How HOBA Built a B2B Product Configurator and Migrated to OroCommerce
HOBA's B2B customers needed to configure and order custom products online. easy.bi built a Shopware configurator with smart exclusion logic, then migrated the entire system to Angular and OroCommerce for long-term scalability.
The Challenge: Custom Products Without a Digital Configuration Tool
HOBA (Holzbau Schmid) operates in the construction and manufacturing sector, where B2B customers order products tailored to specific project requirements. A standard product catalog doesn't work - every order involves selecting from multiple options, dimensions, materials, and finishes that must be compatible with each other.
Before the configurator, this process happened through phone calls, emails, and PDF order forms. A customer would describe what they needed. A sales representative would check availability and compatibility manually. Errors were common: customers ordered combinations that couldn't be manufactured, or selected options that were out of stock. Each mistake meant back-and-forth communication, delayed orders, and frustrated buyers.
HOBA needed a digital product configurator that let B2B customers select options, see only valid combinations, and place orders directly - without sales team involvement for standard configurations. The configurator needed to handle complex exclusion rules: if a customer selects material A, certain finishes become unavailable. If dimension B is chosen, specific mounting options are excluded.
And the platform had to scale. HOBA's product range was growing, and the configuration rules were becoming more complex. Whatever solution they built needed to support future product additions without requiring a development project for each new SKU.
“Every order required a phone call. Customers described what they wanted, we checked if it was possible, and half the time we had to call back because the combination couldn't be manufactured.”
Why HOBA Chose easy.bi
HOBA needed a development partner who understood both e-commerce platforms and the logic of B2B product configuration. Generic configurator plugins couldn't handle HOBA's exclusion rules - the relationships between options were too complex for off-the-shelf solutions.
easy.bi brought Shopware expertise and custom development capability in a single team. They could build the configurator as a custom Shopware extension, ensuring it integrated natively with the existing store - cart, checkout, order management - while handling the business logic that no plugin could provide. Later, when HOBA outgrew Shopware, the same team managed the migration to OroCommerce.
“easy.bi understood that the exclusion logic was the core of the configurator. Off-the-shelf plugins couldn't handle our rules - we needed custom development that integrated natively with the e-commerce platform.”
The Approach: Custom Configurator, Then Platform Migration
The project unfolded in two phases: build the configurator on Shopware, then migrate the entire system to a more scalable platform when HOBA's needs outgrew the original architecture.
Phase 1: Shopware product configurator with exclusion logic. easy.bi built a custom configurator as a Shopware extension. Customers navigate a guided selection process: choose a product type, select dimensions, pick materials, configure finishes. At each step, the configurator applies exclusion rules - options that are incompatible with previous selections disappear automatically. Customers never see invalid combinations. They can't order products that can't be manufactured. The configurator connects directly to Shopware's cart and checkout, so configured products flow through the standard order pipeline.
Exclusion functionality with dynamic rule engine. The exclusion rules aren't hardcoded. HOBA's product team manages rules through a configuration interface - when a new product launches or a material becomes unavailable, they update rules without developer involvement. This self-service capability was critical for HOBA's growing product catalog.
Phase 2: Migration to Angular + OroCommerce. As HOBA's B2B operations grew, they needed capabilities that Shopware's B2C-focused architecture couldn't provide natively: complex pricing tiers, customer-specific catalogs, and multi-organization account management. easy.bi migrated the configurator and all its logic to a new platform - Angular for the frontend, OroCommerce for the backend - deployed on Kubernetes for scalability.
The migration preserved every configurator feature and exclusion rule while adding the B2B-specific capabilities HOBA needed. Customer data, order history, and product configurations transferred cleanly to the new platform.
“The migration from Shopware to OroCommerce was seamless. Every configurator rule, every customer account, every product transferred cleanly. Our customers didn't experience disruption.”
The Results: Self-Service Configuration for B2B Customers
The product configurator transformed HOBA's sales process. B2B customers who previously needed sales team assistance for every order could now configure and order custom products independently. The exclusion logic ensured every order was valid - eliminating the back-and-forth that had slowed the ordering process.
Order errors from invalid configurations dropped to near zero. Customers couldn't select incompatible options because the configurator removed them dynamically. Sales team time shifted from processing standard orders to handling complex projects that genuinely required human expertise.
The OroCommerce migration gave HOBA a B2B-native platform that supported their growth. Customer-specific pricing, multi-organization accounts, and the scalability of Kubernetes-deployed infrastructure meant the platform could handle increasing order volumes and product catalog complexity without architectural constraints.
“Our product team can update exclusion rules without developer tickets now. When a material goes out of stock or a new product launches, they handle it themselves. That self-service was a game-changer.”
Key Takeaways
- Exclusion logic is the heart of B2B configuration. Preventing invalid orders is more valuable than enabling customization. When customers can only select valid combinations, order errors disappear and sales team load drops.
- Make rules manageable without developers. The self-service rule engine let HOBA's product team update configurations independently - a capability that became more valuable as the product catalog grew.
- Start where you are, migrate when you outgrow. Building the configurator on Shopware first gave HOBA a working solution fast. Migrating to OroCommerce later added B2B-native features when the business needed them - without the risk of over-engineering from the start.
- Preserve every rule during platform migration. The migration's success depended on transferring every exclusion rule, customer record, and product configuration cleanly. Parallel running and validation ensured nothing was lost.
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