Warco

01

Goal

Modernising the Digital Infrastructure for a Heritage Engineering Giant

Founded in 1975, Warco (Warren Machine Tools) is one of the UK’s most trusted suppliers of metalworking machinery and engineering tools. Supplying everyone from home hobbyists and educational institutions to global brands like Rolls-Royce, McLaren, and the Ministry of Defence, their reputation for quality and technical expertise is unmatched.

Their primary objective was to future-proof their digital operations by migrating from a restrictive legacy setup onto Shopify. They needed a robust, highly capable e-commerce platform that could handle complex B2B and B2C purchasing journeys, while seamlessly integrating with their intricate backend operational systems.

02

Barriers

Heavy Machinery, Complex Shipping, and Disconnected Systems

Selling heavy industrial machinery online is vastly more complicated than standard e-commerce. Warco’s legacy platform was struggling to manage the sheer complexity of their inventory, which ranges from small tooling accessories to multi-ton industrial lathes.

The primary friction points were systemic. The brand relied on a web of disconnected backend systems for inventory management, CRM, and highly specific freight shipping logic that varied wildly depending on the product’s weight, size, and destination. Customers experienced a clunky front-end journey, while the internal Warco team was bogged down by manual data entry, complicated fulfillment processes, and a platform that lacked the agility to scale.

03

Solution

A Technical Shopify Migration and Complex System Integrations

To resolve these deep-rooted operational bottlenecks, we executed a highly technical migration to Shopify, transforming both the front-end user experience and the backend data architecture:

• Seamless Shopify Migration: We safely migrated over 50 years of brand equity, transitioning a massive catalog of complex SKUs, historical customer accounts, and highly detailed product specifications onto a modern Shopify architecture without zero disruption to their active sales channels.
• Complex System & API Integrations: The core of the project was the backend engineering. We developed and implemented complicated API integrations to sync their new Shopify store seamlessly with their existing ERP and inventory management systems. This ensured real-time stock accuracy across thousands of technical parts and heavy machines.
• Custom Freight & Shipping Logic: We engineered bespoke shipping algorithms directly into the checkout flow. Instead of manual quoting, the system now automatically calculates complex freight and pallet delivery rates based on the specific weight and dimensions of heavy machinery, drastically reducing friction for the buyer and administrative load for the Warco team.

04

Results

An Industrial-Grade, Automated E-Commerce Machine

By combining a modernized front-end design with heavy-duty backend system integrations, the new Shopify platform successfully streamlined Warco’s entire digital operation.

The custom shipping logic and seamless ERP synchronization eliminated hours of manual processing for the internal team, while providing B2B buyers and home engineers with a fast, frictionless purchasing experience. Since the launch of the new digital ecosystem, the brand has achieved:

• System Efficiency
  Flawless real-time data syncing between Shopify, ERP, and complex fulfilment networks
• Conversion Rate
  Increased across the board (Post-Launch)
• Average Order Value (AOV)
  Increased across the board

Warco now operates on an industrial-grade e-commerce platform, perfectly equipped to handle the complexities of selling heavy machinery while continuing their 50-year legacy of engineering excellence.