Harlow Timber Group
A leading timber merchants
About.
Harlow Timber Group is one of the UK’s most respected timber suppliers, manufacturers, and importers. Founded over 90 years ago by the Harlow family, it is now an employee-owned trust serving both trade and retail customers nationwide. Their heritage, commitment to quality, and industry expertise have made them a trusted name across the timber and building materials sector.
Objectives.
Harlow Timber Group needed to strengthen the connection between their Bistrack ERP system and Magento website to improve speed, stability, and scalability. Their existing setup suffered from slow imports, API overloads, and inconsistent data syncing, which limited growth and impacted user experience.
Ad Lab was tasked with:
- Solving recurring integration issues between Bistrack and Magento.
- Reducing server strain and improving page load speeds.
- Streamlining data imports and order processing.
- Enhancing the trade account portal for real-time data visibility.
- Delivering a stable, scalable hosting environment.
- Preparing for modern payment options and future expansion.
Results.
Ad Lab engineered a series of technical upgrades that transformed how Harlow Timber Group’s systems communicate — improving reliability, efficiency, and business performance across every area.
- API Call Optimisation
Reduced ERP API calls per product page from 16 to just 2, cutting page load times from 5 seconds to under 1 seconds and eliminating server crashes. - High-Speed Daily Import Facility
Replaced a 6-hour nightly import with an incremental process running in just 3–5 minutes, fixing indexing delays and allowing large-scale product growth with no downtime. - Rebuilt Trade Account Portal
Introduced real-time data for orders, statements, and payments, improving usability and customer experience for trade users. - Seamless ERP Order Processing
Created a fully automated sync between Magento and Bistrack, achieving 100% accurate data flow with no manual transfers. - Wallet Payment Integration
Added modern wallet payment support with correct ERP-aligned data mapping and delivery rate handling.
- Hosting Migration with Zero Downtime
Reverse-engineered the ERP connection and migrated hosting seamlessly — improving performance and resolving prior outages. - Precision Data Enhancement
Refined data exchange to deliver clean, structured information, including accurate company names, order numbers, and Biztrack IDs.
These developments have significantly boosted speed, reliability, and scalability — setting a new benchmark for ERP–Magento integration within the timber and building materials sector.
Ad Lab continues to work closely with Harlow Timber Group, delivering ongoing UX/UI design improvements, bug fixes, new functionality, and a strong SEO strategy to maintain and grow their organic search presence.
Ad Lab transformed our Magento and Bistrack integration. Page speeds dropped to under 1 second, imports now run in minutes, and our trade portal finally delivers real-time data. Reliable, proactive and highly skilled — they’ve become a trusted partner in our growth.”
