The McGill Campus Store is the official retailer for the university. It provides course materials, general interest books, and a wide range of McGill branded merchandise for students, faculty, alumni, and anyone who wants to support the institution.

Through its online catalog, the Campus Store offers an accessible shopping experience for academic materials and retail products. Monarq has supported the Campus Store website since 2020 as part of a broader partnership with McGill University, which includes work with the Executive Institute, the Institute of Genomic Medicine, and other in-house programs.

Originally built on Drupal 7, the platform powered thousands of student and alumni orders each year. As Drupal 7 reached end of life and stopped receiving security updates, the risk of vulnerabilities increased. Maintaining a secure and stable system became a priority. The migration to Drupal 11 also provided an opportunity to refresh the design, improve the infrastructure, and adopt modern Drupal Commerce features. This led to the decision to rebuild the entire platform on the latest supported version of Drupal.
 

Monarq migrated the entire Campus Store platform to Drupal 11. Every component of the site was updated or rebuilt. This included the catalog, the checkout experience, the content architecture, and all ecommerce functions.

With the new version, Monarq introduced shipment handling features provided by modern Drupal Commerce. This made it possible to separate items within a single order into different shipments based on the required shipping method. It removed previous limitations where all items were processed together, even when they required different shipping approaches. The migration also included an updated integration with the payment gateway and the implementation of refunds to allow a more complete and flexible ecommerce workflow.

The new system supports dedicated workflows for each shipment type. For example, shipping, pickup, and other methods now follow their own processing steps. The result is a clearer and more reliable order management process for the Campus Store team.
 

Previously, all items in an order had to be processed as a single unit. If one item required a special shipping method, it affected the entire order. This made it difficult to manage out-of-stock situations or handle items that followed different delivery rules.

Monarq rebuilt the order workflow so each shipment can be managed on its own. Items that require different shipping methods are separated automatically, and if an item becomes unavailable, staff can move it into its own shipment and mark it as out of stock. Other shipments continue through their workflow without delay. This structure was designed to align with the fulfillment team’s actual procedures so that each step of their process is reflected clearly in the system.

This improves operational efficiency and gives staff a more accurate view of what is ready, what is delayed, and what still needs attention. The system supports APIs that allow web commerce operations to remain fully synchronized with McGill’s campus bookstore inventory management software, so products, orders, and stock levels stay consistent across systems.

The Campus Store also benefits from a customizable notification system connected to shipment status changes. From a confirmation email after checkout, to customers receiving updates by email or text message when a shipment is sent or ready for pickup. They also receive reminders after a set number of days if an order remains uncollected. 
 

Monarq redesigned the entire site to create a cleaner layout, clearer navigation, and a more enjoyable shopping experience. The catalog structure was rebuilt so products can be organized more easily and displayed in multiple categories, which gives the Campus Store team greater flexibility. A search engine now helps visitors explore the full catalog and find what they need faster.

The checkout process was refreshed with a new visual design and fewer steps. It also works hand in hand with the new shipment system, which runs in the background to separate items as needed and prepare each shipment for processing.

As part of the redesign, the site now uses a Section and Component system. All components were created to support the new visual direction and give McGill staff a flexible way to build pages, adjust layouts, and personalize the presentation without technical help. This also gives the marketing team the ability to highlight promotions and create custom groupings of products anywhere on the site. This makes it easier to build campaigns and showcase collections of items. The result improves long term maintainability and keeps the platform adaptable as the store evolves.
 

The move to Drupal 11 gives the Campus Store a stable and secure platform that supports modern ecommerce practices. The system is easier to maintain, performs faster, and provides clear workflows for both orders and shipments. It also strengthens the long term sustainability of the platform by replacing aging infrastructure with a modern foundation that can support McGill’s needs for years to come.

Order fulfillment is now more efficient thanks to shipment based processing, clearer workflows, and improved visibility into each step of the process. Store managers benefit from simplified product management, better performance, automated notifications, and a cleaner administrative interface.

Shoppers benefit from a refreshed design, easier navigation, improved search, and a more intuitive checkout experience.

This project reflects Monarq’s commitment to long term partnerships and continued support for McGill University. The updated Campus Store platform is built for perennity and is ready for future improvements as McGill’s operations evolve.