Independent Ecommerce agency market overview

1. Independent Ecommerce Agency Market Overview
Executive Summary
ComCap Whitepaper Series
Fall 2017
Written by:
Aron Bohlig, Fermin Caro, Carlos Gonzalez ComCap LLC
Major Independent Agencies by Size, Country, and Platform Supported
Demandware
Magento
Hybris
Hybris & Demandware
Magento & Demandware
Hybris & Magento
Hybris & Magento & Demandware
VTex
Magento & VTex
Hybris, Magneto & Vtex
Hybris, ATG, IBM Websphere & Magento & Demandware
Hybris, IBM Websphere, Magento & Demandware
Oracle ATG & Magento
IBM websphere & Magento
Oracle ATG, Demandware & Magento
Oracle ATG & hybris
IBM Websphere, Demandware & Magento

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Major retailers frequently work with third party agencies and systems integrators to help implement new
ecommerce platforms. This report seeks to structure the landscape for independent agencies – those that
are not owned by a major system integrator or marketing agency. Frequently these independent agencies
may offer a stronger value proposition due to a focus and track record on certain platforms and a lower
overall cost to their clients. ComCap has had hundreds of conversations with ecommerce agencies and
has assembled the information in this report based on publicly available information and information
provided by certain agencies for public distribution.
The market for these agencies is structured around the sales of the ecommerce platforms themselves –
with the largest platforms driving the most business for the agencies. The platforms with the largest agency
ecosystems include Magento, Salesforce Commerce Cloud (FKA Demandware), SAP’s hybris and Vtex.
Smaller and emerging platforms such as WebLinc have a growing partner ecosystem. Shopify and Shopify
Plus have very rapidly growing partner ecosystems, but the agencies are small at the moment. Certain
geographies (in particular China, Germany and Japan) also have strong local ecommerce platforms that
developed earlier than the “international platforms” and which have a rich set of integrations which
frequently make them a preferred choice for an implementation that is limited to a single geographic market.
Oracle’s ecommerce platforms have an agency ecosystem which is somewhat in decline, as many agencies
previously focused on the ATG platform, and a new ecosystem around the Netsuite and other offerings is
still forming. Similarly, IBM has a relatively small group of providers focused on their solutions.
The platforms with the largest agency ecosystems include Magento, Salesforce Commerce Cloud (FKA
Demandware), SAP’s hybris and VTEX.
No fees were requested or accepted for inclusion in this report, although the authors may have received
compensation for other services previously and may receive compensation for other services in the future
from the companies referred to herein.
Basis for Inclusion
Agencies included in this report were required to have greater than 50% of their business related to
ecommerce platform implementations. Where possible we have tried to confirm the number of direct
employees, as some firms work on a sub-contract basis with other providers or part time staff. Generally
we include only those that are “independent” – although we have included a few that operate independently
even though they are owned by a larger parent (e.g. Dentsu’s Bluecom and eCommera, Reply’s Portaltech
and McCann’s Optaros).
Introduction
Executive Summary and Methodology

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Based upon our interviews with the companies included, we believe the following are the key evaluation
criteria for retailers and brands seeking an agency partner.
Depending on the location of the client, having local systems architects, project management and creative
staff may be valuable. In most cases the agency has centralized resources with deep experience in a
specific domain, and so local resources may be more focused on project management.
The following are the leading global independent agencies based on total staff dedicated to ecommerce
platform implementations. To be categorized as “global” we identified providers with more than 20
implementations outside their home market and that had a client presence in at least three countries.
Ecommerce Agency and Global Commerce Service Provider
1) PFS. 500+ staff dedicated to ecommerce platforms. PFS has strong practices in ATG,
Demandware, SAP hybris, IBM WebSphere, and Magento. PFS has client facing offices in the US,
Headcount focused on the
ecommerce platforms considered
Significant number of certified staff focused on the ecommerce
platforms under consideration (and related services).
Partnership level with platform
provider.
Platform providers such as Salesforce have different levels (e.g.
silver, gold, platinum) or different awards that are provided. In some
cases these may be in recognition of licenses sold, but they are
generally a reasonable proxy for the size and influence of the agency.
Proven process Presence of a measurable and proven process.
References Significant number of referenceable and satisfied clients in the same
general type of business (e.g. fashion or B2B).
National and global capabilities Leaders should be able to support a client nationally and
internationally (where required).
Related services Leaders are frequently offering strategy, creative and user experience
consulting in order to be a one stop provider.
Adjacent services Increasingly agencies are also considering providing services related
to marketing services or to adjacent technologies such as order
management services, product information management or content
management.
Evaluation Criteria
Global Leaders

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Canada, UK and Belgium and also supports Asia (in particular Japan and China) in conjunction
with its partner Transcosmos. PFS is differentiated from the other players referenced in that they
provide a broader suite of solutions included a dedicated marketing agency, a dedicated creative
agency (LiveArea), and an integrated, full service offering for customer care and logistics. For more
details please visit www.pfsweb.com.
Ecommerce Agencies
1) Astound Commerce. 600 staff. With over six hundred staff worldwide, Astound Commerce
delivered projects in over 50 countries across the luxury, fashion, entertainment and food and
beverage sectors. Astound partners with Salesforce Commerce Cloud, SAP Hybris, Magento, IBM
WebSphere, NetSuite and Kibo. Astound Commerce has client facing offices in the United States,
United Kingdom and Germany. For more information please visit www.astoundcommerce.com.
2) Born Group. 520 staff. Born Group is a global digital agency that combines content production with
platform implementations and creative services. Born Group has client facing offices in the United
States, Canada, United Kingdom, Japan and Singapore. For more information please visit
www.borngroup.com.
3) OSF Commerce 450+ staff. OSF Commerce is global eCommerce Solutions Company providing
technology consulting, implementation and integration services to brands and retailers. Offerings
by OSF Commerce include OSF UnifyCommerce, Salesforce Commerce Cloud ®, Salesforce Apps
and Components, Magento® Commerce Extensions and Smart Retails Solutions. OSF Commerce
has client facing offices in Canada, the United States, Brazil, Colombia, United Kingdom, France,
Germany, Romania, and Ukraine. For more information please visit www.osf-commerce.com.
4) Vaimo Group. 300+ staff. Vaimo Group is a leader in delivering full service eCommerce solutions
on Magento platform. Vaimo Group has implemented over 400 customized eCommerce solutions
for B2B and B2C businesses. Vaimo Group has client facing offices in United Kingdom, Sweden,
Finland, South Africa, Norway, Estonia, Ukraine, Denmark, Japan, United Arab Emirates and
Latvia. For more information please visit www.vaimo.com.
5) AOE. 250+ staff. AOE a global provider of technology services and Enterprise Open Source
solutions for digital transformation and digital business models for large enterprises. AOE relies on
Open Source technologies such as OM3
, ETF and B2X Suite, which enables it to provide
customized solutions to its clients. AOE has client facing offices in Germany, Switzerland, United
States, Hong Kong and United Arab Emirates. For more information please visit www.aoe.com.
The following are the leading global independent agencies based on total staff dedicated to ecommerce
platform implementations.
North American Leaders

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1) LYONSCG. 400 staff. LYONSCG is leading eCommerce digital agency, providing services
including digital strategy and design, implementation, application hosting and support and digital
marketing. LYONSCG has strategic partnerships with Salesforce Commerce Cloud, SAP Hybris
and Magento. LYONSCG has client facing offices in the United States and the United Kingdom.
For more information please visit https://www.lyonscg.com.
2) Gorilla Group. 230 staff. Gorilla Group is an eCommerce solutions provider, delivering complete
solutions to B2B and direct-to-consumer brands across multiple industries. Gorilla Group has
partnered with Magento, SAP Hybris and BigCommerce for support platform. For more information
please visit www.gorillagroup.com.
3) Echidna. 220 staff. Echinda is a leading eCommerce solutions provider partnering with Magento,
Kibo and Mirakl. For more information please visit https://echidna.co/company.
4) Guidance. 170 staff. Guidance is a customer centric commerce service provider dedicated to mid-
market and enterprise branded manufacturers and merchants in both B2C and B2B. Guidance
provides solutions in mobile, optimization, retail strategies, customer experience, innovative
design, and complex system integration. For more information please visit www.guidance.com.
5) Corra. 140 staff. Corra is a digital customer centric commerce agency focusing on fashion,
lifestyle and beauty industry. Corra specializes in multi channel commerce, mobile commerce, UX
design, responsive design, and strategy. Corra has client facing offices in the United Kingdom and
the United States. For more information please visit http://corra.com/.
The following are the leading global independent agencies based on total staff dedicated to ecommerce
platform implementations
1) Portaltech Reply. 240+ staff. Portaltech Reply is a global leader in eCommerce implementation,
multi-channel consulting, warehouse management and Proximity Commerce strategy. Portaltech
Reply practices in ATG, IBM and Hybris. Portaltech Reply operates through a network of group
companies including Technology Reply, Open Reply and Glue Reply. Portaltech Reply has client
facing offices in the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy. For more information please visit
https://portaltech.reply.com/portaltech/en/.
2) Tryzens Group. 200+ staff. Tryzens Group is engaged in planning, implementing and maintaining
eCommerce systems.Tryzens Group’s technology partners include Salesforce Commerce Cloud,
Magento, Hybris and IBM Websphere. Tryzens Group has client facing offices in the United
Kingdom. For more information please visit www.tryzens.com.
3) Itelios SAS. 180+ staff. Itelios SAS is a leading services and consulting company specializing in
designing, integrating and implementing eCommerce and cross-channel platforms. Itelios SAS
European Leaders

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technology partnerships with Sitecore and Salesforce Commerce Cloud. Itelios SAS has client
facing offices in France, Brazil and the United States. For more information please visit
http://en.itelios.com.
The following are the largest Asia-based service providers focused on the global platforms. China has a
significant ecosystem dedicated to the support of Alibaba’s Tmall platform which is out of the scope of this
report (leaders include Azoya, Baozun and BlueFocus’ ecommerce division).
1) SmartOSC. 350+ staff. SmartOSC is a full-service eCommerce agency. SmartOSC expertise is
built around Sitecore, Magento, hybris and Adobe platforms. SmartOSC has client facing offices in
Australia, the United States, United Kingdom, Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. For more
information please visit www.smartosc.com.
2) BlueCom. 250+ staff. BlueCom is a leading eCommerce solution provider with specialization in
planning, development and support of eCommerce platforms for medium to large global B2B &
B2C organizations. BlueCom partners with Magento, Salesforce Commerce Cloud and hybris for
implementation and technical support. BlueCom has client facing offices in China, Hong Kong, Ho
Chi Minh City, Japan, Korea and Singapore. For more information please visit
www.bluecomgroup.com.
Asian Leaders

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We hope this overview is helpful to understanding who the largest players are and what the key criteria for
evaluation are. For the full report with additional detail on key providers please contact us using the
information provided below.
Copyright 2017 All rights reserved.
ComCap, the ComCap logo, and all other ComCap products and services are trademarks of ComCap LLC.
ComCap LLC (the “Author”) assume no responsibility for independent verification of the information in this report and has relied on
such information being complete and accurate in all material respects. All information has been provided directly by the company
involved or is from a public source. Further, the state of any business or market referred to in these materials may have changed
since the source information included was prepared and the Author assumes no obligation to update or otherwise revise these
materials. Nothing contained herein should be construed as tax, accounting or legal advice. In all cases, interested parties should
conduct their own investigation and analysis of the information set forth in these materials.
Conclusion
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