Maxilia

Maxilia, a leader in promotional products and corporate gifting throughout Europe, has a unique angle on their offering. Despite most of their competitors offering a plethora of disposable, single use plastic products that are popular due to their low cost, Maxilia primarily offers eco-friendly products, made from recycled materials. They are a Certified B Corporation with a strong commitment to sustainability.

In addition to being known for their sustainability efforts, they are also well known for their personalized service and low order minimums to meet the needs of small businesses. Despite their popularity, they were struggling to scale because their outdated systems were holding them back. To modernize and grow, Maxilia partnered with Above The Fray for comprehensive replatforming support.

Website

maxilia.nl

Platform

Shopware

The Challenge

Maxilia faced operational hurdles stemming from an outdated, monolithic software platform that tried to do too many things—ecommerce, ERP, OMS, CRM, and more—and was no longer doing any of it well. Over time, the original IT team transitioned out, leaving behind a complex system that no one knew how to manage. Additionally, a print shop acquisition had not been integrated properly, introducing new inefficiencies into an already overstretched infrastructure.

On the customer service side, Maxilia’s ethos of high-touch support had become a double-edged sword. Without sufficient self-service capabilities, routine tasks required multiple calls and manual checks, bottlenecking daily operations and straining staff. As a result, dedicated service teams spent a disproportionate amount of time guiding customers through basic processes.

With ambitious growth goals and a commitment to sustainability, Maxilia needed a modern, scalable platform—one capable of automating repetitive tasks, centralizing data, and supporting a robust supply network.

The Solution

Through multi-day workshops, we worked with the Maxilia team to uncover key requirements. After gathering an understanding of existing processes and reviewing the requirements, we recommended a composable architecture featuring Shopware for ecommerce, HubSpot for marketing automation, a WMS for efficient warehouse management, and an integration layer to unify data.

Rather than starting from the front-end, we built from the core processes up—ensuring operational workflows were optimized before layering in ecommerce. Meanwhile, an interim CTO guided the creation of a nearshore IT team, focusing on knowledge transfer and standardized sprint planning to ensure sustainability after our engagement ended. The result is a future-ready platform that preserves Maxilia’s dedication to sustainability and exceptional, personalized customer service.

SERVICES

• Technology and process assessment
• Replatforming strategy & roadmap
• Change management & enablement

Project Highlights

The result is a future-ready platform that preserves Maxilia’s dedication to sustainability and exceptional, personalized customer service.

Self-Service Tools
Introduced robust self-service features that minimize manual intervention, allowing customers to place and track orders more efficiently.
Warehouse & Inventory Management
Integrated cloud solutions and on-prem hardware for efficient order handling, from picking to fulfillment—ensuring operational continuity and reducing bottlenecks.
Multi-Channel Communication Hub
Built a hub with centralized customer data, enabling personalized marketing and seamless handoffs between teams—driving more meaningful engagement and improved reporting.

Self-Service Tools
Introduced robust self-service features that minimize manual intervention, allowing customers to place and track orders more efficiently.
Warehouse & Inventory Management
Integrated cloud solutions and on-prem hardware for efficient order handling, from picking to fulfillment—ensuring operational continuity and reducing bottlenecks.
Multi-Channel Communication Hub
Built a hub with centralized customer data, enabling personalized marketing and seamless handoffs between teams—driving more meaningful engagement and improved reporting.

Self-Service Tools
Introduced robust self-service features that minimize manual intervention, allowing customers to place and track orders more efficiently.
Warehouse & Inventory Management
Integrated cloud solutions and on-prem hardware for efficient order handling, from picking to fulfillment—ensuring operational continuity and reducing bottlenecks.
Multi-Channel Communication Hub
Built a hub with centralized customer data, enabling personalized marketing and seamless handoffs between teams—driving more meaningful engagement and improved reporting.

Self-Service Tools
Introduced robust self-service features that minimize manual intervention, allowing customers to place and track orders more efficiently.
Warehouse & Inventory Management
Integrated cloud solutions and on-prem hardware for efficient order handling, from picking to fulfillment—ensuring operational continuity and reducing bottlenecks.
Multi-Channel Communication Hub
Built a hub with centralized customer data, enabling personalized marketing and seamless handoffs between teams—driving more meaningful engagement and improved reporting.

Self-Service Tools
Introduced robust self-service features that minimize manual intervention, allowing customers to place and track orders more efficiently.
Warehouse & Inventory Management
Integrated cloud solutions and on-prem hardware for efficient order handling, from picking to fulfillment—ensuring operational continuity and reducing bottlenecks.
Multi-Channel Communication Hub
Built a hub with centralized customer data, enabling personalized marketing and seamless handoffs between teams—driving more meaningful engagement and improved reporting.