Home

Our Work

Centralized Merchandising Platform

Success Story

Streamlining Merchandising via Unified, Cloud-Based Platform

The Retail Hub has provided our client with a powerful tool to manage their merchandising operations more effectively.

Centralized

merchandising workflows improved efficiency.

Cloud-native design

enables fast onboarding of new applications and features.

Technologies

Node.js

Java

Amazon Athena

Amazon S3

Kubernetes

Apache Kafka

React

Spring Boot

HTTP synchronous communication

Kafka asynchronous events (Proton implementation)

Expertise

Microservices

Cloud

Back-end engineering

Event-driven architecture

Legacy modernization

Have a Similar Problem?

Unlock new efficiencies and modernize your operations with our engineering experts.

Contact Sales

Operational inefficiencies

A leading retail company faced significant operational inefficiencies due to the use of multiple disparate software applications and manual processes.

Data inconsistencies

This fragmented approach led to data inconsistencies, collaboration difficulties, and a lack of streamlined processes.

Manual merchandising processes

Employees in the merchandising department often relied on Excel spreadsheets and isolated programs to manage sales, pricing, discounts, and product creation on the website.

Need for a unified platform

To address these challenges, our client needed a unified platform to manage all these processes through a single, standardized interface.

Have a Similar Problem?

Unlock new efficiencies and modernize your operations with our engineering experts.

Contact Sales

Modernization and architecture leadership

Zoolatech is recognized for transforming legacy platforms into scalable, cloud-native architectures with strong reliability, security, and performance fundamentals.

Enterprise delivery excellence

Our teams bring deep expertise in microservices, Infrastructure as Code, API design, and large-scale system integrations—ensuring predictable execution and high-quality engineering outcomes.

Zoolatech is a senior-heavy engineering firm with Silicon Valley roots and a Miami HQ, specializing in legacy modernization, system re-architecture, and AI deployment to drive long-term, compounding value.

2017

Year Founded

600+

Employees

96%

Client Satisfaction

Phase 1

Platform evolution

The Retail Hub evolved from an MVP into a refined, expanded platform, with new and existing applications integrated into a unified interface.

Phase 2

Application expansion

New applications were introduced to support notifications, incident resolution, task orchestration, and secure user authentication.

Phase 3

Architecture modernization

A microservices architecture with Kubernetes and a microfrontend model enhanced scalability and isolated each functional area.

Phase 4

Communication layer

The platform implemented synchronous communication via HTTP and asynchronous event-driven workflows via Kafka integrated through Proton.

Phase 5

Data and insights

AWS S3 and Athena enabled centralized data storage, queries, and real-time merchandising insights.

Phase 6

Secure access

Internal applications operated within the client’s VPN, with secure external access enabled through Fastly for remote users.

We turned fragmented legacy systems into a single, cloud-native merchandising engine built for speed and scale.

Onboarding of new applications

Zoolatech was engaged to enhance and further develop the Retail Hub, a platform our client was already using in its MVP form. Our team was tasked with improving the platform, onboarding new applications, and building new features from scratch to meet the company’s growing needs. The Retail Hub was designed to be a comprehensive platform that would centralize and automate our client’s merchandising operations. Initially, the MVP version of the Retail Hub was in place, and Zoolatech’s team focused on refining and expanding its functionality. We onboarded various existing and new applications onto the Retail Hub, providing our client’s teams with a unified interface to manage their processes.

Development of core applications

Zoolatech’s team developed several key applications from scratch, including:

Notifications system: Provides real-time notifications across the platform, ensuring that users are promptly informed of important updates and changes.
Issue resolution tool: Enables employees to report and resolve incidents quickly. This tool aggregates issues, assigns them to the appropriate team members, and tracks their resolution history, replacing the older, manual email-based process.
Task management platform: A critical component of the Retail Hub, this platform orchestrates tasks across different departments. It provides a unified interface for creating, managing, and tracking tasks.
User management and permissions: The User Manager application handles user authentication and authorization. The platform integrates with Okta for secure user authentication, generating tokens stored in LocalStorage and used across all applications via the authorization header.

Microservices and microfrontend architecture

The platform is built using a microservices architecture with Kubernetes handling container orchestration. This ensures that each service operates independently, allowing for scalability and flexibility in managing different components. The platform also utilizes a microfrontend architecture, where each application within the Retail Hub operates as a separate frontend, integrated seamlessly into the overall user experience. All services are containerized, with ReactJS used for the frontend applications and NodeJS for the Backend-for-Frontend (BFF) layer.

Synchronous and asynchronous communication

Synchronous communication between services is handled via HTTP, ensuring real-time data exchange and interactions across the platform. For asynchronous communication, the platform relies on Kafka events, which are integrated via our client’s proprietary implementation called Proton.

Data services integration

The platform leverages AWS services for data storage and analysis. Data generated by the platform is stored in S3 and processed using AWS Athena. The Retail Hub uses this data to generate reports and visualizations, providing the company with real-time insights into their operations.

External access and security

While most of the Retail Hub’s applications operate within our client’s VPN, some are accessible externally via Fastly, enabling remote users to interact with the platform securely.

The platform adapts easily to changing business demands, allowing teams to introduce new capabilities, scale workloads, and evolve workflows without disrupting existing operations.

Unified operations

Streamlined processes across departments, reducing the time and effort required to manage merchandising operations.

Enhanced collaboration

Improved collaboration among teams by providing a standardized interface for all tasks and operations.

Real-time insights

Enhanced decision-making capabilities through real-time data analysis and reporting.

Scalability and flexibility

The microservices and microfrontend architecture allow for easy integration of new applications, ensuring the platform can scale with the company’s evolving needs.

Improved security

Secure user authentication and authorization mechanisms, ensuring that only authorized personnel can access specific features and data.

Customer and operational empowerment

The Retail Hub has provided our client with a powerful tool to manage their merchandising operations more effectively.

Scalable architecture for future growth

By unifying processes and providing a single point of access for all relevant data and applications, the company has enhanced its ability to respond to market changes.