Lallemand adopts self-service portal to end costly legacy orders

Lallemand has replaced its traditional email and phone ordering methods with a self-service B2B portal powered by composable technology from commercetools.

Lallemand, an industrial biotechnology business with a global presence spanning more than 50 countries and over 5,000 employees, has historically relied upon offline sales channels to service its customers. With an evolving market and rising customer expectations, the company faced mounting inefficiencies, escalating operational costs, and limited options for scaling its commercial operations.

Recognising these challenges, Lallemand set out to transition to a modern digital commerce platform for its North American Baking business unit. The new platform supports over 1,000 product selections, multiple brands, varied currencies, instant ordering, and provides advanced digital tools for both its buyers and sales teams. To achieve this transformation, Lallemand partnered with commercetools and EPAM to deliver a scalable, flexible ordering experience built on MACH principles, which leverage microservices, API-first, cloud-native, and headless technology.

Caroline Fortin, Director of Customer Experience at Lallemand, said: "Lallemand is a family business, and we see our customers as an extension of our family. To continue delivering exceptional service - something we've proudly upheld for over 100 years - we needed a commerce solution capable of managing complex business scenarios while scaling alongside our global growth. We chose commercetools because it became clear to us that no other provider could better enable the flexibility to serve a wide range of use cases, touchpoints, business units and regions."

The B2B portal introduces a digital ordering process with a user-friendly interface, personalised customer dashboards, and enhanced end-user support. It is designed to replace the manual and time-consuming order methods previously managed by email and phone. Sales representatives are also able to use the new system as a tool to add more value to their customers, while Lallemand can now manage its international business more effectively with support for numerous regions, currencies, and brands.

Eric Speciel, Chief Customer Officer at commercetools, said: "Lallemand's transformation is a powerful example of how a company with deep-rooted heritage can embrace digital transformation and innovation while remaining true to the core values that define their business. The trust Lallemand has placed in commercetools to build its digital commerce platform is a testament to our commitment to driving innovation. It highlights the importance of partnering with a reliable technology provider that not only helps businesses meet evolving market demands but also preserves their connection to their customers."

Julie Synave, Account Manager for Lallemand at EPAM, added: "Lallemand's journey from an initial business idea to a fully realised, future-ready digital commerce platform is a powerful testament to what strategic collaboration can achieve. From early strategy definition and implementation planning to development, launch, and ongoing growth, EPAM has been proud to support Lallemand throughout this transformation."

"By leveraging commercetools' flexible and scalable technology, Lallemand now has a robust, future-proof platform that supports their business today and prepares them for tomorrow. This collaboration has been a great success for everyone involved - Lallemand, EPAM, and commercetools - and stands as a strong example of what's possible with the right partnership and technology."

Lallemand plans to continue expanding its digital platform with the long-term goal of incorporating more business units, including its B2C brands.