Purdue's higher-ed store, engineered on Magento for public and institutional buyers.
The Purdue Extension Education Store sells educational materials to the public and to Purdue's own departments. IWD built it on Magento Open Source with Cybersource payments, university billing methods, tax-exempt checkout, and custom procurement reporting. We keep it current with annual platform upgrades.
Purdue Extension
Purdue Extension brings the university's research and education to communities across Indiana and beyond. Its Education Store, live at edustore.purdue.edu, sells the materials behind that work to two very different audiences: the general public and Purdue's own internal departments. IWD built the store on Magento Open Source and engineered the payment, tax, shipping, and reporting logic both audiences need. It's the kind of work our Adobe Commerce experts do across the Magento platform.
A store selling to both the public and internal university departments doesn't fit a stock Magento install.
So we engineered the layer that does.
One store, two audiences
A single platform runs the public storefront and a gated internal store for Purdue departments.
A gated internal catalog
Its own products, categories, and group pricing, visible only to assigned internal buyers.
Card payments, lighter PCI scope
A full-redirect Cybersource checkout keeps card data off the store and out of heavy PCI scope.
University billing methods
Internal transfer, invoice, and purchase-order billing for departments that don't pay by card.
Tax-exempt checkout
Certificate upload, admin approval with expiry, applied inline at checkout.
Procurement reporting
Purchase reports that reconcile to Purdue's internal accounts, exportable to CSV.
We engineered one store
for two kinds of buyers.
Off-the-shelf Magento doesn't serve two buyer types from one store. So we built the layer that does.
Nine systems run through one Magento platform.
Payments, shipping, search, tax, and procurement reporting wired into the Magento storefront and Purdue's finance process. Not bolted on as afterthoughts.
PlatformMagento Open SourceSelf-hosted store foundation, performance-tuned and hardened
PaymentsCybersourceVisa redirect gateway, reduced PCI scope
ShippingUSPSLive USPS rates via Endicia
ShippingUPSLive UPS shipping rates
SearchOpenSearchCatalog search and indexing
B2BInternal Purchasing FlowInternal transfer, invoice, and a gated catalog- TaxTax ExemptionCertificate upload, approval, and expiry
- ReportingProduct Purchased ReportCustom admin report by account, CSV export
- FinancePurdue FinanceInvoice and internal-account handoff
Built to keep growing.
The Purdue Extension store grew capability by capability. Each phase shipped without breaking the layer beneath it.
- Phase 01Store build & brand
A clean Magento Open Source install, performance-tuned and hardened, branded to Purdue's standards on a Luma child theme, through UAT to go-live.
- Phase 02Payments & buyers
Cybersource redirect checkout, internal transfer, invoice, and back-office payment methods, plus a gated internal customer group with its own catalog and group pricing.
- Phase 03Tax, shipping & reporting
Tax-exemption workflow with certificate upload and approval, live USPS and UPS rates, an internal-account product attribute, and a custom procurement report reconciled to Purdue finance.
- Phase 04Kept current
A recurring upgrade program across Magento releases with PHP-compatibility patching on every extension, staging QA, and a structured go-live. The store stays supported year over year.
Built to last, not just to launch.
Launch was the start. Each year IWD upgrades the platform to the current Magento and PHP releases, patching every extension for compatibility. The store stays secure and supported well ahead of end-of-life deadlines.
- One store, two audiences. Public and internal buyers share one platform with separate catalogs and pricing.
- Lean by design. Magento Open Source plus a Cybersource redirect keeps both cost and PCI scope down.
- Kept current. Annual platform and PHP upgrades patch every extension and stay ahead of lifecycle deadlines.
Less manual work,
cleaner procurement.
What changed day to day for Purdue's order desk, internal departments, and tax-exempt buyers.
Get this for your storeEvery purchase ties to an account
A custom admin report lists order, product, SKU, quantity, price, and internal account for any date range and payment method, exportable to CSV. Finance answers a reconciliation or audit from one export instead of stitching native reports by hand.
Every build closes a gap between stock Magento and the university.
Selling to the public and to internal departments from one store means features stock Magento doesn't have. We built each one and patch them all through every platform upgrade. Every build is owned by Purdue.
PlatformMagento Open Source Store Build
What it doesA clean Magento Open Source install configured end to end: catalog, product types, checkout, cron, indexing, caching, front-end optimization, sitemap, robots, and a hardened admin.
Why from scratchNo existing platform to migrate. The store launched from a fresh install, tuned for performance and for Purdue's two distinct buyer audiences.
BrandPurdue Brand Style Guide
What it doesA custom child theme over Magento's Luma base with brand variable overrides, fonts, logos, favicons, and placeholders mapped to Purdue's brand standards.
Why from scratchPurdue's brand standards are strict. A branded child theme meets them without the cost of a full creative redesign.
PaymentsCybersource Payments
What it doesA full-redirect Cybersource (Visa) checkout. Card data goes directly to Cybersource on a branded payment page, never through the store.
Why from scratchRouting cards straight to Cybersource keeps the store out of heavy PCI-DSS scope. Buyers still see a branded page that feels like Purdue.
PaymentsInternal Transfer Payment
What it doesA payment method restricted to internal Purdue buyers that collects an internal account number and GL code instead of a card.
Why from scratchUniversity departments pay by internal transfer, not credit card. This method captures the account and GL data Purdue finance needs.
PaymentsPay By Invoice
What it doesAn invoice payment option that places the order in pending while Purdue generates the invoice in its finance system, then marks it complete.
Why from scratchInstitutional buyers pay against invoices. The checkout hands off cleanly to Purdue's internal billing.
PaymentsBack-Office Payment Methods
What it doesOver-the-counter, check, and money-order methods restricted to the admin so staff can record in-person and offline orders.
Why from scratchNot every order comes through the storefront. Staff need admin-only methods to capture walk-up and mailed payments.
B2BInternal Customer Group & Gated Catalog
What it doesA dedicated internal customer group with its own products and categories, visible only to assigned members.
Why from scratchInternal buyers see different products and prices than the public. A group-scoped catalog keeps the two audiences separated on one platform.
B2BGroup Pricing & Discounts
What it doesCustomer-group-specific pricing and discounts so internal departments see their own rates at checkout.
Why from scratchInternal pricing differs from public pricing. Group rules apply the right price automatically, no manual adjustments.
CheckoutTax-Exemption Workflow
What it doesBuyers upload an exemption certificate in My Account. An admin approves it with an expiry, then a tax-exempt option appears at checkout.
Why from scratchMany institutional buyers are tax-exempt. Exemptions are validated and applied inline instead of routed to a separate process.
ShippingUSPS & UPS Shipping
What it doesLive USPS (via Endicia) and UPS shipping rates with a shipping-rules layer, plus admin-only options for internal fulfillment.
Why from scratchPhysical materials ship by multiple carriers. Real-time rates give buyers accurate costs, and rules give staff control over which methods appear.
DataAccount # Product Attribute
What it doesA custom product attribute that tags items to internal Purdue accounts, carried through to orders and reporting.
Why from scratchProcurement reconciliation needs the account on every line item. A lightweight attribute handles hundreds of accounts without a heavy data model.
ReportingProduct Purchased Report
What it doesA custom admin report filterable by date range and payment method, listing order number, product, SKU, quantity, price, and account. Exportable to CSV.
Why from scratchPurdue finance reconciles purchases against internal account numbers. Native Magento reports can't produce that view.
PlatformAnnual Platform Upgrades
What it doesA recurring upgrade program across Magento releases, patching every extension for current-PHP compatibility, with staging QA, a rollback plan, and a structured go-live.
Why from scratchOff-the-shelf extensions break on new PHP and Magento versions. Each upgrade is patched and tested so the store stays current and supported.
Let's build your Magento commerce platform the right way.
We engineer Magento and Adobe Commerce stores for universities and B2B sellers whose buyers range from the public to their own departments. We keep them current year after year. Tell us what you're up against.