Hello Arpit, +1 for the initiative.
Headless commerce is indeed the need of an hour. The e-commerce component of OFBiz is tightly coupled with OFBiz design and technologies. It is always difficult for a front-end developer to have a freedom of using his/her preferred front end technologies and design desired UI/UX without having to learn how to code in OFBiz. Providing a set of REST APIs which will cover all the eCommerce features, will make the life of front end developer much easier. This way they will be able to get advantage of OFBiz’s backend capabilities along with their own front end. After having the recent REST API support in OFBiz, this definitely should be the next step forward. Thanks for the initiative Arpit. I will be happy to contribute in this effort. On Tue, 18 Aug 2020 at 8:52 PM, Arpit Mor <arpit....@hotwaxsystems.com> wrote: > Hi Devs, > > > > Hope everyone is safe and healthy amidst Covid-19 pandemic > > > > Most of you might have heard about “Headless Commerce” or API first > > commerce, but in case you haven’t, here is a brief summary of what headless > > commerce is and why it is the need of the hour. > > > > What is Headless Commerce? > > In its simplest form, headless commerce is the decoupling of the > > presentation layer (frontend) of an eCommerce from backend such that both > > are able to function independently. This decoupling is achieved by using > > APIs to expose core backend functionalities. > > > > Why Headless Commerce? > > Today, customers are consuming context from various channels and > > touch-points. Gone are the days when customers primarily needed to visit a > > website to buy online. With the rise of smartphones and the Internet of > > Things (IoT), customers can now shop from multiple channels like IoT > > devices, progressive web apps (PWAs), social media platforms, mobile apps, > > smart assistants, smart TV, kiosks, and many more. > > By decoupling frontend from backend - user interface, social commerce, > > mobile apps, IoT, and many more – can be changed or updated individually, > > without interfering with backend. Data is available to separate frontend > > applications via API calls and the backend runs invisibly in the > background. > > > > Benefits of Headless Commerce > > Unlimited Channels and Touchpoints: With API first Headless Commerce, > > integration with the new channels and touchpoints becomes easy, economical, > > and quick. > > > > Innovation and Engaging User Experience: With traditional monolithic > > Commerce, making user-centric changes to your website requires both a front > > and backend transformation. But with headless commerce, all the > > frontend/app developers have to focus on is user experience, > > personalization, and consistency without having to worry about changes to > > the backend. > > > > Easy-to-Manage Integrations: Headless commerce not only includes providing > > API support to the frontend, but it also includes communication between > > various components (like ERP, WMS, OMS, CRM, POS, etc.) via APIs. This will > > reduce the complexity of the integration and its maintenance. > > > > Business Agility & less time to market: Companies must be able to respond > > quickly to new market opportunities by constantly releasing new features. > > In traditional commerce, each component is tightly coupled with another > > which makes changes a complex task. But with Headless commerce different > > components communicate via APIs, which make changes to one component easy > > without having to worry about changes to other components. > > > > I’d like to put forward a suggestion for developing a headless commerce > > plugin, to keep the competitive edge of OFBiz with the rapidly changing > > technological trends by exposing core backend functionalities via APIs (The > > REST capabilities are already added to OFBiz recently). > > > > Looking forward to suggestions and feedback. > > > > Thanks & Regards > > Arpit Mor > > -- Kind Regards, Mohammad Kathawala Senior Technical Consultant *HotWax Systems* *Enterprise open source experts* cell: +91-7772858789 office: 0731-409-3684 http://www.hotwaxsystems.com
