Composable Commerce: Wonderfully Flexible or Too Complex?

A new term is increasingly appearing in the e-commerce landscape: composable commerce. What do these new e-commerce systems offer, and when are they interesting? Let’s explain.

Custom-Fit Instead of One-Size-Fits-All

Composable commerce refers to various e-commerce systems that are flexible, modular, and customizable. They use modular components and microservices combined to create tailor-made applications.

Unlike traditional, monolithic e-commerce platforms, which integrate functionalities like inventory management, product catalog, shopping cart, checkout, and payment processing into one system, composable commerce separates these into individual components or services. These components can be developed, deployed, and upgraded independently, providing flexibility to adjust and scale according to specific needs.

These loosely coupled components communicate via APIs, allowing companies to select and integrate the best components from various providers or build custom solutions. This approach creates a unique operation tailored to specific requirements without being constrained by the limitations of a single monolithic platform.

Emerging Tech Backed by Major Players

What position does this new system hold in the market? According to research firm Gartner and their Magic Quadrant, composable commerce players like Commercetools and solutions such as Adobe's Magento, which offers increasing features based on components and API integration, are seen as leaders. These leaders have the potential to popularize new technologies, supported by their substantial market share and marketing budgets, accelerating the shift within the e-commerce landscape towards more flexible, componentized systems.

MACH Architecture at the Core

Composable commerce derives its flexibility from its MACH architecture, which includes:

• Microservices: Enables the combination of packaged business capabilities (PBCs), unlike monolithic applications that are tightly integrated.
• API-first: Ensures all functionalities are accessible via APIs, allowing the integration of various microservices and components into a single e-commerce platform.
• Cloud-native: Utilizes the full capabilities of the cloud, ensuring scalability and flexibility across the application.
• Headless: Decouples the frontend presentation layer from backend functionality, enabling continuous interface improvements and communication across all touchpoints and devices with the customer.

Benefits of MACH Architecture

• Flexibility: Choose and easily replace functionalities connected to your e-commerce platform without depending on a single solution.
• Scalability: Cloud-based services offer unlimited scalability.
• Agility: Quickly add new functionalities and bring them to market faster.
• Reduced Vendor Lock-in: Independence from a single vendor, allowing quick replacement with new suppliers as needed.
• Innovation: Rapidly implement new ideas and experiment with various out-of-the-box tools.
• Best-of-Breed: Utilize the best tools for each functionality, avoiding underperforming components in all-in-one packages.

Who is Composable E-commerce For?

Currently, a microservices-based strategy is primarily used by larger companies and retailers like Grand Vision, Netflix, Autoscout24, and Audi. This isn't surprising given the complexity and initial cost of implementing headless solutions. For most SMEs, MACH solutions may still be out of reach for now.

Long-term benefits include increased flexibility, reduced complexity, and lower costs, but the short-term requires investment in strategic vision, IT resources, and initial setup costs. Many companies will need to undergo digital transformation before gradually moving towards composable commerce.

Nevertheless, it’s beneficial for SMEs to familiarize themselves with the concept. If you’re considering switching to a new e-commerce platform, choosing one that offers API-based functionalities is a good start. This future-proofs your platform, allowing you to decide per functionality whether to use a best-of-breed SaaS solution or a feature within the e-commerce platform itself. Hybrid solutions, using platforms like Shopware or Magento, can be ideal.

Getting Started with Composable Commerce

Believe composable commerce is right for your business? Here are the steps to prepare:

Sharpen Your Vision

Define your business goals and strategic competitive advantage. Determine how to differentiate online and best serve your customers.

Identify Needed Functionalities

Assess which functionalities in your current system work well and which need improvement. Determine which functionalities best support your strategy and vision.

Choose the Right Platform

Select an e-commerce system that aligns with the required functionalities and processes, including best-of-breed tools.

Engage Experts for Implementation

Implementation is often done by external experts. Choose partners and solutions that match your organization.

Design Phase

Collaborate with your development partner to outline the project scope and required developments. Create a schematic overview of the IT architecture and budget all costs. Develop screen sketches and designs for the webshop.

Development Phase

Build the platform with an emphasis on effective project management and delivery. An agile approach is crucial.

Go-Live

Once your project is live, easily connect new microservices and components to expand the platform.

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Determine if Composable Commerce is Right for You

As the e-commerce market becomes saturated, gaining and maintaining a competitive edge is challenging. Most platforms offer similar functionalities, losing their unique advantages. Meanwhile, more SaaS solutions excel in specific aspects of the online customer experience.

Composable commerce promotes flexibility and scalability, allowing companies to replace or upgrade components, experiment, A/B test, and swiftly adapt to market changes for a personalized and seamless customer experience. However, significant investment is required, making monolithic solutions often the best option for smaller businesses. Unsure which e-commerce solution suits your business?

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