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Cloud Nine
For established global brands, the transition from a legacy technology stack to a modern, scalable digital infrastructure is one of the most critical and complex challenges. This was the journey for Cloud Nine Hair, a global hair styling brand from the founders of GHD, created to be a challenger in the premium beauty market.
To accelerate their D2C growth and support international expansion, they needed to undertake a significant technical transformation that would unify their systems and create a powerful, future-proof ecommerce foundation.
This is the story of how strategic, hands-on leadership as a Digital Architect, provided by Hanabi's founder Neil Bradley, orchestrated a large-scale re-platforming and complex system integration, delivering immediate commercial results and paving the way for sustained global growth.
Key Results
Delivered a 20% online sales growth post-launch. Successfully led the re-platforming of UK and International storefronts to Shopify. Orchestrated the complex technical integration of Salesforce CRM and ERP solutions.
The Challenge: Overcoming a Legacy System to Unlock Global D2C Potential
As a global brand with ambitious digital acceleration objectives, Cloud Nine Hair faced significant technical hurdles that were limiting their growth potential:
Legacy System Constraints
Their existing ecommerce platform and backend systems were hindering their ability to scale efficiently and expand into new international markets.
Data Silos and Inefficiency
A lack of integration between their ecommerce platform and key business systems like Salesforce CRM and ERP created data silos, required manual workarounds, and limited a unified view of the customer and operations.
Need for a Modern, Scalable Platform
To support future global expansion, they required a move to a more flexible and robust platform like Shopify, capable of handling the demands of a modern, multi-territory D2C business.
Complex Transformation Leadership
The project required a leader who could not only provide strategic recommendations but also manage the intricate, hands-on work of selecting a new agency partner and overseeing a complex, multi-system integration.
The Solution: Strategic Leadership as a Digital Architect
Neil Bradley was engaged as a Digital Architect to lead this significant ecommerce technical transformation. This role blended high-level strategy with deep, practical technical expertise, ensuring the entire project was aligned with Cloud Nine's commercial goals from start to finish. The engagement was focused on executing a seamless transition while building a foundation for future scalability.
Key Achievements
Leading a Successful Re-platforming to Shopify
Neil played a lead role in the selection and onboarding of a new ecommerce agency to re-platform Cloud Nine's UK and International storefronts. He meticulously documented and streamlined existing website functionality to ensure a smooth transition, setting the new platform up for success from day one.
Driving 20% Online Sales Growth
The transformation was not just a technical exercise; it was a commercial success. The new platform and optimised user experience delivered a 20% increase in online sales post-launch, providing a clear and immediate return on investment.
Orchestrating Complex System Integrations
A critical part of the project was to break down data silos. Neil oversaw the technical integration of Salesforce CRM and ERP solutions with the new ecommerce platform, replacing the legacy system and dramatically enhancing operational efficiency and data flow across the business.
Building a Foundation for Global Scale
Beyond the immediate sales uplift, the transformation provided Cloud Nine with a scalable, modern ecommerce architecture. This foundational work was crucial for their further global expansion and digital acceleration objectives, empowering them to grow without technology constraints.
This project showcases the immense value of bringing in focused, expert leadership to manage high-stakes digital transformation projects.
Testimonials
Neil has consistently brought practical technical expertise, alongside strategic technological insights, that have fundamentally helped contribute to, build and deliver digital first strategies.
Neil is in my opinion a rare commodity, given the breadth of his knowledge, professional integrity and genuine want to add value.
I would thoroughly recommend Neil to any fast growing e-commerce business; where the balance between technological opportunity and budget, is needing both experienced advice and careful management.
I had the pleasure of working with Neil over a two year period at Cloud Nine Hair. In particular he worked closely with myself and my team on a number of system integration projects where Neil demonstrated his knowledge and experience of connecting ecommerce platforms, with ERP and CRM solutions.
His resilience, attention to detail and willingness to address issues and find solutions contributed heavily to the success of these projects. Neil connected well with the systems team showing himself to be a very helpful, responsive team player.
A Blueprint for Your Brand's Transformation
The Cloud Nine Hair story is a powerful example of how strategic technology transformation can directly translate into commercial success. For founders and leaders of D2C brands, particularly in the Health and Beauty space, who are struggling with legacy systems, this journey offers a clear blueprint.
Engaging a Fractional CTO from Hanabi provides the expert, hands-on leadership needed to:
- De-risk and manage large-scale e-commerce re-platforming projects.
- Lead complex integrations with critical business systems like CRM and ERP.
- Select and manage the right agency partners to ensure a successful execution.
- Build a scalable technology foundation that supports international growth and drives sales.
You get the strategic insight and proven execution capabilities required for a successful transformation, ensuring your technology becomes a powerful enabler of growth.