One Digital Platform – One step closer to centralization

Early in 2017, the Norwegian-owned retail group Orkla, owner of over 300 brands, sought a new digital solution for their brand websites in Europe. Until then, each company had signed agreements with digital suppliers individually. By the spring of 2017, there were nearly 300 sites with 40 suppliers and around 20 different platforms.

– From a central perspective, it was difficult to keep track of the sites. It was impossible to maintain consistent quality, and it was challenging to audit the sites, says Michelle Molin, central project manager at Bombayworks for the One Orkla Web Platform project.

Orkla sought a supplier who could integrate the group's branding and meet their quality requirements within the same platform. The solution needed to address both central and local needs in a decentralized organization with 18,000 employees. A challenge for many, including Bombayworks.

– It’s important to align everyone’s needs. All stakeholders must be on board, otherwise, a project like this will kill itself right away, says Jonas Rendahl, COO/co-founder at Bombayworks.

Bombayworks had worked with similar challenges before. Among the first was the development of a platform for Toyota in Sweden and Norway and its local dealers. Shortly after, Electrolux followed, with ongoing content work for 106 sites in 37 languages across 33 European countries.

– Navigating between local and central needs can be difficult, but we’ve learned how to operate in this field. Today, we’ve become specialists in rolling out complex solutions across multiple markets simultaneously, says Mats Johansson, Chief Growth Officer at Bombayworks.

Agile Workflow

For several years, Bombayworks has been a full-service agency focused on its clients' growth, but at the outset, the agency was a technical production agency. Experience from the early years has been crucial in many later projects. The technical competence and the mindset of building a stable foundation in everything they create is deeply ingrained—something that is absolutely necessary when dealing with large, complex platforms. One of the key pieces of the puzzle in all their work has been well-developed processes in an agile workflow.

The work was broken down into short, clearly structured sprints with daily standups, where all involved—project managers, developers, designers, and testers—participated in planning and continuous work follow-ups.

– Of course, it’s always important to have an organized process, but most importantly, it contributes to an efficiency in the work that pays off for both us and the client, says Jonas Rendahl.

The first sites that went live in January 2018 were the corporate pages, followed shortly by the first brand pages, which continued to launch week after week.

Each site has received a unique design. They have all been thoroughly tested before going live, and some of them have been assisted by Bombayworks’ content team with their content.

Unique Requests Met

– Several of the sites, in addition to design preferences, had unique requests for functionality that weren’t initially available. These have been developed over time as the companies have been onboarded to the platform, says Michelle Molin.

Once the functions were approved centrally, developed, tested, and implemented, they benefited everyone. In this way, the platform has grown continuously, instead of individual sites having unique features while sister sites had fewer.

– There has been a great exchange of knowledge internally, even across countries. Some new development initiatives have come from multiple sources simultaneously, and the cost for these has been shared. Besides cost-effectiveness, it has also become more time-efficient, says Michelle Molin.

Since the project started, over 100 sites have been built and launched over a period of 15 months. More are on the way.

– We’re still at the beginning of the journey. The platform is barely two years old and continues to evolve, says Mats Johansson.

5 Concrete Tips for Success

• Clear ownership and defined mandates

• Digital knowledge hub and reference group

• Budget planning, continuous consumption, and follow-up

• Promotion of established principles and an inclusive mindset

• Demonstrating success through KPIs and conversion

Published in: Byråvärlden, September 2023