Japan Tobacco International, a global leader in the tobacco industry, sought to enhance the customer experience and streamline data management processes. To achieve these goals, they initiated the Store Locator project, aiming to deliver a high-performance, scalable, and secure solution. The new system was designed to address existing inefficiencies and provide unified data access across various organizational teams - establishing Flotiq as a single platform connecting content, data and workflows across the entire organization.
The Client faced several challenges with its legacy solution:
Data sharing and scalabilityStore data was prepared independently by each market and limited to individual country websites - a classic data silo problem. A unified approach was needed to consolidate these fragmented assets and make them reusable across teams, systems, and channels.Security and integrationThe solution had to integrate securely with enterprise systems like Single Sign-On and API Management, and developer portal.User experienceSlow data loading on mobile devices required urgent optimization, as loading thousands of stores at once hindered performance.These challenges required an enterprise-ready solution that could support efficient data sharing and deliver a seamless experience to customers.
Flotiq provided a flexible, enterprise-grade platform:
Location SearchFlotiq’s geo-queries / location-based search enables instantaneous loading of the store map, based on the user’s current location.OpenAPIEnabled efficient data sharing across the organization, allowing store data prepared by individual markets to be used in websites, apps, and distribution systems. Because the API was modelled around JTI's actual business objects – stores, locations, markets – rather than generic technical structures, integration with existing enterprise systems required no additional mapping layers.Enterprise integrationsIncluded SSO via Entra ID for secure access and an on-premise deployment option for enhanced data governance. This gave central IT full control over access, security policies, and governance – while allowing individual market teams to operate independently within the same platform.
Thanks to the improved data utilization and Flotiq’s advanced technical approach, the solution now efficiently supports 33 countries and manages 480,898 stores, with the capacity to handle future expansion.
Secure integration with enterprise systems and on-premise options ensures data protection.
Optimized data delivery and advanced search features, including the Google Maps integration, have resulted in faster load times and made it easier for customers to locate stores. These improvements have led to increased user interactions and positive feedback.
We originally implemented Flotiq in order to unify our approach to store and present information about our product availability. Flotiq is now a part of our global platform and serves data for several dozen countries and 400k+ stores across the world. It's easy to use and comes with excellent support, which is why we're now using the system several other applications. Their integrations, documentation, on-premise deployment and customer support fit our enterprise needs perfectly.
The Store Locator project successfully resolved legacy system challenges by introducing a scalable platform with optimized data access, enhanced security, and enterprise-grade integrations. By leveraging Flotiq’s modern features, the solution supports operations across multiple markets, ensuring faster performance and a seamless user experience. These improvements have positioned the client for future growth and operational excellence. Critically, JTI did not just get a system – they got a partner: direct access to engineers, clearly defined support accountability, and a platform proven to scale across dozens of markets without replatforming. That combination of enterprise-grade support and a unified content and data layer is what transforms a store locator project into a long-term infrastructure asset.
Implementation: Certified Flotiq partner CodeWave led the development and collaborated closely with the Client – working directly with JTI's engineers rather than through intermediary layers, ensuring faster decisions, cleaner technical alignment, and a smooth migration.
Sharing data across the organization was critical. Thanks to Flotiq’s OpenAPI and API-management compatibility, the Store API could be published instantly and made discoverable across teams. The result: one platform, one source of truth serving 33 countries, multiple channels, and a growing set of internal applications.
