Carhartt WIP (Work in Progress) is the urban fashion line of the US workwear manufacturer Carhartt, founded in Europe in 1994. It combines Carhartt's rugged functionality with modern design and streetwear elements, and has established itself as an influential brand in urban fashion.
The development of a B2B e-commerce platform that was anything but a standard product would not come together for a well-known agency in Hamburg, and deadline passed after deadline. The technical requirements of the platform could not be reconciled with the budget. Through a recommendation from one of the client's working groups, they became aware of us as a problem solver on other e-commerce projects.
With 16 years of e-commerce experience and foresight suited to the situation, an initial analysis of the original requirements document allowed us to point out the problems those requirements were about to cause. Carhartt WIP confirmed the problem areas we had identified and from then on entrusted us with producing the functional specification that would go on to be implemented.
The root of most of the problem areas, and one typical of the fashion sector, was high product complexity: the sheer number of product variants, driven by the range of fabrics, colours and sizes within a single product detail page. One of the central problems arose from a quick-order matrix inside a product detail page, whose implementation through the framework's standard logic was doomed to fail, and not only on performance.
The core of the solution was to replace the central business logic around the quick-order matrix with performant code, as minimally invasively as possible. It guarantees a smooth bulk purchase with little compute time, on both the server and the database, while still accounting for stock control and for contention over stock with other major buyers.
The deadline for taking over the Carhartt WIP project, from the first briefing to the final migration, was tight, because of the time the previous agency had already used up. Our technically strong and capable team was nonetheless able to deliver on schedule.
The staged realisation of this complex project handover was completed in a short time. In terms of interface integration, stability, scalability, maintainability and day-to-day customer support, a reference was created.
A flat hierarchy, short lines of communication, close cooperation with decision-makers and the connecting up of the business and development parties involved all helped the implementation considerably. We were able to accommodate the client's change and adjustment requests fully through our agile approach to project management, and we continue to realise and refine innovative ideas and optimisation potential to this day as part of long-term project support.
They say the only constant in life is change. That holds in business as much as it does in the evolution of the digital landscape in e-commerce.
We are proud that, since 2022, we have been able to support Carhartt WIP successfully in the digital expansion of their B2B online presence with competence, years of expertise and innovative ideas, and to keep improving it.
Working with you has genuinely been a great pleasure. In my 25 years as an IT manager I have not often seen a partner or provider understand our requirements so quickly and implement them so capably. Chapeau!
Together with you we bridge digital gaps and build the missing connection between companies, products and your customers. In doing so we help you and your e-commerce platform to long-term success, and we are always on hand with professional advice whatever you need.
