Agro marketplace -
a platform connecting sellers and farmers
An innovative e-commerce platform transforming the way farmers, producers, and distributors collaborate in buying and selling agricultural products.
WWW
Backend
Frontend
Client description
Plonovo sp. z o.o. is a company based in Toruń, specializing in delivering innovative solutions for the agricultural sector. The startup was founded with the goal of revolutionizing the purchasing processes in the agro industry and harnessing the potential of e-commerce in this field.
Project goal
Modern farmers are regularly visited by sales representatives offering a wide range of products. Unfortunately, they often lack the time to compare the offers presented to them. On top of that, they must gather information from various sources to analyze and compare similar products from different manufacturers. This process is further complicated by the lack of easy access to quick financing comparisons, such as deferred payment options. Obtaining such information typically requires direct contact with sellers, which further prolongs the decision-making process.
The goal of the project is to revolutionize the industry and shift the purchase of agricultural products to the online space on a large scale. Plonovo aims to address the challenges modern farmers face by completely transforming the collaboration model between farmers, manufacturers, and distributors in the buying and selling of agricultural goods.
The innovative platform is designed to help farmers make more informed purchasing decisions through a simplified process of product search, offer comparison, and purchasing via an intuitive interface. At the same time, the platform aims to save time and provide quick, easy access to a variety of financing options.
Technologies
PHP 
Symfony 
Sylius 
ElasticSearch 
Redis 
RabbitMQ 
Mercure 
Docker
Challenge
The execution of the project involved a number of complex challenges. First and foremost, the sheer scale of the project conflicted with the timeline initially set by the client. The highly limited timeframe required the simultaneous execution of both analytical and development tasks from the very beginning. This significantly complicated the process, placing a strong emphasis on coordinating and synchronizing the work of multiple teams - including analytical, development, testing, and external agencies.
Selecting the right technological solutions and project approach was difficult due to many unknowns at the start of the analysis. This called for exceptional flexibility and innovative thinking. A major challenge was also aligning with the client on a more iterative approach to the functional scope - ultimately, not all of the initially planned features were necessary for launching the first version of the platform. This required thoughtful prioritization and a strong focus on delivering the most essential, goal-aligned system components.
The project posed a complex logistical challenge, demanding not only efficient project management but also effective communication between the client, our internal teams, and the UX and marketing agencies.
One of the most critical technological challenges was meeting the platform’s high demand for flexibility and scalability after launch, including the ability to rapidly respond to user feedback and evolving needs.
Solution
The complexity of this project required a non-standard approach and highly effective project management throughout the entire process. Flexibility and flawless communication - both within and between teams - were critical to the project’s success. From the beginning of the analysis phase to the platform’s production launch, we organized nearly 700 meetings and held three multi-day product discovery workshops with the client.
Our precise work organization and proven IT project delivery processes allowed us to create a sophisticated and innovative e-commerce marketplace platform, despite intense time pressure and a vast scope of work. We based the system on the Sylius headless e-commerce framework, ultimately customizing about 80% of its core functionalities. This approach allowed us to meet the delivery timeline by providing a solid foundation for key features and enabling us to scale development more rapidly by involving a larger team. The predefined framework also helped streamline workflows - developers could continue building the system even without complete input from the analytics team, which worked in parallel.
The result is a flexible system with a broad set of features for buyers, sellers, and the platform owner. It operates as a modern web application, designed to be easily adaptable for future development and changing business or user requirements. The platform includes an advanced product search and presentation engine with extensive filtering and categorization options, significantly improving the user experience - especially by saving time during the purchasing process.
We also developed a unique transportation cost calculation system based on proprietary algorithms and integration with TomTom, which is an innovative feature in the agro e-commerce space. The platform supports both retail and wholesale transactions - from a single bottle of crop protection product to an entire truckload of fertilizer.
For sellers, we included many sales-supporting tools such as deferred payments, a detailed delivery and courier shipment configurator, and settings for sales policies (terms, warranties, returns, etc.). We implemented an automated seller verification process through Tpay and integrated with Poland’s Central Statistical Office (GUS), focusing on automation, user time savings, and transaction security.
The platform is also equipped with data analytics capabilities for monitoring user behavior during the purchase journey, opening up broad possibilities for personalization and sales optimization.
One standout feature is the Plonovo Bulletin Board - a section of the platform that enables farmers and other agricultural professionals to post and browse listings. It includes a wide range of categories such as equipment, parts, trailers, livestock, and services like cultivation, harvesting, machinery maintenance, and soil testing. With an intuitive search engine and access to a broad array of offers, users can quickly find the agricultural products and services they need - supporting daily operations and growth of their farms.
We also delivered many other essential features typical for this type of platform, such as a messaging system, notifications, deferred payments, and a robust administrative panel.
Project functionalities
The platform features an extensive functional scope tailored to users - both buyers and sellers - as well as the platform administrator. The key functionalities include:
- Advanced product categorization, filtering, and presentation of a wide range of items
- Support for both retail and wholesale transactions
- Handling of large-size (bulk) products
- A unique transport cost calculation system
- Advanced search engine with suggestions and search history
- Automated seller verification process via Tpay
- Extensive seller account configuration options (e.g., delivery configurator, sales policy setup)
- Messaging system between buyers and sellers
- Advanced notification system
- Deferred payment options
- Offer view statistics
- Classified ads section (Plonovo Bulletin Board)
- Advanced admin panel with a wide range of configuration, moderation, and analytics capabilities
- Automated SEO optimization tools (e.g., indexing new subpages)
Branding & design
The branding and design of the project were developed by external agencies with whom we worked closely throughout the implementation process. The marketing agency created a brand concept that is modern, memorable, and suited for communication both in the Polish market and - ultimately - internationally. A new logo and visual identity were developed to reflect the innovative character of Plonovo.
At the same time, the UX team conducted user research, developed functional wireframes, and designed the platform's interface. Our team was responsible for implementing the interface within the system - ensuring alignment with UX assumptions, front-end performance optimization, precise visual detailing, and a perfectly functioning responsive design (RWD) that adapts seamlessly to any user screen.
The result of this collaboration is a cohesive and intuitive platform that supports the user at every stage of the purchasing journey.
Project development process
Due to the nature of the project, the implementation phases often overlapped throughout its duration. However, we can distinguish the following key stages in the delivery process:
- Product workshopsThe project began with intensive two-day project discovery workshops, which laid the groundwork for analyzing the initially defined project scope. Before proceeding further, we conducted an additional full-day workshop to dive deeper into key areas and refine the vision for the platform.
- Project assessment and planningIn this phase, we conducted a comprehensive evaluation and prepared an initial implementation plan. Together with the UX agency, we began preparing for project analysis, which we ran in parallel from the start. This allowed us to approach the challenges from multiple perspectives and better prepare for the upcoming stages. It was also a time of intensive collaboration between WebMakers, the client, and the UX agency, helping to refine and optimize the project scope to meet all key needs and ensure timely delivery.
- Project analysisThe analysis began by focusing on the critical path so that development could start as quickly as possible. This also allowed us to isolate one of the modules as a standalone project, optimizing both workload and cost for the client. The analysis was divided into three phases: gathering and shaping requirements, preparing wireframes, and delivering detailed technical documentation.
- Project implementationWe started building core components based on the initial analysis and gradually aligned the system with the structure outlined in the wireframes. Next, we fine-tuned and delivered specific functional areas in accordance with the final documentation. Throughout development, automatic testing and CI/CD processes played a crucial role - ensuring continuity and quality of work within the large development team.
- Project launchWe conducted a full system audit and security testing, along with a comprehensive performance optimization process. The final step was providing infrastructure support, including selecting a provider offering 24/7/365 monitoring and server management. These final tasks ensured the platform's stability and reliability after launch.
- Ongoing development and maintenanceFollowing the launch, we began working on further platform enhancements. We continue to provide full operational support, monitor performance, and respond promptly to any user-reported issues.Let's talk about your project
Project team
The project team consisted of 30 people, including 25 WebMakers
experts and 5 UX/UI specialists from an external UX agency
who worked closely with our team throughout the project.
Project outcomes
BEFORE:
- Limited distribution diversification, relying solely on traditional sales channels.
- Lower product availability and reach, constrained by the locations of physical branches.
- A more time-consuming purchasing process requiring direct contact with a sales representative.
- Lack of analytical tools, reducing the ability to leverage data for improving sales effectiveness.
AFTER:
- Expanded distribution diversification through a new online sales channel.
- Greater reach and product availability, regardless of location.
- Increased customer satisfaction - thanks to a simplified purchasing process and 24/7 access to an intuitive shopping platform.
- Improved sales performance enabled by insights into customer purchasing behavior.
What the company gained
The launch of a modern e-commerce platform enabled Plonovo to establish a solid foundation for further business growth and to drive innovation in the agricultural sector. From the outset, the project was developed as a fully-featured, specialized marketplace designed to support both independent sellers and larger distributors.
With its broad range of features - including support for large-scale products, non-standard delivery options, advanced filtering tools, and a community-driven bulletin board - the platform has become a powerful tool for transforming how farmers, producers, and distributors collaborate in buying and selling agricultural goods.
Although Plonovo is still building its market presence and network of partners as a new player, the creation of this advanced platform unlocks significant opportunities for further expansion and business scaling.
See also
Marketplace platform for selling new and used cars with financing
At the company, which sells cars and vans along with financing, we have cut sales costs by 60% by creating a new sales channel in the form of a dedicated marketplace platform. The platform allows new and used cars to be purchased online in four simple steps.
