Projects/ Optimizing the B2B Experience with Shopify Plus for a Leading Distributor

Optimizing the B2B Experience with Shopify Plus for a Leading Distributor

Context

Adapting eCommerce to B2B Realities

Brault & Bouthillier is a Quebec-based company recognized for over 75 years in the distribution of educational materials for schools, early childhood centers and educational institutions. Their catalog includes thousands of specialized products, ranging from teaching materials to educational furniture.

Unlike a traditional B2C business, most of Brault & Bouthillier’s customers are organizations that place structured orders, often with multiple users under the same account. Orders can be large, planned, or recurring and frequently involve approval processes or institution-specific requirements.

The eCommerce experience must therefore be tailored to the realities of B2B commerce: corporate account management, fast ordering of multiple products, recurring shopping lists and specific cart rules.

Brault & Bouthillier aimed to evolve its Shopify store to deliver a more efficient experience better suited to the needs of its institutional clients.

Project highlights

Project highlights

+10K

products

+8.6%

month-over-month AOV

+121

synchronized dynamic price lists

+3K

new customer profiles post-launch

"In the context of redesigning our transactional platform, our objective was to provide our customers with a modern, intuitive shopping experience tailored to their diverse needs. Novatize supported us with professionalism throughout the project, helping us navigate the various stages, evaluate available options and make decisions aligned with our business objectives, budget and timelines. We particularly appreciated their collaborative approach, their transparency, and their ability to transform complex business needs into concrete, scalable solutions. With their support, we were able to maintain a strong balance between our strategic vision, the customer experience and operational realities, which contributed to the project’s success. This project represents an important milestone in our digital transformation and in the evolution of the experience we offer our customers. We are proud of the work accomplished and excited about the opportunities this new platform opens up for the future."

Lucie Boivin

MBA, CMO & Senior Vice President, Products and Brands

Brault & Bouthillier

Mandate

Simplify and Accelerate B2B Ordering

Novatize’s mandate was to implement and optimize several advanced B2B functionalities on Brault & Bouthillier’s Shopify Plus store to improve the purchasing experience for institutional clients.

The project involved designing and developing custom features to simplify large and recurring orders, facilitate corporate account management and provide fast ordering tools for professional users.

The Novatize team also developed several custom components and application features to adapt the Shopify platform to the company’s operational realities.

Objectives

Simplify and Accelerate B2B Ordering

One of the main objectives of the project was to reduce friction in the purchasing process for institutions and organizations that regularly order educational materials.

To achieve this, Novatize implemented several advanced B2B features using its B2B feature accelerator:

Company User Management

Organizations can now manage multiple users under a single corporate account, allowing different individuals within an institution to place orders.

Quick Order Management

A quick order module allows customers to rapidly add multiple products to their cart without navigating each product page individually.

Shopping Lists

Users can create, save and manage shopping lists for recurring orders. In a multi-permission B2B environment, secondary users can prepare and submit these lists for approval, while primary users validate and finalize orders, simplifying procurement management while respecting internal processes.

ERP-Connected Dynamic Pricing

The system adapts price display based on B2B contexts and rules specific to customers or corporate accounts.

Cart Validations

Custom validations were implemented in the cart to ensure that certain purchasing rules are met before proceeding to checkout.

These features provide a purchasing experience much better aligned with the realities of organizations and institutions.

Results

An eCommerce Platform Built for B2B

Thanks to the optimizations implemented by Novatize, Brault & Bouthillier now benefits from a Shopify Plus platform capable of meeting the specific needs of its institutional clientele.

The developed features allow users to order more quickly, manage corporate accounts more easily and simplify recurring purchases through shopping lists and quick order tools.

The purchasing experience is now better aligned with B2B realities, enabling institutions to save time in their procurement processes and allowing Brault & Bouthillier to more effectively support the growth of its online sales.

“As a Product Owner, I particularly appreciated the smooth collaboration despite the complexity of the project and the diversity of stakeholders, including Shopify, third-party applications, marketing, as well as ERP and PIM systems. Discussions were always constructive and solution-oriented, which allowed us to stay on track despite unforeseen challenges. This project pushed us to be creative in addressing certain technical limitations, while delivering a B2B experience aligned with the client’s operational realities. The Brault & Bouthillier team stood out for its ability to clearly structure and communicate its needs throughout this large-scale project.”

Inès Kouamé

Product Owner

Novatize

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