GR Scott needed Apple Pay, eBay listings and a parts catalogue that the team could promote and manage themselves. We recommended Shopify because it handles the commodity work well and we could use their API to integrate with their internal database system.

Results at a glance

  • Modern payment options including Google Pay and Apple Pay
  • eBay integration for marketplace sales
  • Google Product feed and social channel integration
  • Shopify API connected to their own database
  • Orders and pricing managed in one place
  • PCI DSS compliance supported for telephone payments
GR Scott website

Background

GR Scott has been manufacturing coldrooms and refrigeration components since 1963. Based in Ossett, West Yorkshire, they produce modular and bespoke coldrooms, refrigeration doors, insulated panels and metal fabrication work for the food service, pharmaceutical and logistics industries. Alongside the manufacturing business they stock an extensive range of replacement parts including door fasteners, gaskets, seals, strip curtains, heater tape and fixings, sold online to refrigeration engineers and maintenance teams across the UK.

Their existing ecommerce site worked but maintaining product listings across Google Product feeds, eBay and other sales channels required significant manual effort. The platform had no native tools for SEO, social promotion or marketplace integration. All of that had to be built and maintained separately.

We recommended Shopify. Not because a custom platform could not do the job, but because Shopify already handles the commodity work well. Google Products, eBay listings, Instagram feeds, SEO tools and Apple Pay all come with the platform without ongoing development cost.

In addition we could integrate between Shopify and GR Scott's own database system.

What we built

Modern payment methods

Shopify's native payment handling brought Google Pay, Apple Pay and standard card payments into a single checkout. Customers, particularly engineers ordering parts from a phone while on site, can complete a purchase in seconds without entering card details manually.

Modern payment options
Digital wallet integration

eBay marketplace integration

Product listings, inventory and orders now sync between the Shopify store and eBay automatically. GR Scott's parts catalogue is visible to buyers searching on eBay without anyone managing two separate systems. Stock levels update in both directions.

eBay integration
eBay marketplace sales

Google Products and social channels

The product catalogue feeds directly into Google Shopping and social channels through Shopify's built in tools. GR Scott's team can manage their own product promotion and SEO without raising a development request every time something needs updating.

Mobile checkout
Mobile and channel ready

Shopify API integration with their own database

This is the part that goes beyond a standard Shopify migration. GR Scott run their own internal database for pricing, product attributes and order management. We integrated the Shopify API so that product pricing and base attributes can be updated from either system without duplication, and all online orders flow automatically into their database. No manual rekeying, no reconciliation at the end of the day.

 

PCI DSS compliance for telephone payments

Shopify handles PCI compliance for online transactions automatically. GR Scott also take payments over the phone, which sits outside Shopify's scope and requires separate compliance validation. We supported them through that process, the same work we carried out for Musica Kirklees.

 

What changed

Area Before After
Payment methods Card payments only Google Pay, Apple Pay and cards
Sales channels Website only, manual eBay listing Website, eBay and Google Products synced automatically
Product promotion Required development work for every change Managed in house through Shopify tools
Order management Online orders separate from internal database Orders flow automatically into internal system
Pricing updates Updated in one system, manually reconciled Updated in either system via API integration
Platform maintenance Custom catalogue requiring ongoing development Shopify handles updates and new features

Does this sound familiar?

This project may be relevant if you are maintaining a custom ecommerce catalogue that requires development work every time a product, price or channel listing needs updating, or if your online orders are not connected to your internal systems.

Moving to an established platform like Shopify is not always the right answer. When the commodity work is well served by an existing platform, it is worth asking what custom development is actually adding. We can help you make that assessment and handle the integration work that the platform cannot do on its own.