Composable commerce - the future of building e-commerce systems

For many years, e-commerce store owners have faced the daunting task of choosing the best solution for their business. Until now, most small businesses have opted for SaaS (Software as a Service) solutions due to their simplicity, as such a store does not require installation on its server but is provided by the provider.

As a result, entrepreneurs did not have to worry about activities related to configuration, servers, hosting or data security. Such a solution, while convenient, was only sometimes applicable to larger entrepreneurs offering B2B services, where the sales process is a bit more complicated. And while SaaS platforms have gotten better and better at handling such a large amount of data over time, it’s still hard to call them an ideal solution for any industry.

Recently, however, a few concepts have emerged that greatly expand the perspectives of both small and large enterprises. One of them is the so-called “composable” approach (Packaged Business Capabilites), which, unlike other solutions, allows the selection of the right components that contribute to achieving a company’s business goals. This innovative approach is composable commerce.

Composable commerce is a strategy of selecting best-in-class eCommerce components and composing them into a custom application. This approach enables business and technical teams to realize their unique digital vision for their brands by enabling and continuously optimizing digital business experiences that leverage multiple best-in-class vendors to create a complete business solution. Such a solution offers a significant advantage in the marketplace and extensive growth opportunities.

To introduce composable commerce, modern technologies and approaches such as MACH (Microservices, APIs, Cloud and Headless) and Jamstack (JavaScript, APIs and Markup) are being used to adapt to rapidly changing market dynamics. A cloud-based modern decoupling architecture, MACH architecture is essential for building a truly composite business strategy.

The MACH (Microservices, API-First, Cloud-Native, and Headless) architecture is, in a nutshell, how composable commerce is supposed to look.

Microservices: A microservices-based architecture enables the creation PBCs (Packaged Business Capabilities), applications or services developed around a specific business function. On the other hand, monolithic applications are too closely interconnected, and functions cannot be implemented independently.

API-First – If all functions are available through an API, a “composite” approach to e-commerce development can combine two or more applications or services.

Cloud-Native SaaS: Software-as-a-Service that uses the full capabilities of the cloud in addition to storage and hosting, including flexible scaling of existing resources. Features are updated manually, so there is no need to manage updates.

Headless: The front-end user experience is completely separate from the backend logic, allowing full design freedom in creating the user interface and connecting to other channels and devices (e.g., existing applications, IoT, A/R, vending machines, sensors, etc.).

The MACH architecture gives companies the freedom to choose from the best tools on the market and maintains a structure that makes it easy to add, replace or remove these tools in the future.

As we mentioned, composable commerce focuses primarily on giving brands the flexibility to adapt to technological changes and market demands. By executing business objectives in a fast and agile manner, it enables the business, and the developers themselves, to choose a solution and implement components tailored to their needs.

1. A tailor-made solution – Selecting the best components to support critical business processes is one of the main reasons for taking a “composable” approach. This allows you to choose what you need rather than being limited to what is already integrated into a monolithic platform. Customers also appreciate flexible access: as many as 60% of millennials say they are loyal to brands that offer a unique shopping experience.
2. Saves time – Integrating different components is easier with composable commerce, as they communicate through modern APIs. This saves time and ensures that you can focus on your company’s core business values.
3. Data freedom – With a monolithic platform, there are often lock-in effects where you lack easy access to data from other systems. However, the composability ecosystem is integrated with open standards, making access to data easy and precise.
4. No dependence on a single vendor – Monolithic software providers limits the flexibility of their customers. Composable commerce offers the ability to replace components in a modular structure without waiting for the end of the contract or additional migration costs.
5. Quick integration – Composable commerce consists of various business function packages (PBCs). Using off-the-shelf ecosystem connectors, PBCs can be coordinated to solve more complex business problems.
6. Simple testing – Composable commerce allows you to connect, configure and test numerous integrations to maintain versatility. This allows you to try out many new features and keep those options that best suit your business needs by executing business objectives in a fast and agile manner, it enables the business, and the developers themselves, to choose a solution and implement components tailored to their needs.

Composable commerce solutions seem to be an almost perfect choice for large enterprises and corporations. Flexibility is always at a premium, and the wide range of options increases the chances of creating a unique customer experience. However, there are some potential obstacles and pitfalls to consider, especially when planning a full microservices strategy instead of a simple e-commerce platform.

1. The multiplicity of vendors – The need to negotiate a purchase agreement, review terms and conditions, and integrate with an existing technology stack arises virtually every time a new microservice is implemented. Also, remember that each service provider has its service level agreement; some handle traffic peaks and other unexpected circumstances better than others.
2. Creating an interface for microservice integration – Combining microservices from different vendorsrequires companies to build a unified user interface based on these components. A smart organization with a digitally enhanced workforce and solid cross-functional collaboration is critical to a complex business execution model.

Building and updating traditional e-commerce platforms is usually complicated and time-consuming. It’s impossible to quickly introduce new, much-needed features because all the elements that make it up depending on each other. To update one feature, the entire system must be updated. In contrast, composable commerce offers flexibility and adaptability. The functions are different, so you can choose the one that best fits your business needs. Accelerating innovation is easy because individual parts can be replaced at any time, making it easier to respond to changing consumer needs and stay competitive.