Emporix, a leading cloud-native headless commerce platform, offers the flexibility and scalability essential for driving modern e-commerce businesses. In this guide, we’ll share valuable insights gained from developing a Proof of Concept (PoC) for one of our clients.
This blog article highlights how Emporix meets the unique requirements of a B2B e-commerce platform, with a focus on product import, search integration, and API-driven content management.
Key Skills Your Team Needs
Emporix’s flexibility is a boon for developers, but having the right expertise on your team is essential to maximize its potential. Here are the critical skill sets you’ll need:
Frontend Development
Custom Frontend Strategy: Emporix’s headless architecture requires a tailored approach to the frontend.
Progressive Web Apps: Experience in building PWAs is essential.
Expert Guidance: A frontend architect can help with framework selection, CMS integration, and user behavior tracking.
Cloud Architecture
Infrastructure Decisions: Will your cloud environment be serverless? Does it require autoscaling?
Search Provider Selection: Choosing the right provider is critical to your project's success. A cloud architect can address these questions effectively.
Integration Expertise
Seamless API Connections: Emporix’s API-first approach ensures easy integration with other systems. An integration specialist can streamline these processes for smooth and reliable connections.
The Proof of Concept
Emporix offers a 14-day free trial, extendable upon request, enabling immediate development. Comprehensive documentation and responsive support facilitate smooth onboarding and foundational planning.
Simplified Architecture Approach
For our PoC, we opted for a streamlined architecture:
Direct Frontend Communication: The frontend interacts directly with Emporix, Algolia, and Contentful.
Spring Boot for Data Imports: A separate Spring Boot application manages product imports.
Azure Deployment: All custom applications were deployed within our Azure subscription.
Licenses and Subscriptions
Important to know: Emporix is a composable solution that provides only core commerce functionality. Additional features like search, content management, and monitoring require external licenses. While many providers offer free tiers suitable for development, full subscriptions are typically necessary at Go-Live.
Building the Frontend
Selecting the right frontend depends on your project’s goals. For our PoC, we explored two accelerators.
Diva-e TXP-Stack
Benefit: Flexibility
Available in React and Vue, this project accelerator supports various content and commerce providers.
Downside: Effort
Offers high flexibility but requires more implementation effort.
Emporix B2B-Showcase
Benefit: Speed
Preconfigured features and components enable quick results, making it ideal for PoC work and learning the platform.
Downside: Limitations
While not recommended for full-scale projects, it’s a valuable tool for exploring Emporix’s capabilities.
Integrations and Configurations
Integration: We chose Algolia for its real-time search capabilities and easy-to-use React components. Emporix simplifies product indexing with out-of-the-box support for Algolia.
CMS Integration: Contentful is a perfect match for Emporix’s headless architecture. Using the Emporix Contentful App, we seamlessly integrated product data into content, ensuring a smooth workflow.
The Importance of a Backend for Frontend (BFF): A BFF pattern consolidates multiple API calls into a single request, improving performance and security. For production environments, we recommend implementing a dedicated BFF to connect the frontend with Emporix, Algolia, and other services.
Importing Products: We used Spring Boot for data imports due to its robust Java-based framework. Depending on your needs, tools like Apache Camel or Kafka may also be suitable. Emporix’s REST APIs provide the flexibility to use the tech stack that best fits your project.
Working with Emporix REST API: Emporix provides OpenAPI documentation for its APIs, allowing developers to generate access code in multiple languages using free tools. This approach accelerates development significantly.
Backend Customization: Emporix’s headless structure avoids core modifications, enabling seamless updates. You can:
Extend the Data Model: Add custom attributes via Mixins.
Event-Driven Behavior: Use event listeners to trigger actions, such as exporting orders to an ERP system.
A major advantage of using Emporix is the headless architecture, which makes new updates seamless and uncomplicated.
You can find out more about the benefits of the headless approach in our white paper Headless Revolution in Retail.
Final Thoughts: Key Considerations for Success
Starting an Emporix project is exciting but requires meticulous planning and the right team. Keep these tips in mind:
Engage Early with Emporix Support: Their responsive support team can help ensure a smooth start.
Adopt Agile Practices: Emporix’s modular design lets you start small and scale over time. Agile methodologies allow you to adapt as you gain insights.
Prioritize Testing and Monitoring: Use tools like Prometheus or Grafana for real-time metrics, and frameworks like Playwright or JUnit for automated testing in microservices environments.
Have questions or need assistance? Reach out to us to get started with Emporix today!
Christian Noack
