Integrated Web Shop & Mobile App for German Workwear Company

For German workwear company Trebes+Henning, we built an integrated e-commerce solution—combining a custom webshop, mobile app, and real-time ERP (SAP B1) integration—serving thousands of employees across their enterprise clients.

🚧 The Challenge

Trebes+Henning, a German workwear supplier, serves enterprise customers with hundreds to thousands of employees. Their clients needed a smarter, more efficient way to manage workwear procurement—balancing strict safety requirements, dynamic employee needs, and organizational purchasing policies.

The key challenges:

  • Individual Budgets: Each employee is allocated a monthly or yearly workwear budget. Purchases must stay within these limits—or be escalated for approval.
  • Different User Types: Some companies delegate purchasing to a few managers; others allow each employee to order directly.
  • Order Insights and Team Management: Managers should have additional dashboards and approval features to manage the orders and budgets of their team.
  • Mobile-First Needs: Clients requested a frictionless mobile app (Android + iOS) for employees, while managers required a dashboard for monitoring and approving orders.
  • SAP ERP Integration: The existing backend infrastructure was deeply embedded in SAP B1, making real-time integration essential for tracking budgets, inventory, and order status.

The system needed to be intuitive, modular, and deeply integrated—yet flexible enough to handle different workflows for different customer types.

💡 The Solution

We delivered a fully integrated workwear management system built around a modular architecture with robust SAP integration. The core components included:

  • 🛒 Custom WooCommerce Shop
    Designed to serve both individual employees and purchasing managers, the web shop includes tailored product visibility, budget enforcement logic, and role-based access.
  • 📱 Cross-Platform React Native App
    A clean, user-friendly app for iOS and Android allowing employees to browse, order, and track their workwear—built for high performance and offline resilience.
  • 🧠 Bespoke Backend System (C#/.NET)
    A centralized backend that powers both the web shop and mobile app, enforces business logic, handles approval workflows, and communicates in real-time with SAP B1.
  • 🔄 SAP B1 Integration
    Bi-directional integration using database triggers and APIs ensures every order updates relevant budget data and inventory in SAP, keeping the ERP system in sync with front-end operations.
  • 📊 Manager Dashboards & Approval Workflows
    Managers can view departmental budgets, review purchase histories, approve over-budget orders, and place bulk orders—giving them full control with minimal overhead.

🚀 Business Impact

Improved Operational Efficiency
What once required manual coordination and email chains is now a streamlined, self-service process across all user types.

Stronger Client Retention
Trebes+Henning now offers a premium digital service layer, increasing value for existing customers and strengthening long-term relationships.

Real-Time Control
Managers and finance departments have full visibility into spending, while automated SAP integration eliminates double data entry and errors.

Scalable for Growth
The modular architecture and platform-agnostic setup support onboarding new enterprise customers with customized settings and workflows.

🤝 A Personal Note

This project wasn’t just technically rewarding, it was also personally meaningful. Collaborating with a family business run by my stepfather added purpose to every sprint. What started as a “small app” quickly turned into a full-scale digital transformation—driven by trust, shared values, and a desire to serve customers better.

🔧 Tech Stack

  • Mobile App: React Native (iOS & Android)
  • Web Shop: WooCommerce + Custom Extensions
  • Backend: C#/.NET Core with test-driven development
  • ERP Integration: SAP B1 with custom triggers and API sync
  • Hosting: Azure (App Services + SQL)
  • Team: 3 developers working Agile across Europe and India

Have a complex process that needs a simple, scalable digital solution?
Let’s talk about how I can help turn business challenges into streamlined systems.