Unifying Complex Systems for a Leading Furniture Retailer

Organization

Our client, a well-established American retailer headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas, has been furnishing homes for over a century. With 146 stores across 15 states and a growing e-commerce presence, they have built a reputation for offering convenient delivery and pickup options, including in-store pickup, home delivery, and parcel shipping.

To expand their market reach, the client acquired a major furniture vendor operating 370 additional stores across the southeastern U.S. While this acquisition provided growth opportunities, it also introduced operational complexities. Their existing systems struggled to keep pace with the scale and integration needs of the expanded business.

Challenge

Despite their strong business foundation, the client’s technology infrastructure was fragmented, causing inefficiencies that impacted inventory tracking, sales processing, and customer fulfillment.

Key Challenges:

• Disconnected Systems: Business applications, including e-commerce APIs, AWS APIs, JMS, Kibo APIs, and IBM AS400, were not seamlessly integrated, leading to data silos.
• Inconsistent Data Synchronization: Inventory updates were delayed, sometimes showing out-of-stock items as available, frustrating customers and affecting sales.
• Integration Bottlenecks: The client needed a scalable integration layer to standardize data flow across multiple platforms and support future business needs.
• Limited Fulfillment Options: The Kibo dashboard lacked support for “Take” (in-store walk-in purchases), restricting a critical customer fulfillment method.
• Lack of Real-Time Monitoring: Without centralized tracking, teams had limited visibility into data flow and order fulfillment, making issue resolution reactive rather than proactive.

Technical Solution

XTIVIA worked closely with the client to develop a cutting-edge solution that addressed their challenges while enhancing operational efficiency and customer satisfaction. Our agile, iterative approach ensured continuous improvement throughout the implementation.

Key Solution Components:

• Holistic System Integration: XTIVIA unified fragmented systems by designing robust integration applications that facilitated smooth data flow between front-end e-commerce APIs, AWS APIs, and the IBM AS400 backend. This created a cohesive operational ecosystem.
• Real-Time Data Synchronization: We leveraged advanced synchronization techniques to enable near real-time updates of inventory, sales, and delivery data across all platforms, minimizing inconsistencies and improving decision-making.
• Custom Data Mapping & Transformation: Collaborating closely with client stakeholders, we developed precise mappings between source and target fields, ensuring data accuracy and eliminating discrepancies in critical business transactions.
• Expanded Delivery Support: By enhancing the Kibo dashboard, we added support for the “Take” delivery type, allowing customers to walk in and make purchases seamlessly.
• Automated Notification System: We built an intelligent alerting mechanism that provided proactive notifications on successful and failed product dispatch activities, improving operational transparency and responsiveness.
• Comprehensive Testing Framework: Our testing strategy covered reliability, functionality, performance, and cross-browser compatibility, ensuring a flawless user experience and smooth system adoption.
• Scalability and Future-Readiness: The solution was designed to be highly scalable, accommodating the client’s growth trajectory and evolving business requirements with minimal disruption.

SOLUTION DIAGRAM

BUSINESS RESULT

With XTIVIA’s expertise, the client successfully transformed their e-commerce and fulfillment operations, delivering tangible business benefits:

• Unified Operations: Previously fragmented systems now function as a single, integrated platform, improving efficiency and reducing operational complexity.
• Real-Time Data Accuracy: Near real-time synchronization of inventory, sales, and dispatch information ensures data reliability and accurate order processing.
• Enhanced Customer Experience: Expanded fulfillment options, including the addition of the “Take” delivery type, provide customers with greater flexibility and convenience.
• Improved Operational Visibility: Automated notifications and seamless data flow enhance transparency, enabling teams to proactively address potential issues.
• Scalable, Future-Proof Architecture: The new system provides a strong foundation for future expansion and evolving business needs.
• Increased User Adoption: Optimized system performance and usability resulted in widespread adoption across business units.

TECHNOLOGY STACK

• Integration & API Management: MuleSoft, Anypoint Studio, Anypoint Platform, IBM AS400
• Messaging & Event Processing: AWS Lambda, AWS SNS, AWS SQS, JMS, ActiveMQ
• Development & Testing: Postman Collection Tool, Git Repository, Atlassian Jira

CONCLUSION

By transforming a fragmented system into a unified platform, our client didn’t just solve their immediate challenges—they set themselves up for long-term success. Their new, integrated infrastructure ensures that customers receive accurate inventory information, seamless order fulfillment, and flexible shopping options.

This project wasn’t just about upgrading technology; it was about creating a foundation for continued growth and exceptional customer service. Now, the client’s systems are as strong as their commitment to delivering a top-tier shopping experience—both online and in stores.

KEYWORDS

E-commerce integration, Real-time data synchronization, System unification, Inventory management, IBM AS400, Amazon Web Services, AWS Lambda API, AWS SNS, AWS SQS, Application Programming Interfaces (API), REST, OAUTH2, JSON, XML, Java Messaging Services JMS, eCommerce API, Active MQ

SOFTWARE

MuleSoft Anypoint Studio, Anypoint Platform, AWS Lambda, JMS, AWS Lambda, IBM AS400, AWS SNS, AWS SQS, Active MQ, Postman Collection tool, Git Repo, Atlassian Jira

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