Paul Piper

Apache OFBiz

Posted on Aug 22, 2024

My Journey with Apache OFBiz

I started working with Apache OFBiz in 2008 when I joined Mutschler Ventures. We were searching for flexible ecommerce systems, and I was tasked with analyzing market leaders across Europe. This led me to discover Hybris, Intershop, various PHP-based systems, and Apache OFBiz. I was immediately drawn to OFBiz’s architecture, and we soon began developing our own products on it, including “brandsparadise.de,” an online factory outlet center.

The Early Days

Getting started with OFBiz was a challenge. For the first six months, I would often throw away my implementation and restart from scratch. However, I eventually gained a deeper understanding of the system, and my work began to bear fruit.

Collaborations and Contributions

I had the opportunity to collaborate with many of the core Apache OFBiz developers, including Jacques le Roux, Ruth Howard, Bilgim Ibriyam, Pierre Smits, Adrian Crum, Christian Geisert, Jonatan Soto, Pascal Proulx, Angus Gow, BJ Freeman, Carsten Schinzer, Markus May, Shi Jinghai, Varun Bhansaly, Marco Risaliti, Ankit Jain, and many others. Through ilscipio, we contributed to various aspects of the system, such as:

  • A modern variant of the ecommerce application (ecomseo)
  • An Axis2 integration (which I developed during my time at Mutschler Ventures)
  • The Apache Solr implementation
  • Numerous bugfixes

Pushing for a Modern Frontend

I also attempted to push the community to adopt a new, modern frontend. Unfortunately, this effort was unsuccessful, and it ultimately led me to begin development on our fork, Scipio ERP.

Implementations and Successes

We successfully implemented OFBiz for several clients, including Müpro, Konica Minolta, and 1&1 (where we build various platforms). These projects allowed us to refine our skills and deepen our understanding of the system.

I also published an article in the german Java Magazine “Apache OFBiz - Frei in der Welt des ERP” and went to the ApacheCon as a speaker, pushing for a modern frontend.

Key Takeaways

My experience with Apache OFBiz taught me the importance of perseverance and collaboration. Despite the initial challenges, I was able to contribute to the system and help shape its development. The lessons I learned during this time have been invaluable, and I continue to apply them to my work today.

Apache OFBiz was a pivotal system in my career, and I am grateful for the opportunities it provided. While I eventually moved on to develop Scipio ERP, my experience with OFBiz laid the foundation for my future work in ecommerce and ERP systems.