A Michigan-based global manufacturing company, operating across 12 countries, was facing increasing challenges with its legacy “Supplier Portal,” originally developed in 2009. The outdated system was unable to meet evolving digital and security standards, limiting the company’s ability to collaborate efficiently with its vast supplier network. Over time, performance issues, user experience gaps, and compliance risks began to impact business operations and supplier engagement.
The client recognized the need for a comprehensive modernization initiative that would not only address immediate pain points but also lay the foundation for long-term digital scalability.
The client’s legacy supplier portal had reached the limits of its technological lifespan. Built on obsolete frameworks, it suffered from multiple issues such as:
- Security Vulnerabilities: Outdated architecture and lack of ongoing patch management made the system increasingly prone to potential cyber threats.
- Performance Bottlenecks: Slow response times and poor scalability hindered day-to-day supplier interactions, especially across global operations.
- Limited Integration: The existing platform was disconnected from key enterprise systems like ERP and PIM, resulting in manual data entry and inconsistency.
- Maintenance Constraints: With legacy technologies and diminishing skilled resources, maintaining the system had become both time-consuming and costly.
The client needed a technology partner capable of re-architecting the platform to meet modern digital expectations, focusing on security, scalability, automation and seamless user experience.
Nirvana Lab partnered with the client to undertake a structured Supplier Portal Modernization Initiative. The engagement began with a 13-week discovery phase, where the team conducted extensive stakeholder workshops, current system audits, and process mapping exercises. The objective was to clearly define modernization priorities, business use cases, and integration requirements.
Leveraging Liferay DXP, Nirvana Lab built a secure, modular, and future-ready portal designed to enhance usability and business agility. The solution emphasized:
- Improved Security: Implementing OneLogin IAM for centralized identity management and access control.
- Enhanced User Experience: A redesigned interface with simplified navigation and mobile responsiveness, ensuring ease of use across geographies.
- Seamless Integrations: Tight coupling with Product Information Management (PIM) and BAAN ERP systems for real-time data synchronization and better supplier collaboration.
- Data Analytics & Reporting: Integrated Google Analytics (GA) and Google Tag Manager (GTM) to track portal engagement and supplier activity for continuous improvement.
This resulted in a completely reimagined “Supplier Portal” – intuitive, scalable, and secure, now serving as a digital backbone for supplier collaboration and procurement operations.
The modernization aligned with the client’s long-term goal, validating key use cases through proof-of-concept. The architecture leverages AWS Cloud for scalability and high availability, with Jenkins for continuous integration.
The transformation to the new “Supplier Portal” enhanced security and operational efficiency, positioning the company as an industry leader ready to strengthen supplier relationships across 12 countries.
Liferay DXP 7.4, OneLogin IAM, Elastic Search, AWS Cloud, High Availability Architecture, PIM Integration, BAAN ERP Integration, Crystal Reports, PERL, Google Analytics, (GA) & Google Tag Manager (GTM), Jenkins (CI/CD Pipelines), Amazon RDS.
