Case Study: Supporting This Australian Brand With Shopify Store Creation & Automated BOM Assembly

Pioneers of the first bracket-less awning system, Heka Hoods is an innovative Australian company that proudly designs and manufactures stylish yet functional sun hoods on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland. Heka Hoods’ Architectural Range offers custom awning solutions which are specified by architects, developers and building designers for use on residential, industrial and commercial projects.

In early 2025, the company launched EXPRESS by Heka Hoods, a new sub-brand to solve problems for existing clients, targeting builders and renovation businesses. It offers an ‘off-the-shelf’ range of standardised sun hoods ready for online purchase and quick dispatch – combining Heka’s signature minimalist style and patented awning design without the hassle of lengthy lead times.

This case study shares how Swanky supported our client with the ecommerce infrastructure for EXPRESS by Heka Hoods. It also explores the custom script we developed to streamline and automate BOM assembly, thereby ensuring accurate inventory management.

Shopify store creation

Swanky’s Australian Shopify experts were tasked with creating a new Shopify store for EXPRESS by Heka Hoods, closely aligned with the look and feel of the core Heka Hoods site (a non-transactional site). Our client wanted EXPRESS to be clearly connected to its parent entity, leveraging Heka Hoods’ established reputation and brand influence.

We customised a Shopify 2.0 theme to create a stylish and minimalist store that perfectly aligns with the Heka Hoods website aesthetic, as well as EXPRESS’ sleek and elegant product offering.

The theme showcases images beautifully, allowing our client to leverage visual storytelling across the site and inspire visitors with stunning photographs of their products in-situ.

The eye-catching hero section on the EXPRESS by Heka Hoods homepage.

Examples of how lifestyle imagery is given plenty of real estate on the About page.

With Shopify 2.0, our client will be able to easily implement changes across the site thanks to features like ‘Sections Everywhere’, the intuitive theme editor user interface and easy app integrations – ultimately allowing them to remain agile as trends change and the market evolves. You can read more about these features in our article on the benefits of upgrading to Shopify 2.0.

Visit the EXPRESS by Heka Hoods store.

Structuring product hierarchy

The EXPRESS by Heka Hoods product range features three standardised depth options: 300mm, 450mm, 600mm.

There are five standard lengths to select from, ranging from 1200mm to 7200mm, and consumers can choose between three colour options. This results in several possible product variants and solutions.

With sun hood depth, length and colour all directly impacting pricing, product structure needed to be optimised for Shopify’s product system. The final product hierarchy looks like this:

• Depth → Parent Level
• Length → Variant Option
• Colour → Variant Option

Leveraging Shopify’s metafield functionality

The 3600mm, 4800mm and 7200mm hood lengths consist of a combination of 1200mm and 2400mm hoods, and also require ‘H Sections’ and ‘Joiners’. This group of required components is referred to as a ‘Continuous Connection Kit’.

For each product variant, we used Shopify’s native metafields functionality to detail whether a Connection Kit is required and list any associated components:

• Continuous Connection Kit: Input can either be true (if the product variant exceeds 2400mm in length and requires multiple items) or false (in which case, the product will be added to the cart as normal).

• Connection Kit – Hood: This refers to the product variant ID of the Hood product that needs to be added to the cart.

• Connection Kit – Hood QTY: Determines how many Hood products to add to cart.

• Connection Kit – Joiner: The product variant ID of the Joiner product that needs to be added to the cart.

• Connection Kit – Joiner QTY: Determines how many Joiner products to add to cart.

• Connection Kit – H Section: The product variant ID of the H Section product that needs to be added to the cart.

• Connection Kit – H Section QTY: Determines how many H Section products to add to cart.

Should our client wish to expand their product range and add new products, they can easily assign metafields in their Shopify store’s theme editor, without any additional developer support.

Custom script for automated BOM assembly

When a sun hood requiring a Continuous Connection Kit is purchased, a Bill of Materials (BOM) is needed to ensure accurate inventory management. A BOM lists out all the individual components that are used to make a product, signalling which items need to be packed.

We created a custom script that leverages variant metafields to accurately assemble a BOM when required.

The script also ensures that all individual components are listed in the cart and at checkout, ensuring transparency for consumers around what they can expect to receive in their delivery.

For example, imagine a shopper selects the 300-36-BM variant on the frontend. This is a sun hood with the following properties:

• Depth =  300mm
• Length = 3600mm (as it exceeds 2400mm in length, it requires a Connection Kit)
• Colour = Zeus Black Matt

This product variant is reflected in the below screenshot of the frontend product page:

Once Add to Cart is clicked, our script will run and the system will automatically assemble a BOM for use in EXPRESS’ warehouse. This includes all the individual components needed for this particular variant:

• 3× 300-12-BM (Single 300mm Depth Hood,1200mm Length, Zeus Black Matt)
• 2× 300-H-BM (Single 300mm Depth H Section, Zeus Black Matt)
• 2× 300-J-BM (Single 300mm Depth Joiner, Zeus Black Matt)

When the customer visits their cart, these components are all clearly listed, shown in the screenshot below:

Ecommerce tech stack consultancy

We provided expert recommendations for a future-proofed Shopify tech stack, before implementing the team’s chosen solutions.

EXPRESS’ digital toolbox includes apps such as:

• Okendo for product reviews. Collecting and showcasing social proof is especially important for new brands looking to build trust amongst prospective customers.

• Gorgias for providing high-quality customer support and integrating all customer service channels into one unified dashboard.

• Littledata for improved tracking of customers and revenue.

• SEO Manager to monitor the site’s SEO health and make informed improvements in line with SEO best practices.

• Instafeed to seamlessly pull through the brand’s Instagram content onto the site’s homepage. This additional visual content serves as inspiration for site visitors, showcasing EXPRESS’ product range in beautiful real-life settings.

• ShipZip to provide accurate shipping rates based on the product weight and destination suburb.

Reflections from the client

Reflecting on a successful Shopify store creation with the Swanky team, Scout Hinchliffe, Innovation & Product Manager at Heka Hoods, commented:

“Collaborating with Swanky through working meeting sessions during the site and app development made the process efficient and seamless.

“One of our biggest challenges was shipping the Express by Heka Hoods product, given its large size and regional delivery limitations across Australia. The Swanky team found a practical and effective solution that we implemented which streamlined the Shopify shipping process.

“They also worked through and resolved the complexities of the Continuous Connection BOMs”.

Launch & grow your ecommerce business with Swanky

If you’re interested in any of the themes covered in this case study, including Shopify store creation, automated inventory management, or ecommerce tech stack optimisation, please reach out to our solutions team to find out more.