How solution25 Unified 32 Brands into One Scalable eCommerce Platform for TonerPartner

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Overview

TonerPartner is one of Europe’s largest suppliers of printer consumables, operating a network of 32 online brands across multiple markets and niches. Each brand had its own online store, developed at different times with unique codebases, plugins, and infrastructure. As the business grew, managing these independent stores became increasingly complex and costly, making it difficult to scale operations efficiently.
The client required a fully unified eCommerce environment that could host all 32 brands on a single platform. They wanted a solution that shared core systems, reduced duplication of work, and allowed each brand to maintain its own identity. The goal was to improve system performance, reliability, and operational efficiency while providing a seamless experience for millions of customers across Europe. This project was crucial for future-proofing TonerPartner’s infrastructure, preparing it for further expansion and complex integrations.

The Client’s Main Problem

Managing 32 stores independently presented numerous challenges. Repetitive development work across multiple codebases slowed down updates and deployments. Each store followed different maintenance schedules, which complicated testing, QA, and feature rollouts.
User experience differences across brands caused inconsistencies in navigation, search performance, and overall conversions. Disconnected workflows for orders, inventory, and product compatibility increased the risk of errors. Scaling servers, updating plugins, and maintaining multiple infrastructures added high operational costs. TonerPartner needed a single, centralized system that could standardize processes without compromising each brand’s visual and functional identity, while supporting future growth and expansion.

Challenges for solution25

  • Migrating 1.5M+ orders, customer accounts, and multi-relational product data across all 32 stores

  • Designing a blueprint architecture flexible enough to support individual brand customizations while sharing core functionality

  • Handling extremely large product datasets with complex compatibility logic for cartridges and printers

  • Creating custom logic for toner printer matching across hundreds of categories and SKUs

  • Maintaining fast navigation and search performance despite a heavy data model and millions of product combinations

  • Ensuring high uptime and reliability throughout development and migration

  • Implementing Kafka-based real-time syncing for stock, attributes, and orders across all brands

  • Coordinating multiple teams, stakeholders, and deployment workflows across different markets

  • Integrating SEO, analytics, and marketing tools without disrupting user experience

Our Approach / How We Solved It

  • Built a Shopware 6 blueprint system where all 32 brands inherited shared core logic but retained unique theming, pricing, and content

  • Migrated all order, customer, and product data using layered validation to ensure accuracy and integrity

  • Developed custom plugins for compatibility, cartridge mapping, brand-specific filters, and SEO category rules

  • Integrated Kafka for real-time syncing of stock levels, product attributes, and order events

  • Consolidated repeated business logic into shared modules, reducing thousands of lines of redundant code

  • Optimized filters, category loading, and search functionality to support millions of SKUs and ensure fast performance

  • Created structured rulesets allowing each brand to maintain unique layouts, promotional logic, and pricing structures

  • Introduced CI/CD pipelines with automated testing workflows for safer and faster deployments

  • Conducted stress tests simulating Black Friday traffic to ensure platform reliability and scalability

  • Coordinated deployment and QA across multiple teams and regions to prevent downtime or service interruptions

The Result / Outcome

The unified system produced significant benefits across TonerPartner’s entire network. Conversion rates increased by 25%, reflecting smoother navigation, faster search, and consistent UX across all 32 brands. A single Shopware 6 environment drastically reduced operational workload, making maintenance and updates simpler and faster.
Shared architecture enabled massive cost savings, as resources could now focus on improving features rather than managing duplicated codebases. Real-time syncing ensured data consistency for orders, inventory, and pricing, eliminating errors that previously slowed operations. Load times improved, product discovery became faster, and navigation was more intuitive, improving overall customer satisfaction.
The system’s blueprint architecture also provided scalable growth for future expansion into new markets or additional brands. Deployments became more stable, fewer errors occurred, and downtime was minimized, giving TonerPartner a long-term platform that grows without increasing workload. Staff efficiency improved, and IT teams could focus on strategic improvements instead of reactive fixes.

What We Learned / Key Takeaways

Through this project, we learned that multi-brand retailers gain tremendous advantages from implementing a blueprint architecture, as it significantly reduces complexity and eliminates duplicated efforts across stores. Custom plugins are crucial for managing large datasets and handling complex compatibility logic, ensuring that product relationships and specialized business rules function reliably.
Real-time syncing tools like Kafka proved essential for maintaining data consistency during large-scale multi-brand migrations and ongoing operations. Furthermore, a well-architected system has a direct impact on conversion rates, SEO performance, and overall user experience, creating measurable business value. Finally, scalable infrastructure allows businesses to expand their offerings or add new brands without proportionally increasing IT workload, ensuring sustainable growth and operational efficiency.
Need help unifying multiple stores or scaling your eCommerce platform?
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