Custom e-commerce platform
We run our own shops. That does not make us better on principle, but it does mean we know what a badly structured catalogue costs, because we pay it ourselves.
The catalogue before the storefront
Most problems blamed on the platform come from the catalogue: variants modelled badly, prices unable to express a discount by market, translations copied across from one language to another. Those flaws are then paid for on every channel, every language and every campaign.
So we start with the data structure. It is the least spectacular part and the one that determines what will be possible afterwards.
- A variant model that survives the real cases of your sector
- Pricing by market, by currency and by channel
- Genuinely translated content, with distinct addresses per language
- Discounts and promotions expressed once, applied everywhere
Payment, stock and management
A shop is only useful when connected to the rest. Payment must match the habits of the target country, stock must reflect what is actually in the warehouse, and orders must arrive in the management system without re-entry.
- Payment methods suited to the country, Swiss ones included
- Stock synchronised with your management system, with a safety margin
- Orders pushed through without re-entry
- Invoices compliant with the selling country's obligations
Holding the speed
A slow shop loses orders before showing a product. We render pages on the server, keep images light, and measure real speed on modest devices rather than on a desktop machine with a fibre connection.
- Server side rendering and per page caching
- Images converted and resized automatically
- Measurement on realistic devices and networks
- Web vitals tracked over time, not once at launch
Custom e-commerce platform
Should we leave Shopify or PrestaShop?
Not necessarily. An off the shelf platform is fine as long as your catalogue and pricing fit its model. Custom becomes worthwhile when you spend your time working around the tool, or when transaction fees exceed the cost of a foundation you control.
How long does opening a shop take?
Two to four months for a structured catalogue, longer if data has to be transferred and cleaned. Catalogue transfer is almost always the longest item, and the most underestimated.
Can you handle sales into the European Union from Switzerland?
Yes. It is a subject in its own right, mixing tax, customs, announced shipping costs and customer information. We handle it together with logistics rather than as a checkbox at payment.
Retail and e-commerce
We run our own online stores. The catalogue, the payment, the logistics and the customer service.
In the division Retail and e-commerce
Let us talk about what you want to build.
Describe your situation in a few lines. If it falls outside what we do well, we will say so immediately.
Get in touch