while still providing tailored experiences for different customer groups.
• Migration and Integration
  • Data Migration: The transition from CV3 to BigCommerce involved careful migration of all existing data, including customer information, product catalogs, order histories, and more.
  • ERP Integration: A critical component of the migration was the integration with SERRV’s Natural Order ERP system via Celigo. This integration ensured seamless data flow between the eCommerce platform and backend systems, facilitating efficient order processing and inventory management.
  • Additional Integrations: Several other integrations were implemented to enhance the platform’s functionality:
    • ShipperHQ: For advanced shipping management and optimization.
    • Klaviyo: To enable personalized email marketing and customer engagement.
    • Ebizio: For custom checkout experiences, tailored specifically to different customer groups.
    • Avalara: To automate tax calculations and ensure compliance with various tax regulations.
    • GA4 and Google Ads Integration: Wagento implemented GA4 and Google Ads tags on SERRV’s new website using the Tag Rocket App. This integration was crucial for tracking enhanced eCommerce user data and enabling enhanced eCommerce conversion tracking on Google Ads, providing SERRV with deeper insights into user behavior and the effectiveness of their advertising campaigns.
• Customization for B2B and DTC
  • Customer Groups: Wagento utilized BigCommerce’s customer group feature to differentiate the experience between B2B and DTC customers. This allowed SERRV to offer unique pricing, promotions, and content to each segment without the need for separate storefronts.
  • Checkout Customization: The integration of Ebizio enabled customized checkout workflows for different customer groups, ensuring that B2B customers had access to the features they needed, such as bulk ordering and payment terms, while DTC customers enjoyed a streamlined, consumer-friendly checkout process.