01 — The headline
Fitment, search, and third-party apps that had to work together
Weak fitment or search loses shoppers; broken apps at launch lose merchants. As product lead for the automotive vertical, I directed discovery, backlog, and acceptance for BB Wheels, MAD Powersports, and Revolution Gear & Axle—three flagship programs with different catalog shapes, integration stacks, and migration paths, all on a shared Stencil delivery model.
02 — Situation
Shared primitives, diverging merchant complexity
IntuitSolutions is an Elite BigCommerce partner: custom Stencil, migrations, proprietary add-ons, and long-running support. Automotive merchants share primitives—YMM fitment, Search Spring, SureDone PIM, Yotpo, financing, B2B bundles—but diverge on catalog shape, dealer rules, and partner stacks. Blueprint sunsets and Drupal exits each needed coordinated testing across vendors, not theme QA alone.
03 — Constraints
Launch risk lived outside engineering
Success meant balancing ITS Base Theme reuse with per-merchant differentiation while managing dependencies the agency did not control.
Third-party scripts outside agency controlSearch Spring, SureDone, Yotpo, and financing vendors changed behavior on their own timelines—acceptance criteria and rollback paths had to be written before launch.
Fitment and catalog edge casesYMM data correctness, kit logic, and bundle rules had to hold across large, rapidly changing catalogs without dumping complexity on shoppers.
SEO-sensitive migrationsBlueprint→Stencil and Drupal→BigCommerce exits required redirect discipline, category parity, and multi-vendor data handoffs to preserve acquisition.
B2B and pricing complexityMerchant-specific dealer rules and B2B Edition bundles frequently clashed with default storefront assumptions.
04 — Key decisions
Program decisions that cut repeated launch risk
The high-value calls focused on integration QA and reusable contracts—not marginal cosmetic modules when launch risk was partner-dominated.
Base theme as product contract
The callStandardized shared capabilities in ITS Base Theme (Cornerstone-derived); customized only where differentiation had revenue evidence.
The tradeoffSome merchants accepted less bespoke behavior to gain upgrade stability and lower support load.
Test fitment-search stacks as one system
The callSureDone MMY + Search Spring + PDP templates validated together—search never ahead of what the PIM could defend.
The tradeoffLonger pre-launch QA cycles prevented expensive post-launch breakage and support churn.
Codify vendor boundaries explicitly
The callStructured test matrices with vendors; documented ownership, smoke paths, and failure modes for each major app partner.
The tradeoffMore up-front coordination load reduced late-stage blame loops on migration cutovers.
05 — What shipped
Three flagship automotive programs on Stencil
BB Wheels — Blueprint→Stencil migration with Search Spring MMY, quick search, hierarchy-first nav, and PDP upgrades (Yotpo with shopper photos, trust badges). Vendor test plans cut “works in staging, fails on vendor script” risk.
MAD Powersports — Blueprint→Stencil on ITS Base Theme + ThemeBridge with SureDone YMM, visual homepage category CTAs, enhanced mega menu, and post-launch optimization rhythm so performance did not regress after launch.
Revolution Gear & Axle — Drupal→BigCommerce migration with B2B Edition, Frequently Bought Together add-on, SureDone MMY, blog redesign, and coordinated multi-partner cutover (redirects, data cleanup, NetSuite-adjacent handoffs).
Detailed client work—including screenshots and per-merchant narrative—is below.
06 — Results
Portfolio outcomes
Revenue figures are client-confidential, but launch stability, migration parity, and post-launch maintainability were the measurable wins—merchants set up for SEO, B2B, and catalog iteration without replatforming from scratch.
07 — For the next PM
Lessons for agency product work
Automotive product lead at agency scale is vendor diplomacy as much as UX—scheduling and evidence beat “should work.” Recurring Search Spring/PIM edge cases belong in docs, not tribal memory.
Each engagement is a program, not a theme handoffShopped tasks (find by vehicle, validate fitment, trust PDP, checkout with financing) backward to partner contracts and theme modules.
Protect fitment truth end to endSearch quality and conversion collapse when PIM and storefront semantics drift—test the stack as one system.
Own partner failure paths upfrontExplicit boundaries and rollback plans reduce avoidable launch-day instability and post-launch support churn.
Client work
Three automotive and powersports merchants on BigCommerce Stencil, each with different catalog complexity, integrations, and UX goals. Jump to a client or scroll through in sequence.
Tires, wheels & accessories · Albany, MN
BB Wheels
- Blueprint → Stencil
- Search Spring MMY + quick search
- Custom navigation & PDP
Their story
BB Wheels scaled online tire and wheel volume. Blueprint limits, bulk category maintenance, and integrations (Search Spring, fulfillment-adjacent apps) converged—they needed Stencil migration without breaking search, merchandising, or ops.
Product problem
Blueprint could not deliver responsive, SEO-forward patterns the ecosystem was moving toward. Migration framed as a program: inventory depth, Search Spring dependencies, and third-party behaviors had to pass regression as Stencil shipped—not a reskin.
What shipped
Custom Stencil: upgraded YMM entry points (multiple search modes, consistent visual language), Search Spring quick search on-brand, hierarchy-first nav, PDP upgrades (larger imagery, tabs, Yotpo with shopper photos, trust badges). Vendor test plans and comms rhythm cut “works in staging, fails on vendor script” risk.
Aftermarket parts & accessories · family-owned
MAD Powersports
- Blueprint → Stencil
- ITS Base Theme + ThemeBridge
- SureDone Year / Make / Model
- Visual category CTAs
- Enhanced mega menu
- Post-launch optimization plan
Their story
Family-owned aftermarket parts/accessories across powersports categories; service and guidance part of the brand. Partnered with IntuitSolutions for a redesign that matched in-store expertise: fast, intentional, easier to run daily.
Challenge
Already on BigCommerce—needed stronger design, data discipline, and navigation through a huge catalog. Sister-site alignment as shared tokens and nav patterns, not blind template cloning where catalogs diverged.
Solution
Base Theme (Stencil) + ThemeBridge: SEO-friendly structure, mobile-first browsing, flexible merchandising modules. Bold homepage category visual CTAs; enhanced mega menu with scroll for deep taxonomies; SureDone-backed YMM so fitment stays accurate as feeds and inventory change.
Custom storefront capabilities
Mega menu, popup login, option grid, reorder, size guides, video thumbnails, swatches on category, thumbnail swap on PDP, horizontal category menus where scan speed mattered. Post-launch: optimization/support rhythm (maintenance, technical SEO, data cleanup) so performance did not regress after launch.
UX, fitment, and merchandising
Category storytelling, dense menu on tablet, mobile garage entry, PDP patterns, multi-device responsive story.
Screenshot 1 of 5
Drivetrain · veteran-owned · Drupal → BigCommerce
Revolution Gear & Axle
- Drupal migration
- ITS Base Theme
- SureDone MMY
- FBT add-on
- B2B Edition
Their story
Trusted brand in ring-and-pinion, axles, and drivetrain. Drupal storefront could not keep pace with merchandising, mobile performance, and integrations.
Product problem
Migration: preserve SEO intent, category discipline, and partner workflows. Fitment and bundles (including B2B) could not dump complexity on shoppers.
What shipped
BigCommerce on ITS Base Theme: B2B Edition, mega menu, homepage category CTAs, FBT add-on, SureDone MMY, blog redesign, coordinated partners (data cleanup, redirects, NetSuite). Clear ownership boundaries (schema, redirects, MMY sign-off) so launch did not become a blame loop.
Storefront & UX highlights
Responsive shells, nav density, category discovery, editorial surfaces, mobile fitment, PDP conversion adjacency.
Screenshot 1 of 7