RDP Foodservice: an OroCommerce platform to meet the specifics of food distribution

Based in Ohio, United States, RDP Foodservice is a family-owned and independent company operating in the food distribution industry. Specialized in providing fresh products to restaurants, its ecommerce requirements and constraints go beyond traditional B2B commerce projects. One of its main challenges is managing customer orders in real-time. To address this, RDP Foodservice sought the assistance of a digital transformation consulting agency and the implementation of a specialized B2B ecommerce platform. A project signed by Synolia x OroCommerce.

A B2B ecommerce platform tailored to the challenges of food distribution

Founded in 1949 in Ohio, the family-owned company RDP Foodservice began its journey by distributing fresh products to a local pizzeria in Columbus. Today, it is recognized as one of the fastest-growing businesses in Columbus and one of the leading independent food distributors in the region.

However, the challenges in the fresh product distribution sector to professionals are numerous and specific. Real-time order management, order modifications, and last-minute deliveries are just a few of them.

The RDP Foodservice brief

An ecommerce platform that integrates the requirements and constraints of fresh product distribution to professionals and synchronizes in real-time with the new ERP.

In a context where each product has a short shelf life, and every customer can modify their order and order schedule at the last minute, RDP Foodservice expressed the need to migrate to a B2B ecommerce platform better suited to the specificities of its sector.

• A platform that synchronizes instantly with the Acumatica ERP for real-time order management.
• A platform that incorporates the concept of a customizable “order guide” for the customer.
• Also, “cut-off time” rules for managing order modifications.
• And finally, a high-performance platform that can handle several hundred products per order.

Synolia x OroCommerce

As an ecommerce expert and certified partner of OroCommerce, Synolia was chosen to support this custom migration project.

Thanks to its modularity, OroCommerce allowed the implementation of essential features for the food industry, such as the “order guide” concept and various “cut-off time” rules that determine until when an order can be modified.

Our Services for RDP Foodservice: Consulting and technical support for the migration to OroCommerce (using an agile methodology), specific developments and integrations, synchronization with the ERP, and ongoing support (TMA).

>A close connection with the ERP

The key point of the RDP Foodservice project was the dual real-time synchronization with the Acumatica ERP via REST APIs and the OData protocol, ensuring seamless consistency between the systems. This function ensures that any changes made to orders or “order guides”, whether from the ERP or the OroCommerce platform, are reflected in both systems transparently.

View of an order guide

Editable orders and future orders

And other features to optimize order management and customer experience

Several specific features were developed to meet the needs of RDP Foodservice and its customers:

The final verdict!

RDP Foodservice’s new ecommerce platform has been operational since January 2023. On the client side, teams appreciate the platform’s ability to adapt to complex and specific challenges encountered in the food industry.

Additionally, the teams appreciated Synolia’s personalized approach, minimizing friction for clients accustomed to the old internally developed platform. In summary, it’s a successful project for our OroCommerce teams across the Atlantic!