How Karava Transformed B2B with Headless BigCommerce

Introduction

Karava, a trusted Finnish wood-products manufacturer established in 1988, faced a growing challenge: its simple online catalog couldn’t satisfy modern B2B buyers. Wholesalers and distributors needed clear pricing, accurate stock levels, and a fast ordering process. Frustrated by manual phone orders and outdated site features, Karava partnered with Sofokus to evaluate platforms. After careful research, BigCommerce’s headless B2B Edition emerged as the winner, promising the flexibility and reliability the company required.

Challenge

Initially, Karava’s website was little more than a brochure. Buyers could not see stock, pricing was hidden, and the team spent hours fielding phone orders. As global demand grew—60–70% of shipments are exported—the manual workflow became a bottleneck. The company needed a modern ecommerce platform that could handle complex product variations in wood type, dimensions, and packaging, all while delivering personalized pricing to different accounts.

Solution

Sofokus implemented a headless architecture on BigCommerce to manage Karava’s multifaceted catalog. This approach decoupled the front end from the backend, enabling a bespoke storefront that displays products in metres, pieces, or cubic metres with dynamic pricing tiers. The team leveraged BigCommerce B2B Edition to create individualized price lists and account hierarchies, so wholesalers see their negotiated rates immediately after login. They also adopted the built-in PIM to organize thousands of combinations of finishes and sizes, streamlining both merchandising and data management.

Results

Post-launch, Karava reports near-perfect uptime and round-the-clock availability, even outside office hours. The site now delivers a polished browsing experience with clear images, stock indicators, and intuitive ordering workflows. Complaints about hidden prices have dropped to zero, and customer satisfaction has soared. In addition, Karava’s lean internal team no longer spends hours on manual order entry, freeing resources to focus on sales expansion.

Looking Ahead

Karava is now expanding its global reach by rolling out localized storefronts through BigCommerce’s Multi-Storefront capability. The integrated Weglot translation and Algolia search will soon enable market-specific experiences, from logistics preferences to language nuances. With a robust headless foundation and strategic services in place, Karava is poised to explore direct-to-consumer channels next, using social commerce integrations for Instagram and beyond.