Client:
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Metalflake, a long-established distributor in the coatings and decorative finishes industry, approached Bluebrick Studios with the challenge of modernising their e-commerce operations. Their existing Magento 2 platform was functional but costly to maintain and lacked the flexibility to integrate seamlessly with their core business systems.
The business needed a B2B-ready Shopify store that could not handle their large and complex product catalogue but also integrate with their ERP system to synchronise orders, customers, and inventory in real time. The complexity was compounded by their unique customer pricing model, which required hundreds of thousands of individual price points to be stored, maintained, and served instantly to the correct customer accounts.
This was not a simple e-commerce migration. Metalflake’s requirements posed several significant technical and operational challenges:
Given Metalflake’s high-volume order processing and reliance on accurate stock data, the integration between e-commerce and ERP needed to be exceptionally robust.
Bluebrick Studios delivered the project through a phased approach, balancing speed of delivery with the need for precision and thorough testing.
We began by auditing Metalflake’s Magento 2 store and ERP setup to understand their existing workflows, dependencies, and integration points. This allowed us to create a clear migration roadmap that addressed both technical complexity and operational requirements.
A key part of the planning phase was designing the middleware application that would act as a bridge between Shopify and the ERP system. This middleware needed to be capable of high-volume data processing, handling updates in both directions without delays or errors.
The Magento-to-Shopify migration included:
We also implemented a new front-end design optimised for usability and speed, giving customers a cleaner, more modern interface without losing the core navigational structure they were used to.
The custom middleware application was developed in PHP and deployed on a secure Linux server environment. Using the Shopify Admin APIs, the middleware synchronises:
This ensures that stock levels remain accurate for online, in-store, and phone orders – preventing overselling and improving fulfilment efficiency.
Metalflake’s complex pricing structure required a specialised solution. We integrated a third-party B2B Shopify app capable of handling hundreds of thousands of custom price points. This system ensures that when a customer logs in, they automatically see their personalised prices and payment terms, enabling them to purchase on account without manual intervention.
The integration was carefully configured to work in tandem with the middleware and ERP system, ensuring that pricing remained accurate and up to date across all sales channels.
As part of our ongoing support, we later upgraded all Shopify Admin API calls from REST to GraphQL. This change significantly improved the efficiency and flexibility of the ERP integration, reducing data transfer overheads and speeding up system responses.
The migration and integration were completed without operational downtime, allowing Metalflake to maintain service levels for their B2B customers throughout the project.
Key outcomes included:
Our work with Metalflake is ongoing. We continue to provide support and enhancements to their B2B e-commerce platform, exploring new ways to improve efficiency, customer experience, and integration performance. This includes monitoring the middleware, maintaining security best practices, and developing new features in response to evolving business needs.