Case Study

Sports club online stores

Project Summary

TORÍN Sports, a team sports equipment startup, sought a streamlined solution for team gear orders. The tool we built empowered TORÍN to swiftly establish online shops for client teams, transforming their role from supplier to operational partner.

Challenge

Traditional team gear ordering involved a time-consuming process of collecting orders and payments manually. Coaches wanted to focus on training, not administrative tasks. The challenge was clear: develop a digital tool to simplify this process for TORÍN’s clients.

Solution

We proposed a web shop where team members could log in, customize, and order products relevant to them. A custom tool allowed TORÍN employees to quickly set up team accounts. After a one-day proof of concept, we secured approval to develop the web tool. A MySQL database managed user accounts, orders, and TORÍN's product catalog. The backend facilitated account creation and image uploads, while the frontend, customizable for each team, underwent user testing before launch.

Why no ready-made solution?
We aimed to optimize TORÍN's offerings and explored existing web shop solutions. However, we opted for a custom-made solution, acknowledging higher upfront costs. This choice minimizes running expenses, simplifies account setup, and allows us to address specific client needs and challenges promptly.

Some custom-made functions

Order period
For collective orders, the client teams can define the start and end of an order period. Users can't add products to their cart outside the order period. When the period is about to end, a heads-up is displayed on the product site. Login error tolerance
Users were copy-pasting their team password with extra blank characters and couldn't log in. We made a tweak: If the first or last character is a space, it is automatically omitted. Since then, there have been no login-related complaints.

Results

The web shop, generating a four-digit monthly turnover per club, significantly impacted TORÍN's business. It alleviated coaching hassles, giving TORÍN a strategic advantage. The tool turned TORÍN from product supplier to service provider, attracting new clients and strengthening existing relationships in a competitive market.