Customised PIM platform for international auctions

About SSMI

SSMI, part of the Gerritsen Group, was established to offer industrial companies a single reliable partner for the complete process of dismantling, relocating and repurposing production facilities. Where multiple parties are often required, SSMI takes care of the entire process efficiently, safely and in full compliance with international standards.

With more than 75 years of combined experience in decommissioning, transportation and investment recovery, SSMI helps organisations worldwide repurpose production lines and plants sustainably and cost-efficiently.

The challenge

SSMI buys up factories around the world to dismantle them in parts. Those parts are then photographed, described and sold through an auction site. To make this process efficient and error-free, it needed a Product Information Management (PIM) system. Existing solutions did not match the specific requirements. So they opted for a custom platform, including a user-friendly app that captures parts on site and is linked to their e-commerce environment in HubSpot via an API link.

Our approach

Our team worked with Gerritsen's creation department to define a clear concept direction. Based on this, Jamie developed a prototype of the app, which focused on user-friendliness: easily taking photos, describing them, categorising them and sending them directly to the database.

The development team (Erwin and Jan Henk) laid the foundation in PHP Laravel, so that the back-end connects seamlessly with the React Native app. We also realised a link with HubSpot, so that all data is immediately available in the e-commerce platform. The system was also connected to the Gerritsen Group's central system.

The solution runs on a secure server at LinQhost, and is prepared for international deployment. That means: high performance, even with limited bandwidth (3G/4G). Extra attention was paid to image scalability and upload speed, so that remote teams can work worldwide without any problems.

What we realised

• More efficient process for global teams

• Direct linking of database with HubSpot e-commerce

• Robust platform that performs under limited network conditions

• Fast delivery: from job to MVP in a few weeks

The results

Within weeks of being awarded the contract, we delivered an initial MVP, allowing SSMI to process the first parts via the platform as early as January. In February, the first factory was successfully decommissioned using the new solution. Since then, the system has been further developed with additional functionalities and improved user-friendliness. The result: one streamlined flow from factory to auction, allowing international teams to work faster, more efficiently and without errors.

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