How to Migrate from OroCommerce to BetterCommerce

Choosing BetterCommerce over OroCommerce isn’t just about accessing modern features—it’s about embracing simplicity, speed, and scalability. We will walk you through a smooth, structured migration process that transitions your business from the heavy, monolithic structure of OroCommerce to a nimble, API-first headless commerce platform.

Why Make the Move

Picture this: your team is weighed down by complex workflows, layered pricing modules, and heavy maintenance demands in OroCommerce. While powerful, Oro’s customizations and CRM integration require constant developer attention. BetterCommerce offers a compelling alternative—an all-in-one, cloud-native solution built for speed, composability, and lower long-term costs  .

Its API-first architecture plays a crucial role in migration. With dedicated PIM, Storefront, and CPQ APIs, BetterCommerce enables flexible, data-first transitions. This means you can pull in OroCommerce data incrementally—starting with catalogs or pricing rules—and turn your migration into a step-by-step business improvement project.

Step 1: Audit and Export OroCommerce Data
Migration starts with a deep audit of your OroCommerce setup. 
Review your:

• Catalog: SKUs, categories, custom attributes
• Pricing: price books, negotiated rates
• Customers: B2B segments, account hierarchies
• Orders: open quotes, discounts, statuses
• Workflows: approval flows, custom processes

Using OroCommerce’s ImportExportBundle CLI or API—oro:migration:dump, oro:migration:data:load, and REST endpoints—you can extract structured JSON or CSV files for each data set .

This stage is vital. A clean data export ensures a smoother import and gives you clarity on what to migrate—and in what sequence.

Step 2: Map Data and Design Migration Flow in BetterCommerce
Now, align your Oro structures with BetterCommerce’s data models:

• Products & Categorization → via PIM API
• Pricing Rules & Customer Tiers → via CPQ endpoints
• Customer Accounts & Segments → via Storefront API
• Orders & Quotes → migrated as “draft” object states
   

Better Commerce’s docs show that its APIs are standardized, RESTful, and intuitive built to support headless frontends and legacy data loaders . Before migration, design small data flows: for example, extract Oro price book data, transform to BetterCommerce JSON format, and import into your new CPQ engine.

This API-first approach reduces unexpected mismatches and makes it clear exactly where each data model belongs.
 

Step 3: Execute a Phased Data Migration

Rather than a big-bang cutover, BetterCommerce supports phased imports:
1.    Phase 1: Sync Products, Categories, and PIM data
2.    Phase 2: Migrate Pricing Rules, Customer structures
3.    Phase 3: Export Orders & Quotes gradually
4.    Phase 4: Switch storefront DNS, complete cutover

This minimizes downtime and lets you verify data integrity in stages. You can run dual storefronts—Oro live, BetterCommerce staging—while your team tests customer logins, pricing accuracy, quote flows, and backend dashboards.

Step 4: Recreate Workflows Using Native BetterCommerce Tools
OroCommerce’s workflow engine offers advanced flexibility—but often at the cost of complexity. With BetterCommerce, similar workflows (approval queues, punchout orders, custom buyer roles) can be configured more intuitively—without risking brittle custom scripts.

Use the native admin UI to define approval stages or sales rep permissions. These settings automatically sync via REST to your storefront and CPQ API layers. There’s no need to customize Oro’s complex workflow YAML or maintain separate automation modules.

By embedding logic natively, maintenance becomes part of the core SaaS experience—and upgrades become easier.

Step 5: Develop and Launch Your New Headless Storefront
Your new storefront connects via APIs to BetterCommerce’s PIM and Checkout endpoints. Leverage open-source Next.js storefront templates or custom frontends to style your brand experience, customer- and region-specific pricing included.

Testing here is critical: walk through buyer-specific scenarios, quote approval paths, and warehouse-aware fulfillment logic. BetterCommerce ensures your checkout and order flows mirror Oro Commerce’s business logic, but with a far sleeker and more performant interface.
 

Step 6: Cutover and Optimize Post-Migration
When you switch DNS and monitor traffic, you’re live. But launch is only the beginning. BetterCommerce’s cloud-native infrastructure auto-scales, handles DevOps, and supports API integration with ERPs and CRMs. You’ve simplified your stack—and can continue optimizing without custom maintenance sprints.
Use API logs and monitoring tools to:

• Track active storefront usage
• Validate open quotes and pricing flows
• Tune PIM updates and inventory syncs
• Improve APIs with pagination and filtering

Why Migration to BetterCommerce Pays Off

Faster GTM
Migrating incrementally and leveraging composable APIs means you can launch sooner—weeks, not months—with confidence.
 

Lower TCO
By retiring Oro’s on-prem or managed infrastructure, paying for complex workflows and data migrations, you move to a subscription that handles upgrades, scaling, and core features.
 

Scalable Architecture
BetterCommerce’s headless model means marketplaces, marketplaces, IoT—whatever your next channel, your product and checkout APIs are ready.
 

Business Simplicity
Simplify vendor management, reduce workflow maintenance, and free your dev team for new features—not upkeep.
 

Migration Scenario
Let’s consider a B2B wholesaler migrating 50,000 SKUs and 10 price books: