Knowledge
_ _ Holly Fong

The allure of a best-in-breed commerce experience is undeniable but the prospect of a full-scale replatforming project can be daunting. A recent Forrester study underscores this challenge, revealing that a significant 74% of businesses struggle with the limitations of monolithic commerce platforms. While replatforming promises a fresh start, the associated costs, extensive timelines, and potential for customer disruption are enough to deter even the most growth-oriented leadership teams. Further complicating the decision, a rapidly evolving commerce platform landscape creates an environment ripe for decision paralysis.

Enter composable commerce, a strategic approach that empowers businesses to achieve a best-in-breed commerce experience without the upheaval of a traditional replatforming effort. It allows businesses to construct a custom-built storefront that perfectly aligns with their brand identity and strategic vision by selecting the finest tools for each specific function. This modular approach eliminates the need for a complete demolition and rebuild, offering a more strategic and less disruptive path to e-commerce success.

Building an Agile Ecommerce Experience

Imagine the flexibility and control of building your online store with Legos –  instead of a rigid, pre-designed set, you have a modular toolkit of best-in-breed functionalities.  Composable commerce offers exactly that. It breaks down traditional monolithic platforms into individual, best-in-breed components, like a headless CMS for content management, a high-performance order management system, or a secure payment gateway.  Businesses can then select and integrate these functionalities to create a custom-built e-commerce experience that perfectly aligns with their brand identity and strategic vision. This modular approach fosters agility and future-proofs your store, allowing you to easily swap out or upgrade individual components as your needs evolve.  For a deeper dive into composable commerce, visit our article: Composable Commerce Explained: What Adobe’s API Mesh Means for Adobe Commerce.

Why Composable Commerce is Ideal for Businesses Hesitant to Replatform

For businesses hesitant to embark on a full-scale replatforming project, composable commerce offers a compelling alternative. Here’s why:

  • Preserves Legacy Systems:  Composable commerce seamlessly integrates with existing systems, allowing businesses to leverage their past investments in core functionalities like order management or product information databases. This eliminates the need for a complete overhaul and minimizes disruption, making it ideal for businesses with robust legacy systems they don’t want to abandon entirely. For a deeper dive into navigating the composable commerce landscape and its compatibility with legacy platforms, check out our article, Navigating the Composable Commerce Landscape: A Pragmatic Approach for Legacy Platforms.
  • Future-Proofs the Business:  The business landscape is constantly evolving, and customer needs can change rapidly. Composable commerce fosters agility by allowing businesses to easily swap out individual functionalities as needed. This ensures your store remains competitive by enabling you to integrate the latest technologies and adapt to changing customer expectations.
  • Accelerates Time-to-Market:  Composable commerce eliminates the need for lengthy replatforming projects, which can take months or even years to complete.  By using pre-built, best-in-breed components, businesses can iterate and innovate rapidly, bringing new features and functionalities to their customers faster. This allows them to capitalize on emerging trends and maintain a competitive edge.

The Power of Composable Commerce

The composable commerce market is anticipated to reach a staggering $8 trillion by 2027, and for good reason. Here are some compelling statistics that underscore its effectiveness:

Key Considerations for Composable Commerce Success

While composable commerce offers significant advantages, it’s essential to acknowledge certain realities:

  • Composable Commerce Requires Expertise: While it fosters flexibility, composable commerce necessitates a shift in both technical expertise and overall approach. Businesses that struggle with complex integrations may require additional support.
  • The Critical Role of APIs: The success of composable commerce hinges on robust APIs that facilitate seamless communication between disparate systems. It’s crucial to ensure chosen solutions have well-documented and user-friendly APIs.
  • Customer-Centric Focus Remains Paramount: Composable commerce is a powerful tool, but its ultimate purpose is to serve the customer. Businesses should leverage it to create a more engaging and personalized shopping experience, not get bogged down in the technical aspects.

A Strategic Path to Success

No need for a costly, all-encompassing overhaul. This innovative approach empowers you to leverage existing investments, future-proof your business, and accelerate time-to-market. This allows you to migrate to a composable architecture in phases, minimizing disruption and enabling you to test and optimize throughout the process.

ITG Commerce can help you navigate this path by leveraging existing investments. We partner with industry leaders like Adobe Commerce / Magento, Shopware, and Commerce Layer, all of which can be made composable. Plus, ITG goes beyond platforms, collaborating with CMS providers like Contentful and Sanity. This comprehensive suite of options empowers you to choose the best tools for each function, maximizing agility and future-proofing your store.

By partnering with ITG Commerce, we ensure your composable commerce strategy aligns with your business goals, whether your objective is to increase revenue, enhance customer engagement, or enter new markets. Contact us today and let our team guide you on your journey to composable commerce success.