From old to bold: How SGS Engineering upgraded their eCommerce game
SGS Engineering
Background & overview
Based in Derby, SGS Engineering (UK) Ltd has over 20 years of experience manufacturing and supplying high-quality tools and equipment for gardens, garages, and trade. In addition to distributing for select brands such as Milwaukee power tools and Mountfield garden machinery, the company is the largest manufacturer of gas struts in the UK and offers a wide range of SGS-branded garden equipment and tools, garage equipment, including air compressors, tool chests, trolley jacks, hydraulic shop presses, and engine cranes. With a focus on providing quality at the right price, their products are used by the trade, industry, and general public both in the UK and abroad.
Their digital challenge
Following initial conversations, SGS requested help uncovering, defining, and designing the roadmap for their new tech stack. Their first site was built using Magento Adobe Commerce and over 13 years, it had become a difficult technology to maintain and deliver growth from.
The new senior leadership team at SGS reviewed their technology stack and set upon finding a new digital partner, who could help them achieve their ambitious targets. The tool manufacturer has many facets to their business and wanted to ensure every product and service was given a new lease of life.
Design & Discovery
'The dream' roadmap
Following initial conversations, SGS requested help with uncovering, defining and designing what the roadmap looked like for their new tech stack.
Remarkable were commissioned to run a discovery project, where we delivered a series of workshops, a technical specification, a detailed project plan and a phased task list, based on Remarkable's recommended approach.
Replatforming
Replatforming began in late 2023 and was live within 6 months. SGS worked closely with their dedicated build team at Remarkable, to integrate their existing systems and new solutions with the new platform.
The project achieved several significant milestones, most notably the successful re-platforming from Magento 2 to Remarkable Commerce. This transition was a critical step in modernizing the platform, enhancing its functionality, and ensuring it could meet the evolving demands of the business. The migration involved meticulous planning, seamless execution, and rigorous testing to ensure continuity and minimize disruption to operations. This move not only addressed performance bottlenecks but also positioned the platform for future scalability and growth.
In addition to the re-platforming, the project delivered robust integrations with key systems to streamline workflows and improve operational efficiency. These integrations bridged critical gaps between existing tools and the new platform, ensuring a smooth flow of data and functionality across the ecosystem. By addressing these technical needs, the project enhanced both user and customer experiences, making processes more intuitive and effective.
These deliverables collectively represent a significant upgrade in the company’s technological infrastructure, paving the way for more efficient operations, better customer engagement, and sustained growth in the competitive market landscape.
Custom functionality
Within the 6-month build project, SGS challenged us with building bespoke functionality into their storefront which would elevate the customer experience and immediately gear-shift conversion rate, from launch. The list included:
Product Comparison Tool
This feature can be found on PLP (product list pages) of the new storefront. Customers can easily select the compare icon which appears within a product tile, them when two or more are selected, a custom modal is shown which compares the specifications of all selected products.
Gas Strut Finder
Customers can use a custom 'finder' feature to discover the exact model of gas strut required for their vehicle. The tool enables a customer to select the make and model, or part number, of their required gas strut, and find an exact match. This improves the accuracy of customers selecting the correct item.
Postcode Delivery Pricing
Delivery costs are a huge factor for both D2C and B2B purchasing behaviours, therefore, SGS requested the capability of defining the delivery options and pricing, on multiple levels - such as exact-match postcodes (like NG15 0DT), part-matched area codes (like NG15), and even loose-matched areas (like NG).
Project results
Remarkable Commerce technology enables retailers to unlock speed, agility and growth by being the UK's most flexible eCommerce platform. SGS Engineering is now able to harness the platform capability and deep expertise of the Remarkable team, to begin growing their brand through delighting the customer.
Remarkable exceeded expectations, delivering a platform tailored to our needs over six months. Their expertise confirmed we chose the right agency to support our vision. With a strong roadmap ahead, we're excited to establish SGS as the UK's leading brand in power tools, garage, and garden spaces. We look forward to strengthening our partnership and driving exceptional digital growth together.
Neil Sansom, CEO of SGS Egineering (UK) Ltd
We are extremely excited to begin building our partnership with SGS and supporting their growth into the future.
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