Hekamerk

When Hekamerk OÜ, a plumbing importer with more than 20 years of experience in Estonia and a company that supplies major Estonian construction companies, contractors and private customers, decided to build a modern e-shop, the goal was not just a new visual. What was needed was a deeply integrated B2B web solution that would connect the store’s sales team, wholesale customers, private customers, ERP system Noomi, Cargoson’s transport solution and Montonio payments. Everything had to work in a single environment where prices, stock levels and authorisations were as accurate and up-to-date as possible.

Client and project background

Hekamerk OÜ is a distributor, wholesaler and retailer of sanitary products operating since 2006. The company’s product range includes more than 40 well-known brands such as Wavin, Grohe, Grundfos, Wilo, Uponor, Viega, Danfoss, Rothenberger, PAM and Rockwool. The company employs more than 30 specialists and has sales in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Hekamerk’s customers are:

• Specialist contractors and construction companies who need to quickly find a suitable product, see a project-based price and prepare a tender.
• Estimators and designers who need technical documentation, certificates and PDFs.
• Private customers who subscribe in smaller volumes but need the same clear information.
• Hekamerk’s own sales team, including 11 sales specialists at the Leiva Street store in Tallinn. They use the same website on a daily basis for searching, preparing offers and placing orders.

The cooperation with Web Systems started in February 2020. The first public live version reached users in 2024, and development, maintenance and the addition of new interfaces at hekamerk.ee continues to this day. Web Systems helps to maintain, update and further develop the system on a monthly basis.

The challenge: three user groups, 14 000 products and ERP at the heart of the backend

Hekamerk already had a website, but it was visually outdated and lacked significant interfaces. The website functioned more as a static product catalogue, lacking stock levels, project-based pricing and e-commerce capabilities. The basic requirements of the new solution were extensive:

• The entire warehouse is synchronised in real time with Hekamerk’s ERP system Noom: around 14 000 products, stock levels, prices, attributes, images and certificates.
• Serving three different user groups in one solution: the Hekamerk sales team in the store, wholesale customers and private customers, each with different rights, prices and functionalities.
• Project-based pricing for wholesale customers: the customer logs in, selects a project and sees the products and agreed prices associated with that project. Prices come from Noom, where they are managed at four levels: object-based, discount-based, person-based and company global price.
• Different product types and different logics: storable, non-storable and “grey-area” products, parent-variation structure, products by piece or by box, and separate display, filtering and transport logic for each product group.
• Digital country authentication: ID-card, Mobile-ID and Smart-ID login in a B2B environment where multiple authorised companies can be associated with one person.
• Third-party transport calculation: delivery routes and prices are displayed via the Cargoson API according to product attributes and destination address.
• Developed within the framework of Noomi’s own server: the system had to run in a Hekamerk dedicated environment, rather than on a traditional shared hosting.

In addition, the project naturally evolved as it developed. New Noomi features were added, feedback from real users was received and new business needs emerged. To keep the work documented and transparent, we used the Jira Atlassian wiki throughout the development process to map requirements, decisions and changes.

Solution: a WooCommerce base, a fully customised front-end and a deep Noomi interface.

We started with a thorough mapping of the project: product tree, user groups, authorisations, discounting logic, ordering process, nom interfaces, transport and payment scenarios. The mapping resulted in an architecture where WooCommerce is the foundation for a robust and flexible e-commerce. On top of this, we built a fully customised front-end and a separate integration layer for the Noomi, Cargoson and Montonio interfaces. The system runs on Hekamerk’s own server, which was one of the special requirements of the project. Why a well-planned structure is the basis for a successful website is also explained in our website planning guide.

Custom front on top of WooCommerce, where every detail is thought through

A typical WooCommerce theme would not be flexible enough to serve three user groups, project-based pricing, authorization logic and B2B views. Therefore, we built a fully customised front-end that covers the entire user experience: home page, product archive with filters, product view, shopping cart, checkout, user account, order history, reorder and admin mode. WooCommerce’s robust order and payment logic remains in the background, but the user sees views designed to Hekamerk’s needs, which work seamlessly on desktop and mobile.

Two-way interface with Noomi ERP as the heart of the system

The Noomi interface is one of the most important parts of the whole solution and its development was one of the most extensive phases of the project. The interface is bidirectional: Noom → Web synchronises products, attributes, stock, pricing, projects, customers and authorisations; Web → Noom sends orders as a separate document type with customer, project, products and all necessary fields. Inventory is synchronised every 5 minutes and project updates and price changes are transferred as soon as possible.

The structure of the products supports the logic of parent-variation. A single parent product can have multiple variations, for example different sizes, lengths or materials, and the web can filter and display variations according to the attributes of the parent product. Products are categorised by status: in-stock, or in stock; out-of-stock, or on-order; and grey-area, or products that have passed through the last year and are not in stock. Each status has its own display and ordering logic. For non-stocked products, a minimum purchase quantity is applied and the customer is informed if there is not enough stock for the order.

Digital country authentication and authorisation system

Login to the B2B environment via ID-card, Mobile-ID and Smart-ID. These Estonian digital national authentication methods provide ID-based identification and a high level of security. One of the specific features that made the logic more complex was that one person can have credentials for several companies. After logging in, the system asks which company the user is acting on behalf of. The projects, prices, type of credential and credit limit visible depend on this choice. Each mandate, mandate type and linkage comes from Noom. The web does not manage them separately to avoid data discrepancies.

Project-based pricing and four-level discount logic

Hekamark wholesale prices are not just “catalogue price minus X%”. Each company may be involved in several projects and each project may have its own specific prices. When a customer selects their project on the page, the system filters the catalogue displayed and applies the prices assigned to that project. If there is no project price, the calculation moves to the next level: object-based → person-based → company group global → price list base price. The customer will be shown the best possible price according to the rules. In addition, the KM with/without KM toggle works across the entire page, which is a tool that B2B customers need on a daily basis.

Cargoson: transport prices and options in real time

The range of sanitary products is very diverse. For example, 3-metre cast iron pipes and small fittings require a completely different transport logic. We solved the transport calculation through Cargoson. In the checkout view, we send the customer’s shopping cart information, including product weights, dimensions and destination address, to Cargoson and show the customer different delivery methods and prices in real time. If the product requires special transport, this information is also displayed. Courier, parcel machine and “pick up” are also available.

Sales team tool: manager mode and quick quote tool

One of the original aims of the project was that the website would also support Hekamerk’s own sales team, including 11 sales professionals who work with customers in the store on a daily basis. We built an administrator mode where the sales manager can log in on behalf of the customer, see the environment in the customer’s view and place an order on their behalf. This way, the work can be done faster without having to move between several separate systems. The administrator can also see the order history and repeat orders of their customers and quickly see who ordered which products last.

Other key technical features

• Payment solution Montonio: bank links, card payments and Apple Pay / Google Pay support; B2B customers also have the option to order by invoice or by payment term.
• Live search with AJAX: the customer can search for a product by code, name or “nickname”, for example “tseburaska”, and see matches as they type.
• “Become a customer” onboarding form: a new B2B customer enquiry with a request for a credit limit, payment term and main business areas, which is forwarded to the Hekamerk team.
• Wishlist, repeat order and PDF order: from the B2B customer’s user account, you can quickly repeat a previous order and generate a PDF file of the order.
• Different request forms: missing product request, rental product request and general quote request.
• Certificates and more than 1000 PDF files: product category and product-specific materials accessible to logged-in customers.
• News and campaigns management: a manageable area on the home page where you can introduce new brands, partnerships and seasonal campaigns.
• Custom server in a Noomi environment: we developed and set up the system on the client’s own server infrastructure.
• Security: HTTPS, digital authentication, input validation, WordPress nonce-based CSRF protection and daily backups.
• Documentation on the Jira Atlassian wiki: development points, decisions and changes are stored and shared with both parties.

Result: a system that grows with your business

The first public live version went live in 2024 and was preceded by an extensive testing phase. A system where warehouse, projects, customers, authorisations and orders all work together needs particularly careful control. Today, hekamerk.ee is a daily tool for Hekamerk’s customers as well as for the company’s own team. The collaboration didn’t end when it went live. Development, new interfaces, requests for improvements from users and monthly maintenance continue.

For us, long-term cooperation on a project is a strong sign of trust. It is particularly valuable to work with a client who uses the system every day and continues to develop it.

We have used the web development services of Web Systems OÜ and have been very satisfied with the cooperation. During the project, communication was clear, fast and professional, and the agreed deadlines were met. The developer was able to understand our needs well, and also proposed solutions that helped to improve the final result significantly. The completed website and e-shop is functional, user-friendly and visually modern. We particularly appreciated the technical competence, flexibility and willingness to find solutions for even the most complex tasks. The after-sales service also runs smoothly, with all additions and corrections made quickly. We recommend the services of Web Systems OÜ to anyone looking for a reliable and competent web developer.

Kalev Kütt, Hekamerk OÜ

Project details

• Client: Hekamerk OÜ
• Sector: importer of sanitary products, wholesale and retail (B2B + B2C)
• Platform: WordPress + WooCommerce with a fully customised front-end
• Server: Hekamerk’s own custom-server (Noomi infrastructure)
• Payment solution: Montonio (bank transfers, card payments, Apple Pay / Google Pay) + for B2B clients with bill/payment term.
• Transport: real-time calculation of delivery routes and prices via Cargoson API
• ERP interface: two-way interface with Nom’s business software (products, stock, prices, projects, customers, authorisations, orders).
• Authentication: ID-card, Mobile-ID, Smart-ID
• Documentation: Jira Atlassian wiki
• Services: website development, e-shop development, web design, interfaces, server hosting, long-term maintenance.
• Delivery date: February 2020 – first live 2024 – development and maintenance ongoing.
• Team: project managers (several over time), front-end developers, back-end developers, interface developers, designer.
• Project Manager for Web Systems (for now): Jaan Juurikas
• Website: hekamerk.ee

For complex B2B projects like this, we will be by your side every step of the way, from website design and e-commerce development to web design, SEO services and long-term maintenance.