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Community contributions
- Customized and extended the Commerce User Points module while adhering to Drupal coding standards
- Improvements were implemented in a way that keeps the module upgrade-safe and reusable
The approach demonstrates how Drupal Commerce can be extended for non-traditional loyalty and referral use cases, contributing implementation insights back to the community.
- Industry: Biotechnology & Scientific Products
- Location: Thorold, Ontario, Canada
- Drupal Use Case: E-commerce referral and rewards system
- Project Type: Drupal Commerce customization
- Development Partner: AddWeb Solution
Norgen Biotek distributes biotech products through an online storefront and required a scalable, rules-based referral system tightly integrated with Drupal Commerce.
About the project
Goals
- Introduce an automated referral points system tied to Drupal Commerce orders
- Ensure referral points are awarded accurately and only under defined conditions
- Provide administrators with an easy-to-manage interface for tracking and configuring points
- Improve customer engagement and incentivize qualified referrals
Requirements
- Points should only be assigned to authenticated users
- Referral points must be granted only on the first successful purchase
- A minimum order threshold must be enforced
- Administrators should be able to configure point names and values
- Referral data must be stored in a structured and auditable format
Outcome
The final solution delivered a stable, configurable referral rewards system fully integrated into Drupal Commerce. Administrators gained greater control over referral logic, while users benefited from transparent and timely reward allocation—leading to improved engagement and referral participation.
Why Drupal was chosen
Drupal was selected due to its:
- Native support for complex business logic through modules and hooks
- Drupal Commerce flexibility for customized pricing, rewards, and user-based rules
- Strong security model, critical for scientific and research-focused organizations
- Modular architecture that enables customization without compromising core stability
- Long-term maintainability supported by an active open-source community
Drupal’s extensibility made it possible to implement a referral system that met precise operational requirements without relying on third-party SaaS tools.
Technical Specifications
Drupal version:
Key modules/theme/distribution used:
Core & Contributed Modules
- Drupal Commerce – Order management and transaction handling
- Commerce User Points (Customized) – Referral and reward point management
- Google Tag Manager – Tracking referral and conversion events
- User & Profile Modules – User segmentation and identification
Frontend & Backend
- Theme: Bootstrap-based custom theme
- Backend: PHP
- Web Server: Apache
- JavaScript: jQuery
Solution Highlights
- Targeted Referral Logic: Referral points awarded only to verified, logged-in users
- One-Time Referral Rule: Points granted only on a user’s first successful purchase
- Initial Referral Bonus: Configurable bonus points for first-time referrals
- Minimum Order Validation: Referral eligibility enforced for orders above $100
- Custom Point Labels: Point naming aligned with client branding
- Structured Storage: Referral and point data stored in a tabular format for clarity and auditing
Clean UI Handling: Referral links hidden on empty or incomplete user states
