Creating a High-load B2B E-commerce Platform for Retailers

Our Client wanted a simple, yet powerful system tailored to the specific needs of the retail sector. The comprehensive solution uniting suppliers and their clients would feature both mobile and web parts and provide role-based access permissions for different types of users.

Technologies & tools

Android: Java, Android SDK 4.0, REST Toolkit;
Web: MySQL 5.6, Apache 2.2, PHP 5, Twitter Bootstrap

Project team

2 Android developers, 2 PHP developers, 1 designer, 1 QA, 1 PM

Solution

The client was interested in getting an easy-to-use product, which would empower direct and non-disruptive communication between suppliers publishing their range of goods, and clients finding and ordering the ones they need.

The business logic of the solution implies 5 user types and provides a role-based access to the system: while Administrator and Supplier use the web application, Store, Store Owner and Distributor get use of the Android mobile app.

The system includes:

Server part, consisting of several elements:
- Admin’s Panel, for managing system settings and user rights;
- Supplier’s Panel, enabling this type of user to place information about products in stock, their description and quantity, into the system and to process orders;
- Store Owner’s Panel, where the user searches for a product using selected criteria, compares offers and adds the chosen items to the shopping cart, where an order is generated;
- Store’s Panel, which works with a list of Distributors, not products, and filters content by Distributors;
- Distributor's Panel, where functionality is similar to the Store’s Panel;
- Back-end Part, consisting of classes providing the system’s logic performance;
- Database, intended for the storage of the data put into the system or generated within it.
Android App, communicating with the Server via API.
Web App, written by our PHP specialists and supporting work with different browsers (Google Chrome, Mozila Firefox, Opera, Safari). It mirrors the functionality of the mobile app and also uses API for getting connected to the system.

To start using the system, a user registers via a Registration / Authorization module, creates an account and fills out a personal profile, thus getting access to the system within the working scope pre-defined by their user role.

Once a Store Owner uses the mobile app to place an order, Suppliers receive it via the web app. If at least one Supplier accepts the order, it gets the “In Progress” status. The order won’t be closed until all Suppliers indicate the “Accepted / Denied” status. The orders are stored at a remote storage. A Store Owner receives Push notifications regarding the order’s status.

The delivered e-commerce system makes retailers' business fully transparent and easily manageable. Satisfied with the cooperation with R-Style Lab team, the Customer delegated the product’s enhancement and further development to our team.