LiteBreeze has built a platform to manage the production flow and order processing for one of Europe’s largest printing businesses. It supports the full order flow, from import to production, invoicing and dispatch to shipment. Order volumes grew from 7,500 in 2015 when we started, to 100,000 in 2025.
The platform was initially built in Core PHP in 2015, and hosted on an on-site Windows server. It served the production floor operations for almost a decade. However, as order volumes began to grow, and customisations added to make minor improvements to the production floor or urgent needs of specialized customer demands, the codebase became more and more complex over time.
Newer technology and machinery were added to the floor to increase efficiencies and support higher production needs. Newer packages were needed to be integrated which were not compatible with the older PHP version being used.
The initial platform also ran on an onsite Windows machine, which narrowed down the set of hosting and deployment options and limited scalability.
These factors necessitated a rebuild of the platform. LiteBreeze rebuilt the platform in 2025 using Laravel and Vue. The onsite Windows infra and dependencies were removed and instead the application was now set up on AWS cloud infrastructure.
More than a technical upgrade, the rebuild sets up the platform for what comes next. New features, machine interactions, and third-party integrations are faster to build now, so the platform can keep adapting as the business’s production requirements and order volumes change.
Order Management
The platform covers the full order lifecycle, from quotation and order intake through production, invoicing, shipping, and post-delivery claims management.
Production flow
The production floor operations are tightly bound to the platform. The machines can be triggered and controlled through the application using standardised messaging and job formats, thereby automating a major portion of the production flow.
Multi-channel order intake
Orders arrive through the digital storefronts, email + ftp, REST APIs, and manual entry. All of them enter the same workflow; so production floor operators manage every order the same way regardless of where it originated.
Automated job processing
The platform has integrated multiple smart machines, each using its own separate protocols and message formats. This allows automated production at the machinery, removing the need for manual operation and setup of a machine before an order can be processed.
Quotation-to-order conversion
Sales quotations can be created, tracked and followed-up through the application. They can also be converted to production orders in one click. The information carries over automatically, so nothing has to be re-typed and nothing gets lost in the handoff.
Grouped shipments
Major shipping providers like DHL, DPD have been integrated into the platform. Shipments are created and labels generated and printed through the platform.
Orders heading to the same destination are grouped and consolidated before dispatch. This keeps logistics costs down and improves shipment processing efficiencies.
Invoicing
Customer invoices can be generated and tracked within the platform and linked to the orders, so financial and operational data stay connected and relatable.
Claims management
A dedicated claim management feature allows raising claims against any order, and managing its resolution through re-shipping the order and providing credit notes. The claims stay linked to the order, and the data can also be used to analyse any structural defects in the production flow.
More than a decade being associated with this project has given us exposure to the kind of complexity that comes with consistent high-volume production and order management.
We were able to familiarise with the print production operations, and get to know the nitty-gritty behind file processing and machine interactions. The rebuild also threw its own set of challenges with data migration and user adoption, without disrupting the business operations.
That experience carries over to other businesses facing the same pattern: large scale order and data management, smart machines and tools integration, and rebuilding legacy systems. The team has also built the communication muscle this kind of work demands, translating complex technical trade-offs into decisions a non-technical client can act on, entirely through remote collaboration across time zones.
The lesson from this project isn’t that everything needs replacing. Here, the platform evolved with the business: workflows got automated as volumes grew, integrations got added as requirements changed, and the architecture got rebuilt only once it started limiting what came next. That same approach works for any business managing complex production flows, suppliers, logistics, and customer communication.
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