From Outdated Customer Service to a Modern Solution: My Experience at a Major E-Commerce Platform

As a software engineer at adesso, I had the opportunity to contribute to a challenging project for one of the largest e-commerce platforms in the Benelux. In this blog, I’ll share my experience rebuilding their customer service application: a project that was not only technically demanding, but also had a direct impact on millions of customers.

The Challenge We Faced

When I joined the company, the customer service department was operating on an outdated application. The system was built with legacy technologies and still ran entirely on on-premise infrastructure. We had a decision to make: modernize the front-end framework and migrate to the cloud or rebuild the entire application from scratch.

After careful consideration, we chose to start fresh and build a brand-new application using modern technologies:

• Back end: Spring Boot combined with an in-house framework, written in Kotlin
• Front end: React

My Role in the Project

As a software engineer, I joined the development team and worked on both the front end and back end of the application. One of my key responsibilities was serving as the epic lead for the case-handling functionality. This meant I was in charge of developing the backend systems responsible for efficiently processing customer requests.

What I particularly appreciated about this project was our iterative approach. We started with a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), followed by a pilot phase with internal service agents, and then gradually rolled out the application to increasingly larger user groups. Continuous improvement based on user feedback was essential throughout.

A Complete Sales Platform

It’s worth noting that the company has evolved in recent years into a comprehensive sales platform offering a wide range of products: from electronics to household goods. They’re increasingly collaborating with external partners, both within and outside the Benelux region, to broaden their offering.

Following the successful implementation of the customer service application for regular customers, the project was extended to include similar functionality for these partner businesses.

The International Sellers Project

In parallel to the main project, we worked on an “International Sellers” initiative. For this, we developed a translation system that enabled communication between non-Dutch-speaking international partners and Dutch customers. This was a particularly fascinating part of the project, where we implemented AI-powered translations to ensure seamless communication.

My Philosophy: KISS

One principle I firmly believe in is KISS: Keep It Simple, Stupid. I encouraged the team to avoid overplanning and instead focus on building a solid, simple foundation rather than trying to anticipate every possible future scenario.

This approach proved incredibly valuable: the application became easier to maintain and more adaptable to future changes. It’s tempting to create complex solutions for problems that may never arise, but by staying focused on the essentials, we built a robust system that could easily evolve over time.

The Result

Our hard work led to:

• A modern, cloud-based customer service application used by all call center employees to handle customer requests.
• An extension of the same functionality for partner companies.
• A translation system that allows international partners to communicate with Dutch customers in English.

Thanks to the new application, customer service agents can efficiently handle all types of customer requests: from simple password resets to complex return processes. This has resulted in faster response times and increased customer satisfaction.

More Than Just Tech: The Team Made the Difference

What made this project truly special for me was the excellent collaboration. I was fully integrated into the team and treated as an equal, not just as an external consultant. The team atmosphere was fantastic, and we regularly organized activities outside of work.

The long-term collaboration confirmed the value I brought to the team and allowed me to make a real impact. This project showed me how rewarding it can be to tackle technical challenges that directly improve the lives of millions of users and enhance the efficiency of an entire organization.

In Closing

This project illustrates how thoughtful modernization of legacy systems can add tremendous value to a business. By choosing a full rebuild instead of incremental updates, we were able to create a future-proof solution that meets the demands of a rapidly growing e-commerce platform.

The combination of technical innovation, user-centered design, and a pragmatic approach resulted in a system that benefits customers, partner companies, and customer service employees every single day.

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