Octopia: Integrating a high-performance marketplace solution

With Smile, you can integrate a robust marketplace solution based on Octopia technology. This approach allows you to create your marketplace and increase your sales . You can also expand your product ranges and structure your e-commerce operations by leveraging Smile's technical and functional expertise.

Succeeding in your marketplace activities

Founded in 2021 (a spinoff from Cdiscount), Octopia is a French company that has developed a cutting-edge technology platform enabling e-commerce businesses to create and manage their marketplaces. Its mission is to help distributors and retailers become successful marketplace operators , while also assisting merchants in growing their sales on these platforms.

The platform includes a wide range of features : management of sellers, orders, payments, inventory, etc.

Thanks to its experience as a seasoned player in the marketplace ecosystem, Octopia has over 11 years of experience, 450+ technical and marketplace experts, 15,000 qualified sellers and 100M products (source: Octopia, 2024)

The Octopia teams have acquired strong expertise in the business of marketplace operator: managing the seller lifecycle, orders, platform management, and also organizing and leading change.

Octopia is the combination of 4 pillars that allows us to fully support companies in defining their project:

Technology :  

• A high-performance IT architecture that supports more than 2 million product updates per week
• A marketplace platform capable of handling 3000 requests per second on the Orders API

Seller catalogue:

• A team of experts to build the best assortment and offer strategy
• 15,000 sourced and scored sellers in 70 countries

E-commerce logistics:

• Shipping deadlines met 99.7%
• 100K parcels delivered daily to more than 20 countries in Europe

Operations:

• A transfer of operational know-how and key processes as a marketplace operator
• Support on strategic topics: marketing, onboarding, logistics, etc.

(source: Octopia, 2024)

Key takeaway: a marketplace solution allows you to expand your offering while enriching your revenue through a commission-based and flexible model, without excessive technical complexity.

Smile & Octopia

Smile has been a Gold level partner since 2022.

Thanks to this strategic partnership, Smile integrates the Octopia marketplace solution for its customers via several open source e-commerce engines such as Sylius or Adobe Commerce.

The Smile teams have the technical and functional expertise to support their clients at all stages of their marketplace project.

Recently, the Octopia and Smile teams jointly launched the Bebeboutik.com marketplace, with the ambition of becoming the leader in online childcare.

Integrating a marketplace solution is not just about deploying technology: it also requires mastering configuration, business flows, team adoption, and long-term evolution . That's where our expertise comes in.

1) Technical integration

Smile helps you connect the marketplace solution to your e-commerce platform , particularly through open-source engines like Sylius or Adobe Commerce. This includes:

• the configuration of the centralized back office ,
• the implementation of payment gateways ,
• the integration of catalog, order and vendor APIs.

2) Operational implementation

With Smile's support, you benefit from assistance with:

• define the product assortment strategy ,
• develop your logistics processes ,
• structuring the onboarding of salespeople .

3) Continuous support

The work doesn't end with uploading. We offer services for:

• optimize your operations in the long term ,
• Adjust your workflows according to your key KPIs,
• to support your team in day-to-day management.

Key takeaway: with Smile, integration is complete, from technology to operation, allowing you to focus on the business, not on technical complexities.

Business benefits for your company

Adopting a marketplace via Smile and Octopia transforms your digital commerce model :

• You maximize your product visibility thanks to a larger catalog,
• You gain access to a network of international sellers ,
• You increase your recurring revenue through commissions and additional services.
• You gain operational agility , with automated flows via API.

Moreover, for organizations already equipped with an e-commerce platform, this evolution towards the marketplace reduces the time-to-market of new assortments, eliminates the infrastructure burden associated with scaling up, and frees up your technical teams for higher value-added projects.

Key takeaway: a well-implemented marketplace solution can become a central driver of growth, enriching the offering and building customer loyalty through richer shopping experiences.