Clear Contracts
Every service communicates through defined interfaces. This means you can swap out a PIM or search engine without touching the rest of the shop.
B2B architecture
Composable Commerce — step by step to a modular shop
Most B2B shops grow into monoliths over the years. We help you extract individual building blocks and replace them with the right services — without risking day-to-day operations.
- Composable architecture in use at B2B companies in manufacturing, wholesale, and chemicals.
Experience
Headless/PWA
Domain Services
Cart/Checkout
Data & AI
Events/Stream
Infrastructure
API Gateway
Guiding Principles
These six principles guide how we design and evaluate composable architectures. They are not abstract ideals — they are concrete decision criteria for every architecture discussion.
Team Independence
Frontend, checkout, and catalog are developed and deployed independently. A pricing update does not block the next CMS release.
End-to-end Visibility
Across all services, you can see in real time where requests stall, which interfaces are slow, and when an alert is needed.
No Vendor Lock-in
Every critical service has a documented migration path — whether search engine, payment provider, or CMS.
Security from Day One
Every service gets only the permissions it needs. Secrets are managed centrally, and every interface authenticates — even internally.
Performance Where It Counts
Critical paths like search, cart, and checkout are optimized for speed. Everything else runs asynchronously so the page does not block.
Reference Stack
No composable stack looks the same. But most B2B setups need these four layers — the specific product choices depend on your current systems, budget, and team.
Experience
- Headless/PWA
- CMS
- Search/Discovery
- CDP/Personalization
Domain Services
- Cart/Checkout
- Pricing/Promo
- Catalog/PIM
- Orders/OMS
Data & AI
- Events/Stream
- Warehouse/Lake
- AI Services
- Feature Store
Infrastructure
- API Gateway
- Security/IAM
- Caching/Edge
- Observability
Integration Patterns
Decoupling services is the first step. The second: making them communicate reliably. These are the four patterns we use most often.
Workflow Orchestration
Orders, approvals, and returns as automated workflows — with retry logic, timeouts, and manual approval steps where needed.
Event-driven Updates
When a price changes in the ERP, the shop updates automatically. Events instead of direct calls make the system more robust and decoupled.
API Gateway
A single entry point for all frontend requests — with authentication, rate limiting, and tailored responses per channel.
Search & Discovery
Combined search with structured filters and AI-powered relevance — so buyers find what they need faster.
Operating Model & Governance
Composable commerce only works when it is clear who operates what and how changes are safeguarded. Without governance, modularity quickly becomes chaos.
Clear ownership
Every service has an owner with a runbook and escalation path — no more "nobody owns this".
Contract testing
Contract tests between services ensure that an update in service A does not break service B.
Safe rollbacks
Feature flags and canary deployments enable safe releases — and instant rollback when something goes wrong.
Interface budgets
Every interface has a performance and cost budget. Overruns are flagged automatically.
Frequently Asked Questions about Composable Commerce
What is the difference between composable commerce and a monolith?
A monolith bundles all functions in one piece of software — catalog, checkout, search, CMS. With composable commerce, specialized services each handle one task and communicate through defined interfaces. The advantage: you can replace or scale individual parts without touching the overall system.
Do I need to rebuild my shop from scratch?
No. Composable commerce is not an all-or-nothing approach. Most projects start by extracting a single service — for example search or PIM. The rest of the shop keeps running while the new service takes over step by step. Let us help you identify the first service.
What company size benefits from composable commerce?
As soon as your shop involves more than one team or your release cycles block each other, the transition pays off. Typically these are B2B merchants with over EUR 5M in annual e-commerce revenue, where speed and flexibility become business-critical.
How long does the transition to composable commerce take?
That depends on the scope. A first service can often be extracted and go live in 8-12 weeks. A complete stack migration typically takes 12-18 months — but delivers usable value in every phase.
What does a composable commerce architecture cost?
The investment depends on the project. License costs often decrease because you only pay for what you use. The main costs lie in integration work and building operational processes. Get in touch — we recommend starting with a limited pilot project.