Building a B2B Marketplace
for a Fortune 5 Retailer

Testimonial

While at Walmart I enjoyed the opportunity of working with you and the Decision team. When we engaged, our need was for thought leadership and staff augmentation. You and the company definitely met those expectations and also provided us with valuable industry insights, collaborated with us to proactively mitigate risks, and delivered on time & with quality.
Stated directly, our transformation delivered more value with you and your team’s contributions. Thank you for the engagement and results.

The Challenge

In an increasingly competitive marketplace, a Fortune 50 retailer needed a cutting-edge B2B platform to connect its global network of suppliers and merchants. Traditionally, they relied on trade shows, but this approach was inefficient and impossible during Covid.

Managing an international supply chain, the retailer sought a digital transformation to scale operations. They envisioned a scalable marketplace to streamline ordering and set a new standard in B2B commerce.

After investing over $50M and four years with internal teams and external vendors, the complexity proved too challenging. The retailer turned to SWStrategies—experts in building scalable architecturally complex solutions.

The Solution

SWStrategies quickly identified architectural and development issues slowing progress. We implemented a scalable microservice-based architecture that allowed the platform to grow with the retailer’s needs. We also streamlined frontend-backend collaboration using agile processes to ensure smooth communication and faster development.

Our solution allowed merchants to efficiently search millions of products and incorporated intelligent ML features like personalized recommendations based on merchant profiles. Behind the scenes, advanced technologies ensured smooth operation and handled large data volumes without delays.

Impact

  • Developed an MVP in 10 months for under $1M; where previous unsuccessful efforts cost $50M+ over 4 years.

 

  • Supported 100,000+ users and millions of products, with 10x growth potential.

 

  • Onboarded Latin American merchants, with plans for U.S. and India expansion.

 

  • Developed the platform for 3 years before transitioning to the retailer’s internal teams.