A look at Norway: This is how Latori supported the contact lens online store Lensit with the implementation of the Shopify store

In the Scandinavian countries, contact lenses are more widespread than in many other European countries. Online stores for contact lenses are growing in popularity accordingly. This year, Latori supported the team from Norwegian provider Lensit in the relaunch of the lensit.no store with Shopify Plus. Read more about the collaboration in the interview with Ulrich Tietze, Head of Product Enterprise Application at Lensit.

What were the reasons for a relaunch? Why did you choose Shopify for this?

Ulrich Tietze: Lensit's online store had an outdated, technical architecture and ran on an on-site software provider. It was important for us to be able to maintain and control the online store ourselves. We therefore implemented the Microsoft Dynamics ERP system and a new store system for Lensit. Since Lensit only sells contact lenses, we wanted to use a store system that was as simple as possible.

"The objective was a lean store with little internal IT effort on our side as far as the frontend is concerned. So scaling with little internal effort."

We quickly came across the Shopify and Shopify Plus solution. After two or three workshops and a validation of the solution with our developers, we finally chose this solution from Shopify.

When exactly did you approach Latori?

Ulrich Tietze: We got in touch with Latori at the beginning of 2020. What immediately appealed to us about Latori was that they were the first Shopify Plus partner in Germany.

How did the collaboration with Latori go?

Ulrich Tietze: We had a clear, common goal. Due to the situation with Corona, the cooperation was of course different than under other circumstances. There were also a few hurdles in terms of content: a new interface communication and a new Klarna checkout. Since Norwegian customers know this well, it was another important requirement that Shopify had to fulfill for us.

At a glance:

This is what Latori has realized for Lensit

• Migration of the existing online store to Shopify

• Realization of the Klarna checkout

• Interface to Azure Event Grid

• Connection to the ERP system

Contact lenses are an extremely custom product with many variations. What are technical specifications and special features here?

Ulrich Tietze: You have 4,000 different variants for contact lenses. To map this in the Shopify store, we needed an extension from Latori. There is an Availability API and all variants are stored in the database. Using the dropdown, it is then possible to check whether the respective contact lens variant is available or not. Depending on the availability, different delivery times are displayed in the frontend. In Norway there is a small special feature called dropshipping. If we do not have a variant in stock, but the supplier can send it directly to the customer, we realize this. This means that the product does not have to be sent to our warehouse beforehand, but reaches its destination directly.

"You have 4,000 different variations in contact lenses. To display that in the- Shopify store, it took an extension from Latori."

How long did the implementation take from first approaching Latori to launch?

Ulrich Tietze: The pure project phase took about six months - from signing the bid to launch. This time was also very well planned for the fact that we had to introduce three large systems. Since three people from Berlin had to go to Norway to support the go-live, we were in the middle of the Corona crisis and never knew when the next lockdown was coming, we had to make a precision landing. Accordingly, we just worked through the last five, six weekends with Latori and were virtually in continuous loop in video conferences with the team.

"It was like sitting in the office with Latori."

We had a channel open in Microsoft Teams and then people involved in the project came in or went out, worked, ate - the main thing was that they saw each other and could talk to each other from time to time and coordinate. It felt like a go-live-office atmosphere, but it was through Teams.

Why would you advise other retailers to work with an agency like Latori?

Ulrich Tietze: In principle, you can probably implement Shopify yourself, maybe even Shopify Plus. But the insights and knowledge are what distinguish a good partner. In case of doubt, that saves time and money. A qualified partner advises you and takes away many challenges. We have worked very intensively with Latori. Our team and Latori's team were always ready.

"You just want to have that kind of support on a project like this. It feels good!"