Inside Ouest Isol & Ventil’s Shift to a Modern B2B eCommerce Ecosystem

Ouest Isol & Ventil runs a complex B2B operation with over 40 branches and a highly technical product catalog. But their old eCommerce system couldn’t keep up. Their digital team set out to fix that with a ground-up re-architecture that turned scattered systems into a unified customer experience.

Live Website

of all sales are digital

600

employees

80,000

SKUs

The Challenge

Ouest Isol & Ventil is a French manufacturer and distributor of ventilation, technical insulation, support, and air conditioning/heat pump (climate control) products, with a catalog ranging from insulation and ventilation systems to complex heating, ventilation, and air conditioning components. Their solutions are designed for commercial, residential, and industrial buildings.

Its customer base includes heating engineers, insulation specialists, air conditioning specialists, and large institutional buyers such as hospitals and schools. In short, they supply energy efficiency professionals who expect precision, speed, and technical support.

But their digital infrastructure? That told a different story:

Two separate websites – a showcase and an eShop
A homegrown eShop built by a former in-house dev (now external)
Web database management in Excel
Nine regional ERP databases with customer data managed locally

A single customer could exist in multiple versions, with inconsistent pricing and stock visibility depending on where they logged in. As for internal content management, every update had to go through developers, making it nearly impossible to keep up with business needs.

The technical debt wasn’t just slowing them down. It was actively getting in the way of growth.

OroCommerce is the layer that brings everything together, from product data and pricing to stock and customer account details. It’s the part of the system our customers and teams use every day.

Maleaume Tournellec

Digital Transformation Lead, Ouest Isol & Ventil

The Solution

Ouest Isol & Ventil knew they didn’t need a more stylish website, they needed a complete rethink of their digital operations. That meant centralizing data, rebuilding customer workflows, and laying the foundation for long-term eCommerce growth.

They started with a full internal audit. The digital lead gathered input from field teams and customers, defining must-have features, and documenting pain points. By the time Synolia came into the picture, the vision was clear and the job was to turn it into something that could work.

As an integration Gold partner, Synolia helped translate business needs into a functional blueprint, running workshops to refine technical requirements and identify the underlying logic behind each request.

OroCommerce entered the frame as part of a broader Airvance group strategy. The group had already invested in OroCommerce with the goal of pooling development across subsidiaries. That meant every new feature Ouest Isol & Ventil implemented could potentially be reused by sister companies, accelerating delivery and reducing duplication. But OroCommerce wasn’t chosen for that reason alone. Its B2B strengths were undeniable:

Native support for customer-specific pricing and roles
Flexible APIs for real-time data syncs
Modular architecture that could support multi-entity growth
Room to grow with CRM, marketing, and CIAM (Customer Identity and Access Management) tools

From there, the build focused on making OroCommerce the heart of Ouest Isol & Ventil’s digital infrastructure. Connected to both Harmonie (INFOR M3 Software) ERP and Pimcore, the platform pulls in core business data – product details, stock levels, pricing, and customer account information – and keeps it all in sync. That integration ensures information flows reliably across systems, giving both customers and internal teams a consistent experience.

OroCommerce brings all of that data to the surface. It serves as the front-end hub where customers can log in once to place orders, check availability, access documentation, view invoices, and manage their accounts, without needing to switch between tools or platforms.

What Customers and Teams Value Most

Since launch, the feedback has centered around speed, control, and clarity, both for customers and employees.

For Customers:

Full visibility: Stock, lead times, and prices are now displayed directly on product pages, no more hunting for data across multiple screens.
Faster ordering: Quick order tools have been upgraded with integrated search and better interface design.
Improved UX: Navigation is smoother, search is faster, and documentation is always up to date.
Single login: One entry point covers everything: orders, documentation, and account management.

The team is already planning enhancements for large accounts, including advanced permission structures and regional stock consultation features.

For Internal Teams:

Real-time admin control: They can activate or edit users, correct data, and support field sales instantly.
Autonomy for content: Marketing and communications can now manage site updates without development bottlenecks.
Insightful stats: Sales trends and order activity are tracked in the platform, giving teams visibility into usage patterns and opportunities.

With the core platform live, Ouest Isol & Ventil is now looking ahead to expand digital adoption and drive new business. The long-term goal is bold but within reach: increase digital sales from just over 4% today to 10% in 5 years. And for the first time, the team isn’t limited by what the system can do. The platform is flexible enough to support every initiative they’re planning and powerful enough to evolve with them.