Platform Transformation

Sliding Line

  • A national wholesaler brought in Exevion to support the development of their product purchasing platform, which retailers used to purchase products from various local suppliers. The project focused on rebuilding a legacy system that had become difficult to maintain and develop, threatening customer retention.

    The engagement took place against the backdrop of something we see frequently. Ten years earlier, the client had outsourced the development of their platform to a company in India. Poor development processes and practices had resulted in a platform that was no longer fit for purpose – it couldn't be easily developed, with multiple bugs, and was driving customers to competitor products.

    Although the platform handled 300,000 transactions a month, users were acutely aware of its issues, with some of the core functionalities not working as expected. This was creating customer churn and undermining the client's market position just when they needed to demonstrate a strong, scalable business to potential acquirers.

    Given this we prioritised the following key areas:

    • User Journey Simplification: streamlining the end-to-end process from finding products to order completion

    • Competitive Functionality: matching competitor features to retain customers and attract new ones

    • Quality & Reliability: dramatically reducing bugs and system issues to restore user confidence

  • Exevion took on the role of Product Owner, working directly with the development team to manage the complete platform rebuild. This included coordinating across multiple stakeholders and implementing agile development practices. We worked across 5 key areas to deliver the transformation:

    • Taking Product Ownership: we assumed full product ownership responsibilities, working directly with the development team to prioritise features, define requirements, and ensure delivery quality over a 12-month period;

    • Implementing Agile Development Practices: we established kanban boards in Jira, managed development timelines, and provided executive visibility through regular reporting and reviews, increasing development speed by 15%;

    • Coordinating Stakeholder Inputs: we managed inputs from suppliers, customer support teams, and executives to ensure all requirements were captured and prioritised effectively throughout the development process;

    • Simplifying User Journeys: we redesigned the entire end-to-end process from uploading stock lists, through basket review, to order submission and status tracking, making the platform intuitive and efficient;

    • Delivering Enhanced Functionality: we implemented recommended products features, cheaper alternative suggestions, and automated rules for purchasing and product swapping to match and exceed competitor capabilities.

  • Our involvement in transforming the platform positioned our client for successful acquisition by delivering a market-ready product that demonstrated both current performance and future potential:

    • Dramatic Quality Improvement: Reduced platform bugs by 95%, transforming user experience from frustration to confidence and eliminating a major barrier to customer retention;

    • Enhanced Development Capability: Increased development speed by 15% and established robust agile processes, demonstrating to potential acquirers that the platform could rapidly evolve with market needs;

    • Competitive Feature Parity: Delivered full functionality matching competitors, including intelligent product recommendations and automated purchasing rules, stopping customer churn and positioning for growth;

    • Acquisition-Ready Product: Left the client with a fully functional, scalable platform ready for immediate rollout to customers, significantly enhancing business value for potential acquirers.

  • For businesses preparing for acquisition, having a reliable, competitive technology platform is essential to demonstrate value and growth potential to buyers.

    Transforming a failing legacy system requires strong product management, stakeholder coordination, and disciplined development practices to deliver results at pace while maintaining business continuity.

    At Exevion, we have deep expertise in delivering product management and platform transformation projects that drive business value. We would love to explore how we can help you prepare your technology assets for your next strategic milestone.

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