Multimy
Implementation and support of eCommerce in the education industry integrated with Comarch XL
About Multimy and our task
For Entelo, a Polish manufacturer of children’s furniture, we completed a branding project and developed implementation documentation for a new e-commerce platform for the education market. The goal was to create a marketplace tool, integrated with Comarch XL, with over 100,000 products essential for the operation of every educational institution (kindergarten, school, university).
Development of brand strategy,
name, logo and visual style
For the new brand, we conducted a comprehensive strategic process (implemented by Brand4Future), including the development of a name, logo, and visual style. Below, we briefly describe the design stages.
Stage 1 – Analysis of the vision and assumptions for future brand/platform development (including planned geographic reach, sales goals, and product specificity and quantity)
Stage 2 – Segmentation and analysis of competitors in terms of future brand communication (including verification of competitors’ messaging and visual style to identify strategic advantages and differentiators for the new brand)
Stage 3 – Analysis of platform user personas in terms of their information needs and factors influencing purchasing decisions (research in-depth interviews)
Stage 4 – Development of brand identity and creative concept assumptions for brands
Development of a functional platform and userflow concept
Due to the heavy workloads planned for the system in the future and integration with numerous external systems, Magento 2.0 was selected as the framework. The integration analysis included: integration with Comarch XL ERP, integration with supplier systems (product databases), integration with payment systems, and verification of entity addresses in the Ministry of National Education databases.
At this stage of work we carried out:
- We analyzed ERP solutions on the market and made recommendations.
- We developed strategic and sales assumptions.
- We conducted process mapping.
Frontend selected functionalities:
- Supplier panel with a product database, bulk product downloads, order preview and control, shipping management, customer communication module, and platform billing overview.
- Extensive eCommerce front-end with a customer panel, a very extensive product catalog, and multiple filtering options (different for different product types, e.g., furniture or paper products).
- Piggy Bank module, a loyalty program with automated calculation of benefits.
Selected backend functionalities:
- Monitoring processes between Suppliers and Buyers, including returns and complaints
- Monitoring product publications on the platform – verifying supplier offers and verifying description accuracy
- Managing product tagging for search engine visibility
- Conversation module for Customer Service (with alert system and automated response)
- Advanced reporting modules for platform results
Pre-implementation documentation
We mapped the processes occurring on the platform from the perspectives of different user groups. After describing them, we then translated them into low-fidelity views, illustrating the platform’s functions and operation.
Group A – buyers representing educational institutions (kindergartens, schools, universities) – a total of over 58,700 entities
Group B – B2B buyers, meaning virtually all those with offices and businesses (a group of potential customers of secondary importance to the platform)
Group C – suppliers, i.e., manufacturers listing their products on the platform
Group D – the service team working on the Multima platform (Customer Service, Marketing, Product Owner responsible for the product offering, Managing Manager)
For Multimy, as part of pre-implementation work, we have developed:
Clickable, low-fidelity mockups – illustrating all processes taking place on the platform, along with the algorithms necessary for developers
Static graphic views – over 400 views ready for implementation (desktop and mobile)
Content specification – supplementary documentation defining the technical parameters for text, photo and video containers
Specification and integration methods – we described the roles and methods of integration with external systems, including Comarch XL
Desktop mockups
with description fields
Fully clickable desktop mockups were developed for specific user types (Buyer, Supplier, and Service Team). A key element of the mockups was also the description of the functionality and acceptance criteria for each view.
Mobile mockups
with description fields
In the mobile mockup, we focused on the Buyer views (the client intended that the Supplier and Service Team functions be developed exclusively for desktop due to the specific nature of their work). We developed a complete set of views for iOS and Android, designing both unique and complementary views to enable developers to implement pixel-perfect functionality.
Graphic concept
of the platform's home page
When developing the platform’s visual concept, we combined branding and functional assumptions derived from low-fidelity mockups. The proposed visual solutions made Multimy truly memorable.
Implementation of desktop and mobile platform for buyers
As usual, we divided the implementation process into two-week sprints, completing each stage of the work, while still maintaining some time for improvements. Due to the necessary changes to native Magento 2 features and complex integration with ERP, the implementation process took over nine months.
Platform implementation for providers
and administrators
As usual, we divided the implementation process into two-week sprints, completing each stage of the work, while still maintaining some time for improvements. Due to the necessary changes to native Magento 2 features and complex integration with ERP, the implementation process took over nine months.
Preparing for publishing to the production environment (live)
We checked the flow of information between the ERP and the platform, the verification of recipients in government databases (schools, kindergartens, universities), the introduction of products to the platform, and sales functions from the buyers’ point of view.
Training after BETA implementation
- The e-commerce training took approximately 5 hours.
- We also provided instructions for the user and support team.
We performed testing before publishing:
- Business scenario testing in all language versions
- Document exchange tests between eCommerce and ERP, payment tests, shipping and returns tests
- Speed testing
- SEO optimization
After completing the BETA version implementation, i.e. a fully functioning eCommerce with test content integrated with payments and external systems, the ready-to-launch version was delivered.
Post-implementation support
After implementation, we provided technical support for the operating platform, including in particular:
- Development function management (change concept, design on a master mockup, implementation, testing in a test environment, transfer to LIVE)
- Maintaining a 1:1 test environment with test integration with Comarch ERP
- Monitoring system for key functions on the platform
- Maintaining a virtual code repository with daily updates from local development environments
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