Blomqvist: New Digital Platform
In 2022 we relaunched Blomqvist's entire digital platform together with Metro Branding.
About Blomqvist
Blomqvist is a prestigious Norwegian auction house established in 1870, renowned for its expertise in art and antiques. It holds numerous auctions annually, offering a diverse range of high-quality items including paintings, sculptures, furniture, and decorative art. With a strong reputation for its expert appraisals and international reach, Blomqvist serves as a key player in the global art and antiques market, also providing private sales and valuations.
1870
Blomqvist was established in 1870 by Christian W. Blomqvist and has since positioned itself as one of the most important actors in the industry in the Nordic region.
25
With over 25 experts in various fields, Blomqvist has Norway's largest knowledge bank.
1895
Since Munch's breakthrough at Blomqvist in 1895, they have been a leader in the sale and promotion of Munch's art.
The Challenge
In 2022 we relaunched the auction house’s entire digital platform together with Metro Branding. The design and user experience were completely overhauled to address shifts in user behavior and reflect modern trends. With a strong emphasis on user-centric design, the new platform streamlines key tasks, making it significantly easier to place bids, explore items, and receive notifications for relevant objects.
The Solution
The solution is developed with a headless approach, where the frontend and backend are completely separated. The frontend, developed in React, provides a dynamic user experience for viewing items, managing bids, and accessing personal user accounts. The backend, built in Symfony, handles essential functions such as auction management, bid registration, customer verification, and notifications.
Avanti (ERP/PIM System)
Avanti is used by staff to manage all aspects of preparing items for auction, including obtaining images, signing contracts with sellers, and creating item descriptions. Once an item is ready for sale, staff initiate the auction process by selecting the relevant items, defining the sale duration, and establishing minimum prices. The items are then released to the auction platform, where they are presented to end-users at designated times.
Auction Process
Items have a minimum price and an end time. Bidders can place offers starting from the minimum price. An advanced queue system ensures bids are processed in order, handling thousands of bids per second. Auto-bid functionality allows for automatic bidding within set limits if outbid. All bids are logged, and time is synchronized across bidders to ensure fairness. The auction end time may be extended by a few minutes if bids are placed in the final seconds, mirroring a live auction experience.
Sales and Settlement
The solution is fully integrated with the payment system (Nets) and accounting system (24SevenOffice). When an item is won, the amount is charged to the winner's credit card, and an invoice is automatically generated in 24SevenOffice. Another invoice is created to pay the seller. The entire payment and accounting process is automated. Both buyers and sellers receive notifications and can track the settlement. The system provides various reports for sales and accounting, with data exportable to Excel for further analysis.
Search
The system uses ElasticSearch to efficiently handle searches for items, historical data, and contracts. It supports saved searches, handles typos, categorizes results, and filters by different criteria.
Notifications
Integrated with SendGrid and Systor Vest, the notification system sends alerts via email and SMS for bids and auction updates. Users can choose their preferred notification channels, with SMS being crucial for timely auction alerts.
CloudFlare
CloudFlare is used as a CDN to cache images and static files, ensuring fast performance and security against DDOS attacks.
Content Management
Strapi, a headless CMS, is utilized to manage specific pages and components for campaigns within the Avanti system. It is designed to integrate seamlessly with other system components, focusing on minimal content management. Strapi provides content to the React frontend using GraphQL, ensuring streamlined and efficient integration.
Image Management
Fotoware is used for high-resolution images of all items, with multiple images per item and various formats for the website. The system updates image links regularly to reflect any changes or reordering quickly. Users can zoom in on high-resolution images to view details like damage or scratches.