New digital platform for Bossard, uniting website and eShop

Two separate platforms for the same target audience

Bossard is a global specialist in fastening technology, logistics systems, and application engineering. The company operates a digital infrastructure that must serve international markets.

The website and eShop ran on separate systems with no shared frontend. Users could feel the difference: those who browsed the website for information found themselves in an entirely different digital world when making a purchase. These breaks in the experience prevented seamless customer journeys and left potential untapped. Added to this were IT risks from expiring platforms and a technology landscape with too many individual solutions.

Bossard wanted to address both issues: creating a shared frontend that enables a consistent customer experience – while simultaneously reducing technical complexity. The goal was also to lay the foundation for effective digital lead generation and transparency across the sales funnel.

Designed with the user in mind – implemented iteratively

Unic developed a concept that places user needs at its core. Information architecture, flows, and UX were therefore built on the basis of real user behavior. The design system is inspired by the Atomic Design methodology: responsive, component-based, and designed for consistent use across all areas of the site.

Throughout the project, requirements were continuously refined and prioritized accordingly. To address this, we established an iterative clarification process: regular feedback cycles, concrete examples, and early prototypes helped to gradually align the implementation with Bossard's expectations.

To meet the go-live deadline, the project scope was consistently focused on the defined acceptance criteria — only what was necessary for Release 1 was included in scope.

A Unified Frontend connects CMS, eShop and CRM

The Unified Frontend forms the shared interface for the website and eShop – while the backend systems continue to operate separately. Through a common frontend, the CMS, eShop system, and CRM interact seamlessly with one another.

Contact forms and other contact options are strategically placed along the customer journey. Incoming enquiries are automatically routed to the right destination via the CRM (Dynamics 365). Unic also developed an SEO strategy, defined page types and content elements, and supported the editorial team in working with the new system.

Contentful takes on the role of the central platform for website and content management. Field-level localisation ensures consistent content across all markets. Every publication in Contentful automatically triggers a build on Netlify and is published immediately.

The architecture combines static site generation and server-side rendering: all website pages are delivered statically, while eShop pages are rendered server-side and cached. The eShop's product data comes from various sources – blob storages and i18n translations – and is merged in the frontend. The data architecture was optimised during the course of the project: Unic migrated to a direct Contentful integration with Sync API for more stable and scalable data delivery. The same technical foundation serves all global markets – including a complex multi-country/multi-language setup and a separate delivery solution for China.

Less friction, more transparency – and a platform that grows with you

Bossard customers today experience a seamless digital journey – from initial research on the website to placing orders in the eShop. Navigation is based on real user behavior, content is clearly structured, and aligned with the actual questions of B2B buyers.

For the Bossard team, the new platform brings greater transparency: generated leads are traceable, handover to the CRM happens automatically, and manual triage and assignment processes are eliminated. Centralized content management via Contentful simplifies editorial work and enables consistent content across all markets.