Adobe Commerce Cloud Transformed Steel Giant’s Digital Journey
Discover how Purple Cow led a full-scale Adobe Commerce Cloud Migration for a global manufacturer across B2B & B2C markets in 19 countries and 12 brands.
The Client
Our client, a multinational steel manufacturing and distribution conglomerate, operates across North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Headquartered in the United States with over 40 years in the steel industry, they run 12 distinct steel brands, each targeting a specific customer base—ranging from large construction firms to home DIYers.
They serve multiple verticals, including:
- Industrial & Construction Steel Products
- DIY and Fabrication Supplies
- Consumer Lifestyle Products
- Automotive & Machinery Steel Components
- Logistics Packaging (Steel Drums, Crates)
With a workforce of 15,000+ employees and a catalog of over 180,000 SKUs, they process over 140,000 monthly orders across 19 countries.
The Challenge
By 2022, their Magento 1 platform had reached its breaking point. Over the years, as the business scaled globally, the old system became an anchor instead of a sail. Here’s what wasn’t working:
1. Aging Infrastructure and End-of-Life Risk
- Magento 1 was no longer receiving security updates
- Dependent PHP, MySQL, and Redis versions were obsolete
- Frequent system crashes and performance bottlenecks
- Vulnerable to exploits and non-compliant with modern security frameworks
2. Multi-Brand Chaos
- All 12 brands shared one bloated backend instance
- Inconsistent catalog taxonomies and duplicated attributes
- SKU conflicts, outdated media assets, and redundant metadata
- Impossible to scale personalized experiences brand-wise
3. Fragmented Customer Experience
- Lack of mobile optimization (mobile bounce rate was 72%)
- B2B customers couldn’t see contract-based pricing or reorder easily
- Inconsistent language support and manual currency converters
- Separate logins for B2C and B2B across countries
4. Limited B2B Capabilities
- No real-time quote generation, approval flows, or POs
- Tax exemption rules, compliance documentation had to be emailed
- Multi-user corporate accounts couldn’t place or manage orders
- No pricing tiers or order volume-based discounts
5. Operational Inefficiencies
- Manual quote processing and invoice follow-ups
- Catalog refresh cycles took 2–3 weeks per product launch
- Over 15 people dedicated to syncing products manually to marketplaces
- In-house support team lacked access to customer order and interaction history
6. Poor Globalization Support
- Needed support for 7 languages and 9 currencies
- Manual tax computation for over 15 jurisdictions
- No country-specific catalog, pricing, or legal disclaimers
- Couldn’t support GDPR, CAN-SPAM, or cookie regulations
7. Disconnected Tools and Lack of Automation
- Salsify used for content, but required manual exports
- Separate platforms for warranty, shipping, marketing, and analytics
- Support team used Zendesk but couldn’t connect with order DB
- Data silos prevented any meaningful customer insights or personalization
The Approach
Purple Cow implemented a modular, multi-phase digital transformation over 20 months, migrating brands one-by-one, while redefining business operations, support infrastructure, marketing, and catalog management.
1. Strategic Migration Blueprint
- Assessed 180,000+ SKUs and 1.3 million orders for legacy data impact
- Conducted cross-brand attribute normalization
- Created migration waves for each brand with freeze & UAT windows
- Used ETL tools to ensure zero data loss during migration
2. Multi-Brand Adobe Commerce Architecture
- Deployed Adobe Commerce Cloud with Multi-Site and Store Views
- Created isolated catalogs, templates, themes per brand
- Regional domains (e.g.,
.us,.ca,.mx,.de,.in) - Centralized admin panel with role-based access by team and geography
3. B2B Experience Overhaul
- Built custom dashboards for procurement officers
- Requisition-to-quote workflows integrated with CRM and ERP
- Bulk add-to-cart, saved shopping lists, reordering tools
- Real-time quote negotiation workflows with approval hierarchy
4. Scalable Catalog & Content Ops via Salsify
- Bi-directional API sync with Salsify for attributes, descriptions, images, SEO tags
- Product translation workflows connected to Smartling
- Scheduled publishing for product launches and seasonal bundles
- Media asset validation to auto-flag outdated/low-res uploads
5. Globalization & Localization Framework
- Country-specific storefronts with regional T&Cs and policies
- Language selector + auto-redirect by IP & geolocation
- Automated currency exchange rate syncing via openexchangerates.org
- VAT, GST, and sales tax calculations via Avalara APIs
6. Customer Support & Warranty System Integration
- Deep Zendesk + Magento 2 integration for order/ticket linking
- Custom-built warranty registration forms with auto-tagging in support
- RMA portal with AI-assisted diagnostic flow
- Custom workflows for VIP client escalation and SLA monitoring
7. Marketing Automation & Analytics Integration
- Integrated Klaviyo for behavioral email triggers (browse, abandon, reorder)
- Dynamic content blocks in Mailchimp for localized campaigns
- Product-specific campaign landing pages generated via Unbounce
- Connected GA4 + Data Studio dashboards for campaign ROI tracking
8. Training, Documentation & Internal Enablement
- Created 75+ SOPs and 40+ tutorial videos
- Role-based LMS training tracks (support, catalog, IT, sales, CX)
- Weekly live training sessions, certification exams for core staff
- Real-time feedback loop via internal Slack + Jira automation
Custom Features Built (B2B Focus) – 18 Major Features
- Customer-Specific Catalog Visibility
- Contract-Based Dynamic Pricing
- Quote Builder with Approval Workflow
- Multi-User Corporate Accounts with Role Permissions
- Saved Requisitions with PDF Export
- Volume-Based Price Brackets
- Automated PO Processing and Invoice Upload
- Customer-Specific Payment Terms (Net 15/30/60)
- Tax Exemption Forms Upload & Management
- Custom Shipping Instructions per Order Line
- Bulk Order CSV Upload with Preview & Validation
- Reorder Entire Previous PO
- In-Account Warranty Lookup & Activation
- Purchase Limits by SKU, Brand, or Period
- Budget Cap Monitoring per Department
- Order Splitting Based on Inventory Locations
- Real-Time Freight Quote Integration (via FedEx Freight & Estes)
- Quote Expiry + Discount Escalation Workflows
Tech Stack Used (Including Automations)
| Stack Category | Tools & Platforms |
|---|---|
| eCommerce Platform | Adobe Commerce Cloud (Magento 2) |
| Product Information Management | Salsify |
| ERP | Oracle NetSuite |
| CRM | Salesforce |
| Marketing Automation | Klaviyo, MailChimp |
| Landing Pages | Unbounce, Instapage |
| Tax & Compliance | Avalara |
| Translations | Smartling |
| Customer Support | ZenDesk, Freshchat |
| Warranty System | Extend |
| Video Content | Vidyard, Loom, InVideo |
| Analytics | Google Analytics 4, Google Data Studio, Hotjar |
| Performance | Cloudflare WAF + CDN |
| Search | ElasticSearch with custom filters |
| Fraud Prevention | Signifyd, Braintree Risk |
| CDN & Optimization | Cloudflare, ImageKit.io |
| Automation & Middleware | Make.com (Integromat), Zapier, Workato |
| Shipping & Fulfillment | EasyPost, ShipStation, FedEx Freight, DHL Global, UPS |
The Results
The Adobe Commerce Cloud Migration by Purple Cow transformed the client’s digital operations across every metric—from revenue growth to customer satisfaction to internal process efficiency.
Business Outcomes (Post-Migration – Year 1)
| Segment | Year 1 Revenue (USD) |
|---|---|
| Industrial & Construction | $89.3M |
| DIY & Fabrication Supplies | $36.1M |
| Consumer Lifestyle Products | $24.7M |
| Auto & Machinery Parts | $17.4M |
| Steel Packaging & Logistics | $11.2M |
| Total | $178.7M |
This represents a 21.6% YoY increase in online sales revenue.
Revenue by Geography
| Region | Year 1 Revenue (USD) |
|---|---|
| United States | $102.3M |
| Canada | $25.4M |
| Mexico | $13.6M |
| Europe | $19.1M |
| Asia | $18.3M |
| Total | $178.7M |
Market penetration in Europe and Asia grew by 14% and 21%, respectively.
Traffic & Engagement Growth
| Metric | Pre-Migration | Post-Migration | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Sessions | ~980K | 2.3M+ | ↑ 135% |
| Avg. Page Load Time | 6.8 sec | 2.2 sec | ↓ 67% |
| Bounce Rate (Mobile) | 72% | 36% | ↓ 50% |
| Mobile Conversion Rate | 0.6% | 1.9% | ↑ 216% |
| Desktop Conversion Rate | 1.2% | 3.1% | ↑ 158% |
Mobile-first design, PWA enhancements, and lazy loading directly contributed to massive uplift in mobile conversions.
Operational Efficiency Gains
| Functionality | Before | After | Efficiency Gain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product Upload Turnaround | 18–21 days | 2–3 days | 87% faster |
| Order Fulfillment SLA | 48–72 hrs | Same-day for 81% orders | ↑ Fulfillment speed |
| RMA Processing Time | 5–6 days | 36 hours | ↓ 70% |
| Warranty Registrations | Manual emails (avg. 6d) | Automated (24 hrs avg) | ↓ 86% |
| Support First-Touch Resolution | 46% | 81% | ↑ 76% |
Content & Marketing ROI
- 120+ how-to videos produced for products like DIY kits, steel brackets, BBQs, and garden décor.
- 75+ Reels created for TikTok and Instagram—average reach per reel: 97,000 views.
- Product video-first PDPs lifted conversion on those SKUs by up to 24%.
- Organic social impressions jumped from 400K/month to 1.7M/month in 4 months.
- Abandoned cart recovery using Klaviyo automations reclaimed 18.6% of lost sales.
Client Testimonial
“Purple Cow didn’t just migrate our website—they re-engineered how we do business online.”
“We went into this project expecting a tech upgrade, but what we received was a total transformation. The Adobe Commerce Steel Migration led by Purple Cow allowed us to finally unify our complex B2B and B2C operations across 12 brands and 19 countries. The attention to detail, brand-by-brand migration strategy, and seamless integrations with systems like Salsify, Zendesk, and Avalara were game-changers.
What stood out most was their ability to deeply understand our operational bottlenecks—from quoting and order flows to content delays—and solve them through tailored automation and clean UX. They trained our entire global team, provided 24/7 launch support, and continue to work with us in evolving the platform further.
We’re now launching faster, fulfilling faster, selling better, and supporting customers more effectively than ever before.”
— Chief Digital Officer
Key Takeaways
- Migration That Scales: A 20-month phased Adobe Commerce Steel Migration helped a steel manufacturer modernize across 12 brands without disrupting business.
- From Legacy to Leading Edge: Transitioned from Magento 1 to Adobe Commerce Cloud, enabling scalable global operations in 7 languages and 9 currencies.
- B2B Powerhouse Features: Built over 18 custom B2B features including quote workflows, volume pricing, tax-exempt management, and freight integrations.
- Content-Driven Growth: Introduced a full product video strategy, reels, and automated content syndication via Salsify and Smartling.
- Real Results: Achieved a 135% increase in traffic, 2x conversion rate, 87% faster product onboarding, and 70% faster customer support resolution.
- Future-Proof Tech Foundation: Unified over 15 external platforms and automated hundreds of repetitive operations, setting the stage for long-term growth.
Looking to future-proof your digital commerce like this steel brand? Purple Cow can do it—faster, smarter, better.
