Beijer Ref Accelerates Innovation With a New Integration Platform on Azure
Beijer Ref is accelerating innovation with a modern integration platform on Azure. Together with Codit, the wholesaler is automating processes, connecting systems, and building a future-proof IT landscape.
Digitalisation and automation are essential for wholesalers. But streamlining complex business processes and enabling innovation through data and AI requires a flexible, scalable IT backbone. Beijer Ref, a specialist wholesaler in air conditioning, refrigeration and heat pumps, partnered with Codit to future-proof its IT landscape using Microsoft Azure technology.
Beijer Ref is an international trading group headquartered in Sweden. Its Benelux operations are supported by a support centre in Oirschot, the Netherlands. Its customers are primarily installation companies working in HVAC and commercial and industrial refrigeration. Edsard Vegter, Senior IT Business Consultant at Beijer Ref, explains: “We aim to make life as easy as possible for installers, including by automatically exchanging orders, order confirmations and invoices with their systems. We also offer our products through a webshop.”
Within the wider Beijer Ref Group, the Benelux organisation leads the way in process automation. This is partly thanks to the local market, where installers predominantly use standardised software. “That makes it easy for us to establish digital connections with our systems,” explains IT Director Ivo Spohr. “Internally, we are also constantly looking for ways to work more efficiently. We manage an extensive product range, have highly automated logistics processes, operate several webshops and use specialised solutions for inventory, pricing and product data management. All these applications need to communicate seamlessly with one another.”
Anticipating the end of BizTalk support
For many years, Beijer Ref relied on Microsoft BizTalk Server as its central integration platform. When it became clear that support for the technology would eventually be discontinued, implementation partner Codit highlighted the need to explore alternatives. “Codit first raised the issue with us back in 2023,” says Vegter. “At the time, we were developing a broader roadmap for our IT landscape, including a move to the cloud and an increased focus on cybersecurity. Our ERP system, for example, was set to migrate to Microsoft Dynamics 365. But our integration platform was still running entirely on-premises. Moving that to the cloud as well was the logical next step.”
Azure was the natural choice, given Beijer Ref’s existing use of the Microsoft ecosystem. However, the company wanted to avoid migrating to the new integration platform at the same time as implementing its new ERP system. “We deliberately opted for a phased approach,” Ivo Spohr emphasises. “We first phased out BizTalk and gradually migrated the existing interfaces to Azure. This allowed us to operate temporarily in a hybrid environment while ensuring continuity across all our systems.”
From technology provider to strategic partner
The migration from BizTalk to Azure took approximately 18 months. During this period, dozens of unique interfaces were migrated, while new integration requirements continued to emerge from the business. Codit helped Beijer Ref define the scope and architecture of its new integration platform.
Edsard Vegter explains: “We knew our processes and understood what we had in BizTalk, but Azure opened up a whole new world, with an incredible range of possibilities. The challenge was choosing the right solution for each application. Thanks to their experience, the Codit team was able to guide us through that process.”
Codit also supported Beijer Ref in its transition from an on-premises environment to a cloud-based model. Throughout the collaboration, Codit acted as a trusted adviser, providing not only technology but also valuable input on project phasing, architectural decisions and reusability.
“With every decision, you need to strike the right balance between security, performance and cost,” says IT Director Ivo Spohr. “Codit contributed practical insights and was open to having its ideas challenged by our team. We didn’t simply want to replace technology; we wanted to build an architecture that would support us in the long term. For example, by designing an integration for one webshop so that it could be reused across other web platforms, we avoided a significant amount of custom development.”
Beijer Ref also uses Invictus, Codit’s integration accelerator for building, managing and monitoring integrations. The solution combines a standardised approach with central visibility of integration flows and processes, allowing the integration platform to evolve consistently and remain manageable as new integration requirements arise.