Galvins Plumbing Supplies
Building a Digital Future for a 90-Year Legacy
year
2025
industry
Plumbing, Tech
Services
When Galvins Plumbing Supplies approached us, they had a simple goal: create a mobile app to complement their existing eCommerce website. What started as a straightforward request quickly evolved into a transformative journey. Through discovery sessions, we uncovered a complex web of challenges tied to their existing infrastructure—rigid, outdated, and unable to keep pace with their vision. The solution? A newly crafted backend, a revamped website, and a Flutter-powered app to bring their products closer to their customers than ever before.
Galvins is no ordinary business. Family-owned for over 90 years, they’ve grown from a small operation into a national player with over 100 staff—all while preserving the personal, customer-first ethos of a local shop. Their customers—loyal tradespeople—rely on Galvins for honesty, reliability, and service that treats them like partners, not numbers. But as younger, tech-savvy business owners entered the market demanding convenience and self-service, Galvins knew they needed to adapt. Digital transformation wasn’t just an option; it was a necessity to stay competitive.
Having already introduced a new ERP system and eCommerce platform in recent years, Galvins turned to us to take the next step: a mobile app that would put their products in customers’ hands faster. What we delivered went far beyond that initial brief.
Galvins’ existing backend, while tailored to their operations, was a roadblock. It was inflexible, locked down, and unable to support the integrations and scalability their future demanded. Our Design & Architecture process (DNA) revealed the full scope of the problem—and the opportunity. They didn’t just need an app; they needed a robust, future-proof digital ecosystem.
Their goals were clear: faster access to products, greater control over their platform, and seamless integrations with their Epicor ERP system. To get there, we had to rethink everything from the ground up.
Partnering with Hatchd, our team of engineers rolled up their sleeves and got to work. The discovery phase, powered by our Design & Architecture service was pivotal. We collaborated closely with Galvins, mapping out requirements, sketching architectures, and documenting every detail. The result was a clear plan that gave us the confidence to tackle the complexity head-on.
The backbone of the new system is a custom-built API and Sync Service, designed for reliability, performance, and extensibility. We chose Golang for the API to ensure speed and efficiency, while Postgres powered the database, syncing seamlessly with Epicor as the source of truth. Firebase Auth brought industry-standard security, and a modular search system made product discovery a breeze. Every component was selected with Galvins’ long-term growth in mind.
One standout feature? Punchout support. For Galvins’ largest mining clients, we integrated Greenwing Technologies’ Punchout API, enabling seamless purchase order workflows—a critical requirement for their project-based buying processes. By leveraging Firebase Auth Custom Tokens, we kept these integrations secure and efficient.
For the app, Flutter was the natural choice. Its single-codebase approach meant we could deliver consistent, high-performance experiences on both Android and iOS without doubling our efforts. With tools like go_router for navigation, flutter_bloc for state management, and very_good_analysis for code quality, we built an app that’s as robust as it is user-friendly. Material Design components gave it a polished, Galvins-branded look, while near-native performance ensured smooth browsing, cart management, and checkouts—key to driving conversions.
The architecture followed a feature-first, BLoC-pattern approach, keeping the code modular, testable, and easy to scale. From repositories abstracting API calls to comprehensive unit testing, every layer was designed for maintainability and growth.
ROY needed to not only have best in class usability, but look better than the competitors. To deliver, we collaborated with Hatchd and Galvins to create a design highly tailored to their customer base. Co-design sessions were held at Galvins' head office and regular user testing allowed us to test any assumptions of usability.
All user flows were mapped in detail to ensure smooth development and future maintainability. In all, over 700 unique screens were designed by the Hatchd team, with each and every one tailored to Galvins customers.
A close relationship between all stakeholders was essential to ensure the robustness and reliability of the overall solution. This collaboration was underpinned by a comprehensive and cooperative testing process that involved contributions from all parties.
Drawing on years of testing experience, the Adapptor test team led a rigorous programme of structured testing, designed to validate the full end-to-end functionality of the system. This included in-depth checks of critical data flows, such as pricing logic and invoice generation, as well as validation of key functions including product search, order placement, payment processing, and integration with Epicor. Each function was tested against defined outcomes to ensure stability, accuracy, and performance across a wide range of user scenarios.
Complementing this, Galvins staff conducted exploratory testing in UAT and within the live production environment. This hands-on phase enabled team members from across their business to interact with the system in real-world workflows, uncovering edge cases, identifying usability improvements, and gathering operational insights that might not emerge through structured test cases alone.
Together, this dual approach ensured the final product was not only technically sound but also practically aligned with the way Galvins staff work day to day. The result is a solution finely tuned to their specific needs.
The new system didn’t just serve customers—it empowered Galvins’ team. An admin command center, powered by Command, lets them monitor system health, manage sync jobs, and track growth through custom analytics. Roles and permissions shifted control to trade account owners, freeing Galvins’ staff from managing every user. It’s a platform that works as hard as they do.
What began as a mobile app project became a full digital overhaul. Galvins now has a scalable, secure platform that mirrors the reliability and care they’ve offered for 90 years; only now, it’s in the palm of their customers’ hands. Tradespeople can browse, order, and manage accounts with ease, while Galvins’ team has the tools to customise and grow their digital presence.
For a 90-year-old family business, staying relevant means evolving. With this new ecosystem, Galvins isn’t just keeping up, they’re leading the way.
