The Challenge
Most people think about office supplies only when they run out. Customers, however, expect essential items to always be available and become frustrated when they are not, even if they forgot to place an order.
At the same time, distributors face constant pressure from urgent requests, unpredictable delivery schedules, and rising customer-service costs. ExtraLux, one of Slovenia’s largest B2B office-supply distributors, wanted to break this cycle.
The company introduced a new business model based on optimized inventory placed directly at customer locations. Stock would be replenished automatically according to agreed schedules, and customers would only be charged for what they actually used.
To make this model work, ExtraLux needed a custom e-commerce platform, internally branded as Birolux. The solution had to combine a traditional B2B online store with a consigned-inventory management layer, all within one maintainable platform.
They partnered with Creatim to design and build the solution.
The Solution
Creatim first mapped the complete user journey required for ExtraLux customers to manage their personalized office-supply lists.
The central element became a web application that allows customers to report their monthly consumption. This data automatically drives invoicing. The interface had to be simple enough to ensure adoption would not become the biggest challenge of the project.
The same system also notifies ExtraLux representatives when inventory needs to be replenished.
In parallel, the development team built the technical foundation on Sylius, an open-source platform designed for flexible and complex B2B commerce models.
The final solution combines two systems into one platform:
1. B2B online store
- Customer-specific catalogs and pricing
- Personalized promotions
- Assisted-selling capabilities
2. Birolux application
- Distributed consigned-inventory management
- Joint inventory management between ExtraLux and its B2B customers
- Monthly consumption reporting
- Automated invoicing
The platform automates the entire B2B sales process, from ordering to contract management, and provides both supplier and customer with a single, accurate view of consumption.
Results
The platform fundamentally changed how ExtraLux runs its business. Three numbers tell the story:
- 70%+ of orders are now digital
More than 70% of all ExtraLux orders are now placed online. This major shift in automation has changed how the sales operation is organized and improved the company’s ability to compete in tenders.
- Order-processing time reduced by nearly half
Average order-processing time has been cut by almost 50%, creating measurable efficiency gains for both ExtraLux and its customers.
- One platform managing 180 locations
A major clothing retailer now manages procurement for 180 locations across Slovenia and Croatia entirely through the platform. Each location operates as its own cost center, while a single person in Slovenia manages the entire process.
“One of our customers is a major clothing retailer with 180 locations across Slovenia and Croatia. Each location is now a separate cost center, but orders for all of them are managed centrally by a single person in Slovenia. Before digitalization, that simply would not have been possible.”
Gregor Bogataj, ExtraLux
The impact goes beyond operational efficiency.
With more orders flowing through the platform, ExtraLux’s sales team regained valuable time and was able to focus more on revenue growth.
The additional capacity also enabled the company to expand beyond traditional office supplies into adjacent categories, including cleaning and hygiene products, marketing and promotional materials, and gift programs.
This strategic shift is especially important as traditional office-supply revenue continues to decline across the industry due to increasing digitalization. The platform did more than optimize existing operations. It gave ExtraLux the flexibility to evolve its business model.
With the platform in production, ExtraLux can:
- Optimize inventory and the delivery process across hundreds of customer sites
- Win tenders on competitive delivery terms — order-to-delivery is effectively zero
- Operate from a single, real-time view of customers, inventories, and orders
- Free its sales team to focus on growth and category expansion
- Maintain brand recognition and reputation as a digital-forward distributor
The solution is managed and hosted by Creatim, helping ExtraLux maintain control over total cost of ownership while allowing the sales team to focus on activities where human expertise creates the most value.
Built on Sylius — featured by Sylius
The ExtraLux platform is featured on Sylius’s official website as a flagship Industrial & Commercial case study.
The case study has been published in English, French, and German.
Creatim is a Sylius Professional Solution Partner and one of a select group of certified agencies trusted to build production-grade Sylius platforms for European companies.
Read the case on Sylius.com
Ready to rethink how your business actually delivers?
If your business depends on putting the right product in front of the right customer at the right moment, there may be a smarter way to operate than the approach you use today.
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Creatim has been engineering B2B commerce platforms for European distributors and wholesalers for 25 years.
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