Manufacturing
A Component-Based Platform for How Abaco's Procurement Engineers Search
THE CHALLENGE
A defense industry catalog that couldn't support its own sales process
Abaco Systems builds embedded computing systems for defense applications. Their Drupal 7 site needed a complete overhaul to match.
- No page-building flexibility. Static menus, rigid layouts, no component-based architecture
- Drupal 7 needed to be replaced to improve site performance and user experience
- A vast array of products with search and filtering that needed improvement
- CRM integration that drove lead generation had become unreliable to maintain
- Usability friction was creating barriers in the path to product specification
THE SOLUTION
Static menus, rigid layouts, and a CRM that kept breaking — building a defense platform around its buyers
Component-based architecture and navigation rebuild
The previous site had no page-building flexibility. Specbee built a component-based design system from scratch, with over 45 components for building and updating pages. Navigation was rebuilt as a fully dynamic system, replacing static menus.
- 45+ new Drupal site-building components designed and built
- Fully dynamic navigation rebuilt from static menus
- Component-based page building for editorial flexibility
Drupal 7 to 9 migration with full product catalog transfer
The migration covered a vast array of products and numerous site features. Specbee documented site features before migration and customized the necessary modules for Drupal 9.
- Full Drupal 7 to Drupal 9 migration
- A vast array of products migrated with full data integrity
- Modules reconfigured and customized for Drupal 9
- Feature documentation ahead of migration
CRM integration rebuild and SOLR faceted search
The CRM integration was rewritten with custom business rules for seamless communication between systems. Site search was rebuilt using Acquia Cloud's on-platform SOLR capabilities, with facets for easier product discovery.
- CRM integration rebuilt with custom business rules
- Site search rebuilt on Acquia Cloud's on-platform SOLR
- Faceted filtering for product discovery
- Sales-system modules reconfigured for smoother sales processes
SEO improvements
Beyond the site rebuild and migration, Specbee worked to boost Abaco's visibility in organic search using Drupal's built-in SEO capabilities. The goal was to help procurement engineers find Abaco's products when searching on their own, not just after landing on the site.
- Improved organic visibility using Drupal's SEO features
BACKGROUND
Abaco's buyers are defense engineers specifying hardware for programs where component choice matters.
KEY INSIGHT
Static menus and rigid layouts are a specific kind of technical debt.
The site still worked, but every future change was harder than it should have been. The 45+ component system and dynamic navigation gave Abaco's team the ability to keep the site current without a developer ticket for every update.
The Results
A defense industry platform built around buyer intent
Component flexibility and product discovery improved; lead generation was rebuilt.
| Metric | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Page architecture | Rigid, static | 45+ flexible components |
| Navigation | Static menus | 100% dynamic |
| Product search | Basic keyword | SOLR with faceted filtering |
| CRM integration | Unreliable legacy | Rebuilt with custom business rules |
| Platform | Drupal 7 (EOL) | Drupal 9 |
45+
Components delivered
Rigid layouts replaced with a flexible, extensible architecture.
100%
Dynamic navigation
Rebuilt from static menus.
SOLR
Faceted product search
Engineers find products by specification.
Rebuilt
CRM integration
Custom business rules for a cleaner lead generation flow.
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Work With Us
Talk to the team that delivered this
Most conversations start with a 30-minute call and a look at where you are today. No pitch deck. No pressure. Just clarity on what the right path forward looks like for your platform.
Typically respond within 1 business day · 100% Drupal-focused team · No generalists