Case
Show all
Frechverlag
System
Shopware 6
Project type
Relaunch
Frechverlag GmbH, one of the leading German publishers of creative and non-fiction books with the well-known brands TOPP and frech. The company distributes its products through brick-and-mortar bookstores as well as through its own digital channels, both in the end-customer and B2B retail sectors.
Frechverlag operated its online shop on a technically outdated basis that met neither the requirements of a modern digital experience nor the complex system integrations of the publishing environment. Specifically, the following limitations existed:
Outdated platform without sufficient flexibility for editorial and sales requirements
Lack of system integration: No end-to-end connection to the merchandise management system (VVA/OPUS), the royalty system (Pondus), or the book trade distributor
Two separate shop worlds: End-customer shop (B2C) and retailer shop (B2B) with different requirements for pricing logic, registration, and approval processes
Missing data exports: No automated CSV exports for invoicing, inventory posting, stock levels, and pre-orders - necessary for internal publishing logistics
UX deficits: Navigation, product listing, and product detail page no longer matched current user experience standards
Shopware reimagined for complex publishing processes - consistent user guidance, deeply integrated infrastructure, less manual work
Y1 digital developed a comprehensive Shopware 6 solution for Frechverlag that covers both the B2C and B2B areas and is deeply integrated into the publisher's infrastructure through customized plugins and interfaces.
UX Refresh: Complete redesign of navigation/header, footer, homepage, product listing (including filters), and product detail page, based on a newly created digital style guide (colors, typography, design language, icons)
Dealer shop (B2B): Development of a separate Shopware 6 shop with an extended registration form (tax number, VAT ID, comment field), manual approval process, and net-based pricing logic with customer-specific price lists and discounts
Datahub plugin: Development of a Shopware 6 plugin for the automated generation of four CSV exports (invoice, backorder, inventory posting, stock) with daily storage in the file system, including complex movement type mapping and filter logic
Pondus interface: Connection of Shopware to the royalty accounting system Pondus for transmitting royalty-relevant revenues
VVA interface: Integration of order import via VVA (publishing distribution), including error handling and press customer export
Shopware 6.6 update: Migration of all custom plugins from Vue 2 to Vue 3, update of all third-party plugins (including Pickware), setup of a new staging environment
AWS SES: Setup of Amazon Simple Email Service as a reliable email infrastructure for the shop

The project was carried out in several phases:
Discovery & Concept Development: Analysis of the existing system landscape, requirements gathering for the B2C and B2B shop, coordination of interface specifications with Frechverlag and external system partners (VVA, Pondus)
UX/UI Design: Creation of a digital style guide, conception of all relevant page types in Figma (Desktop & Mobile), iterative coordination with the client
Technical Implementation: Development of custom plugins (Datahub export, interfaces), implementation of the Shopware configuration, setup of the B2B dealer logic
Testing: Multi-stage testing phases (local, staging, production) by Y1 and the client; bug fixing and quality assurance
Go-live & Ongoing Further Development: Deployment to production, followed by continuous further development via the CR board (change requests) as well as third-level support





