Lekkerland’s experience with their previous digital commerce platform showed that another technical solution was needed. They first looked at platform solutions that focus on the B2B world, i.e., that offer more functionality in areas only indirectly connected with the order. However, it became clear that a standard system, which always has a monolithic character, could only be used as a limited-use solution. Ultimately, the standard would have to be extended or changed here as well. The solution needed to be truly modular so Lekkerland could implement unknown, future requirements on the platform, while maintaining a strong cost-benefit ratio and minimal technical debt.

Another requirement was that the new technology support Lekkerland's component-by-component development approach on the new platform, which was limited by the old technology. This would ensure that Lekkerland would not lose sight of its customer-centric approach, even with a supposed technical-architectural issue. Lekkerland calls this approach ‘macro-partial substitution’.

Lekkerland sees itself not only as a B2B retailer but also as a service provider that meets all the needs of its customers and partners with digital solutions. The use of macro-partial substitution means digital services are treated as separate modules, always with the goal of launching the best possible products that are also scalable. Many of the digital services are rolled out using the hypothesis-driven MVP approach or as A/B tests to gain early user feedback or to identify services that are not worth further development.

This approach increases the likelihood that the product will go in the right direction. If the test phases indicate that this is not the case, there is still a chance to correct the course early on. Spryker’s modular architecture reduces cost and risk by allowing multiple small instances to be tested and validated or discarded accordingly.