Modernising a 20-year online trade supplier without losing the customers it took two decades to win.
A rebuild on Lunar with AI-powered search, ERP integration and a mobile-first redesign for one of the UK's leading fixings and fasteners distributors.
What we walked into.
Orbital had built one of the most established trade websites in their sector, but the platform was showing its age. With tens of thousands of SKUs, customers struggled to find the right product. Mobile traffic was growing faster than the site could keep up with. The experience no longer matched what buyers expected when they shop on a phone between jobs.
What we set out to build.
We rebuilt the storefront on Lunar, our open-source Laravel commerce platform, and redesigned the experience around how trade customers actually buy: fast, on a phone, often back-to-back. Algolia powers a search that learns from real customer behaviour rather than relying on the "big data" only the marketplaces have. A fresh ERP integration handles pricing, stock, orders and invoicing without anyone touching a spreadsheet.
Where they ended up.
Orbital now run on a platform built specifically for trade commerce. The team have a foundation that can support mobile apps, deeper marketing integrations and the next decade of growth, without the technical debt that was holding them back.
Let's talk about your project.
Tell us what you're building. We'll reply with whether we're a fit, and what we'd do next.