---
title: "B2B e-commerce platform — Our work — Sping Digital Lab"
source: "https://sping.nl/en/cases/waterdrinker-b2b-e-commerce-platform/"
---

![Waterdrinker Aalsmeer flower trading hall](https://sping.nl/images/cases/waterdrinker-b2b-e-commerce-platform/00-hd-waterdrinker-aalsmeer-12-max-800-min.jpg)

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Waterdrinker

# B2B e-commerce platform

A custom, mobile-friendly B2B e-commerce platform — integrated with Waterdrinker’s systems and separate storefronts for Cash & Carry and Big Professional Buyers.

## A simpler, faster way to buy plants, flowers and accessories

Over 40 years, Waterdrinker has grown from a local plant trader into one of the world’s largest exporters of flowers and house and garden plants. In 2016 they asked us to build a custom, mobile-friendly B2B e-commerce platform so each customer group could easily buy flowers, plants, and accessories online. Three months after kick-off we delivered an MVP; since then we have continuously shipped new functionality.

![Waterdrinker B2B webshop product mockups](https://sping.nl/images/cases/waterdrinker-b2b-e-commerce-platform/01-waterdrinker-mockup-white-01-01-min.jpg)

## Tailored services for different customer types

## Insight

Waterdrinker aims to deliver tailored services and experiences for florists, garden centres, wholesalers, retail chains, and retailers. The two main groups — Cash & Carry and Big Professional Buyers — needed different capabilities, each requiring deep integration with Waterdrinker’s existing systems.

We ran usability tests to understand buying behaviour. Waterdrinker buyers do not behave like typical consumers: a large professional buyer placing frequent, high-volume plant orders needs a fast, smart checkout optimised for repeat orders. Those insights helped us refine navigation and remove friction.

## Why we built a custom B2B e-commerce platform

## Challenge

We evaluated open-source commerce frameworks including Magento 1 & 2, Sylius, and Solidus. Off-the-shelf stacks either lacked stability for our needs or could not connect cleanly to a sector-specific ERP.

We therefore chose custom software. The goal was a framework that stayed stable, adaptable, and resilient — able to handle today’s complexity, ERP or API latency, and high volumes of parallel requests.

## One infrastructure, multiple storefronts

## Solution

The bespoke commerce engine connects to Waterdrinker’s systems and exposes different storefronts per audience. Each storefront is tuned for Cash & Carry versus Big Professional Buyer journeys.

Large wholesale buyers can top up weekly stock so stores stay filled with plants and flowers; Cash & Carry customers get inspiration and trends in a dedicated area.

## Designed for maximum flexibility

When building the front-end we optimised for change: everything had to be flexible enough to refresh look and feel easily. We delivered an adaptable white-label approach so Waterdrinker can operate multiple storefronts with different visual identities and assortments.

## Results

The platform is live. Customers submit purchase orders smoothly and we keep improving the experience.

Since the 2016 launch we have worked in two-week sprints: user stories are prepared from the backlog before each sprint; afterwards stakeholders review the software and plan next steps.

[Visit the website ](https://www.waterdrinker.nl/)[More on sping.nl ](https://sping.nl/en/cases/)[Get in touch](https://sping.nl/en/contact/)