BestValue

BestValue is Romania’s leading duty-free retailer, offering travelers exclusive access to premium brands at duty-free prices. By validating their flight details online, passengers can shop a luxury selection of global products anytime from booking until departure.

Company size:
enterprise

Industry:
Travel retail

Headquarters:
Romania

The Project

Any traveller who has set foot in Romania’s major airports is likely familiar with the iconic BestValue Duty Free shops. In June 2016, following a strategic decision by the parent company, Millenium Pro Design, to upgrade its business model, BestValue successfully transitioned into the digital space through a partnership with Innobyte.

Mirroring the exclusive nature of their physical locations, www.bestvalue.eu was designed as a unique eCommerce platform reserved specifically for travellers. To access duty-free luxury products online, customers must validate a plane ticket on the website—a process available from the moment of purchase until the day of the flight.

This project represents a sophisticated fusion of traditional duty-free retail and modern digital technology. We were tasked with engineering a seamless validation system and a high-performance platform that brings the premium airport shopping experience to the traveller’s fingertips. Wonder how we made it all possible?

The Solution

Services provided

Custom eCommerce

Custom web development

Consulting services

ERP integration

Due to the project’s unique requirements, we identified Sylius as the optimal framework for its flexibility and performance. To bring the duty-free experience online, we engineered a complex integration ecosystem that bridges the gap between travel and retail.

Key Technical Integrations:

Real-Time Flight Validation: We developed a secure connection between the BestValue platform and global flight data providers—including Amadeus, WizzAir, RyanAir, and Tarom—to enable instant plane ticket verification.
ERP Synchronisation: The platform was fully integrated with Microsoft Dynamics NAV, ensuring real-time accuracy for order processing and inventory management across all channels.
Scalable Architecture: For seamless product information management, we built a queue-based messaging protocol between Sylius and the client’s in-house CMS. This decoupled architecture ensures the system remains highly scalable and resilient under heavy traffic.

Outcomes

The partnership between BestValue and Innobyte resulted in a first-of-its-kind digital transformation for the Romanian travel retail market. By successfully migrating a high-security airport experience to a scalable eCommerce environment, the project achieved the following:

Key Outcomes

Digital Transformation: Successfully pivoted an exclusively offline model into a high-performing digital marketplace, extending the shopping window from hours to weeks.
Automated Validation: Integrated a secure ticket verification system with major carriers (Amadeus, RyanAir, Tarom) for instant duty-free eligibility.
Real-Time Sync: Achieved 100% inventory and order accuracy via full integration with Microsoft Dynamics NAV.
Scalable Architecture: Built a decoupled, Symfony-based platform using Sylius, ensuring stability during high-traffic peaks through queue-based messaging.
Code Excellence: Maintained a clean, testable codebase via BDD and Continuous Integration, allowing for rapid, low-risk feature deployment.

“

They are open-minded, innovative and business-oriented and I can say from my experience that the results of their work have never been anything but flawless. My collaboration with Innobyte lasts for so many years that I have reached the point where they’re the first that come to my mind whenever I get involved in a new project. By choosing Innobyte for your projects you don’t only make a wise choice for your business, but you also create a strong and long-lasting bond with the most professional and trustworthy team of specialists in design, development and implementation.