Gotta look good: Integrating a Headless CMS for Simplicity with Storyblok
Turbine Kreuzberg has a longstanding strategic partnership with fashion company Simplicity.
For more information on our joint work, check out our Case Study.
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Since 2017, we have been aiding our partner Simplicity – the ready-to-wear women’s fashion producer behind brands OPUS and someday – in advancing its digital commerce platform. With a pioneering mindset deeply ingrained, Simplicity is always looking to take the next technological leap. One such field: content management, an area in which Simplicity’s needs had quickly outgrown its existing solution. Despite its strong performance in e-commerce, Simplicity’s digital platform faced constraints in content management, preventing the company from innovating further at its familiar pace. Therefore, in late 2020, we were tasked with evaluating and recommending new options for content management systems (CMS).
From “Built-In“ to Going Fully Custom
We implemented Simplicity’s e-commerce platform using Spryker, which also comes with a CMS already built-in. However, over time, Simplicity found Spryker’s CMS functionality cumbersome and sometimes too complex. Spryker’s CMS basis did not allow to preview content changes and testing could only be done via a stage environment. Both aspects limited simplicity in making fast changes to the look and feel of landing pages. Granted, Spryker is not primarily intended to be used for its CMS – it’s a modular, composable commerce system that can be integrated with other systems and services that better fit each use case. Swapping out components with reasonable effort is just what it is built for. That’s exactly what Simplicity needed to achieve adaptability and greater speed to innovate in their highly competitive market.
Tapping into New Content Possibilities with Storyblok
So, we set out to find the best solution for Simplicity’s evolving CMS requirements. Enter Storyblok. After evaluating a number of options, it quickly became clear that Storyblok's user-friendly yet powerful CMS would grant Simplicity ultimate flexibility to scale organically into new areas. Simplicity was looking for preview and design functionalities, easy usage and simple integration and found in Storyblok exactly what it was looking for.
“In the fashion commerce world, your store has to constantly stay on top of new emerging trends, especially in regards to UI/UX. You cannot allow your content team to be slowed down by time consuming workflows”, says Anna Kling, Product Owner at simplicity. “Storyblok brought us the flexibility and easy-to-use interface to change our content at greater speed and with less errors, while the high-performance platform of Spryker in the back handles all commerce requirements smoothly.”
“In the fashion commerce world, your store has to constantly stay on top of new emerging trends.”
Anna Kling, Product Owner at simplicity
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Integrating Storyblok One Step at a Time
Collaborating closely, we chose an iterative approach to shape the optimal Storyblok implementation. In a first trial period, we put Storyblok to the test to investigate what both our tech and client-side content teams would be able to do. We built a basic structure for Simplicity’s content editors that was easy to navigate and extend, including specific guidelines for content creation. And we evaluated how well the CMS met our client’s specific e-commerce use case, namely operating two brands simultaneously across multiple markets and localizations.
Presented with a first iteration, Simplicity was then able to formulate clear requirements and ideas for future adaptation. This is where Storyblok’s customizability and modular approach really shine: we were able to gradually integrate the CMS into the existing platform piece by piece, switching out only a handful of content blocks at a time. In short: Composability at its best.
“We are named simplicity for a reason”, explains Tim Schürmann, Managing Director at simplicity. “We always lean towards finding a way to simplify our structure, our business or our processes. The modular approaches both from Spryker and Storyblok made their integration much easier, helping us to gain best-of-breed solutions for both commerce and content.”
“We always lean towards finding a way to simplify our structure, our business or our processes.”
Tim Schürmann, Managing Director at simplicity
Maximizing the Storyblok Experience
Today, Storyblok’s visual editor allows Simplicity to experiment with new designs and user experiences – evolving constantly, always ahead and on-trend. Reusable content blocks streamline editing workflows while API integration makes Storyblok the single source of truth for content across multiple channels. Component-driven development allowed for crafting custom features, which ultimately enhanced Simplicity's commerce presence. With Storyblok's robust scheduling features, simplicity can now time content updates precisely, ensuring catfish banners and content pieces launch in perfect sync with associated campaigns or product releases. The ability to set countdown timers on banners and content tiles in product lists add additional value. Most pivotal, however, was Storyblok's ease of use – empowering people on both our and Simplicity's teams with renewed creativity. And Storyblok's flexibility works as a safeguard against disruption, ensuring the company is able to lead and innovate in the digital fashion business.
“It’s great when both tech and solution partners share one common goal: making sure the client is getting the best experience possible. For Simplicity, that meant the best in commerce and the best in content, with a seamless integration of both critical systems”, says Sarah Hoidn, Managing Director of Turbine Kreuzberg. “Storyblok’s modular approach makes it easy to integrate into the complex system landscapes we work in. We’re confident this is only the first of many similar projects.”
“It’s great when both tech and solution partners share one common goal: making sure the client is getting the best experience possible.”
Sarah Hoidn, Managing Director at Turbine Kreuzberg
Want to
know more?
Daniel Ristig
Director New Business & Strategic Partnerships
daniel.ristig@turbinekreuzberg.com
+49 160 78 6464 7