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How Fenix Outdoor took an API approach to a cloud-based data and tech integration platform

Client:

The Client

Fenix Outdoor is an internationally active group focused on products for nature and outdoor life. The company is listed on Nasdaq OMX, Stockholm and Large Cap. Their goal is to be a global player in the development and sale of equipment and clothing for an active outdoor life. The company sells Fjallraven and Tierra brand products such as backpacks, sleeping bags, tents, and outdoor clothing, as well as Primus camp stoves and lanterns. Fenix Outdoor also owns and operates the retail chains Naturkompaniet and Skandinavisk Hoyfjellsutstyr. The company is active in many countries in Northern Europe.​

The challenge

As the company is a collection of brands, they have disparate application stacks. Their ultimate goal is to move towards more standardised processes, more consistent data and rationalised technology across the brands. This will enable a better customer experience, improve speed to market of new offerings and functionality, and improve business insight while achieving economies of scale.​ ​ Historically when new functionality or applications were implemented, it was either based on brand specific requirements or needed point-to-point integration to launch. Although this addressed immediate needs, it continued to entrench the diversity of technology and data; and risked moving the business further away from its intended target state.

The approach

By transitioning to an API-based approach to integration, Fenix is able to connect business processes, services, content and data to colleagues, customers and developers, in an easy and secure way. It will provide common definitions of data across the business and a reusable set of services rather than messy point-to-point integration.

Key outcomes

  • Upskilling the Fenix team on an API-led integration approach, but also expedited the delivery as business knowledge was embedded within the team.
  • On the back of the speed and success of this initial MVP, the integration platform is now being scaled
  • The business now has a way of quickly interfacing orders across multiple disparate back-end systems which have quickly unlocked the ability to build new customer-facing products once across multiple brands in a seamless fashion.​

We have partnered with Riverflex on a number of projects now. I have always been impressed by the deep expertise of their team, the close collaboration with my people and the speed of delivering real results. They truly embody agile and lean approaches, proving this with the delivery of a new big data platform in less than three months, and a new cloud-based integration capability within weeks.

Christian Bader
Chief Information Officer of Fenix Outdoor