Internal systems
ERP, PIM, OMS and CRM are reconnected, not replaced. A storefront replatform should not turn into a back-office programme.
ENTERPRISE REPLATFORMING
Salesforce Commerce Cloud to Shopify migration
Enterprise replatforming without an enterprise timeline. Chicco moved off Salesforce Commerce Cloud onto Shopify with us, and the same team has handled landing pages and maintenance since launch.
IN SHORT
- Salesforce Commerce Cloud migrations are phased by region or brand rather than launched in one cut.
- SFCC cartridges do not port. Each one is rebuilt as a native Shopify feature, an app, a Shopify Function or custom code.
- SFCC is typically priced on a share of gross merchandise value, so the business case usually improves as you grow — the opposite of Shopify’s flat platform fee.
- Shopify Markets covers most of the multi-region requirements that justified SFCC in the first place.
- Chicco moved off Salesforce Commerce Cloud onto Shopify with Lucent Commerce.
- Typical duration
- 4–8 months
- Came off SFCC
- Chicco
- Cartridges
- Mapped to apps or custom code
- Cutover
- Phased where the org needs it
- Licence savings
- From the first renewal
Why brands leave Salesforce Commerce Cloud
Salesforce Commerce Cloud — still called Demandware by people who have been in ecommerce long enough — was built for a world where multi-region enterprise retail genuinely needed a platform nobody else could match. That world has changed.
Two things push brands to look. The first is cost shape: SFCC is typically priced on a share of gross merchandise value, so the platform bill grows with your success. Shopify charges a flat platform fee. Whether that favours you depends on your margin and your growth, but the direction of travel is opposite.
The second is pace. Cartridge-based development, long release cycles and a storefront that only a specialist agency can touch means small merchandising changes take weeks. Teams leaving SFCC are usually buying speed rather than saving money.
What has changed on the Shopify side is that the multi-region case has closed. Shopify Markets handles currencies, pricing, catalogue differences and duties from a single storefront, which was the main structural reason to be on SFCC at all.
SFCC against Shopify Plus, in practice
| Salesforce Commerce Cloud | Shopify Plus | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Typically a share of gross merchandise value | Flat platform fee |
| Customisation model | Cartridges, specialist developers | Theme code, apps, Shopify Functions |
| Release cadence | Long cycles, scheduled releases | Deploy previewable themes in minutes |
| Storefront templates | SiteGenesis or SFRA | Sections your merchandisers control |
| Multi-region | Sites and realms | Shopify Markets from one storefront |
| Developer pool | Small and specialised | Large and general |
| Time to first change | Often a release window | Same day |
How the migration runs
Six stages. Plan 16 to 24 weeks for the first storefront; later regions launch far faster off the template.
- 01
Commercial and technical audit
We map what SFCC is actually doing for you — cartridges in use, integrations, storefront count, regional structure — alongside the contract position, because renewal dates shape the sensible launch window.
- 02
Data extraction
Catalogue, customer and order data is extracted from SFCC and reconciled in Shopify. Enterprise catalogues usually carry years of attribute drift, so this stage is where decisions get made rather than deferred.
- 03
Cartridge replacement plan
Every cartridge is assessed individually: native Shopify feature, app, Shopify Function, or custom code. The output is a written plan with an owner and an estimate against each line.
- 04
Storefront build
The storefront is rebuilt as a Shopify theme with a section library, so the merchandising team gains control they did not have under SiteGenesis or SFRA templates.
- 05
Reconnect internal systems
ERP, PIM, OMS and CRM integrations are rebuilt against Shopify APIs. Existing internal systems are reconnected rather than replaced — replatforming the storefront should not become an ERP project.
- 06
Phased launch
One region or brand launches first and becomes the template. That contains the risk and means the second launch takes a fraction of the effort of the first.
What replaces your cartridges
The four possible answers
- A native Shopify feature — the most common answer, and the cheapest to own
- An app, where the market has solved the problem well and maintains it
- A Shopify Function, for discount, shipping, payment and checkout logic that used to need a cartridge
- Custom code, where the rule set is genuinely specific to your business
The audit produces that decision for every cartridge in writing, with an estimate attached, before anything is built. It is the document that makes an enterprise migration quotable rather than open-ended — and the exercise routinely retires cartridges nobody could justify any more.
What we protect on the way across
Search equity
Redirects built from live URL exports and Search Console data, crawled against staging before any DNS change.
Regional structure
Markets, currencies, domains and hreflang decided before launch rather than retrofitted afterwards.
Trading calendar
Launch windows planned around your peak, with rollback criteria agreed in advance.
What drives the cost
SFCC replatforms are priced by the organisation around the store as much as the store itself. These move the number most.
Cartridges in use●●●●●
Every cartridge needs a decision: a Shopify app, a custom build, an integration, or dropping it. This is the SFCC equivalent of an extension audit and it is the biggest variable.
Integrations and internal systems●●●●●
Enterprise stores are connected to ERP, OMS, PIM, CRM and tax engines, each with an owner who is not on the project. Coordination is a real cost line.
Number of sites and locales●●●●
SFCC realms often hold several sites. Deciding which become Shopify Markets and which become separate storefronts changes the shape of the whole project.
Checkout customisation●●●
Behaviour that lived in SFCC controllers moves to Shopify Functions and checkout extensibility, which is a different model rather than a port.
Governance and sign-off●●
Enterprise approval cycles are part of the timeline whether or not they are on the plan. Phasing exists to keep them from blocking everything at once.
The cartridge audit produces a written decision per cartridge. It is the artefact that makes the rest of the estimate real.
Brands that made this move
Chicco
Chicco moved off Salesforce Commerce Cloud onto Shopify. The same team has handled landing pages and maintenance since launch.
Chicco moved off Salesforce Commerce Cloud onto Shopify with us, and the same team has handled landing pages and maintenance since launch — which is usually the point of replatforming in the first place.
Who we have done this for
Clients from the roster whose work this page describes. Each links to what we actually built.
Trunki
Trunki moved from Magento to Shopify Plus, with a configurator for the custom, one-off ride-on designs the brand is known for. We have managed the store since.
Chicco
Chicco moved off Salesforce Commerce Cloud onto Shopify. The same team has handled landing pages and maintenance since launch.
Dekoni Audio
Big Shoes
Halcyon Nights
SFCC migration questions
What enterprise teams ask before putting a replatform to a board. The cartridge audit answers the rest.
Can Shopify handle an enterprise catalogue coming off Salesforce?
Yes. Shopify Plus raises API and variant limits, and Shopify Markets covers the multi-region setups that usually justified SFCC in the first place.
What replaces our SFCC cartridges?
Case by case: native Shopify features where they exist, apps where the market has solved it well, and custom code where the logic is specific to your business.
How long does a Salesforce Commerce Cloud to Shopify migration take?
Plan 16 to 24 weeks for the first storefront on an enterprise catalogue with multiple integrations. Subsequent regions launch considerably faster because the first one establishes the template.
Is Shopify Plus really enterprise-ready?
For most brands leaving SFCC, yes. Plus raises API and variant limits, allows checkout customisation through Shopify Functions and checkout extensions, and Shopify Markets covers multi-region selling from one storefront.
What happens to our SFCC contract?
That is a commercial question we plan around rather than advise on. In practice the launch window is usually set by the renewal date, which is why we look at it in the first stage rather than the last.
Related
Magento to Shopify Plus
The migration we have run most often — Trunki, Big Shoes and Halcyon Nights all came off Magento.
WooCommerce to Shopify
Catalogue, customers and order history moved across, with redirects mapped before launch. Dekoni Audio ran this route.
BigCommerce & legacy Shopify
Older Shopify themes and BigCommerce stores rebuilt on Plus with the data and search equity carried over.
Also relevant after an enterprise move: ERP integration, Shopify Markets setup and the full migration service.
NEXT STEP
Migration scoping call
Bring your cartridge list, storefront count, integration map and renewal date. You leave with a phased plan, a timeline and a price in writing.