A hard deadline. A complex estate. Zero tolerance for disruption.
CIPS is the global professional body for procurement and supply. For over 100,000 members worldwide, the CIPS website is how they access qualifications, resources, and guidance - not just at the start of their careers, but throughout their entire professional lives.
When Oracle announced the sunset of their CMS platform, CIPS faced a non-negotiable deadline: migrate or go dark. The stakes were significant - thousands of content assets, a live site serving over 100,000 members, and a critical dependency on Oracle Commerce that couldn’t be touched. Oracle Commerce was staying. Everything else needed to move.
At the same time, CIPS wasn't looking for a like-for-like swap. They had a longer-term ambition: to build a platform that could genuinely grow membership, improve the lifetime value of members, and cement CIPS' position as the trusted digital home for the procurement profession - from first qualification to career peak.
Our Approach
Mando Group brought both the technical depth and the pace this project demanded. Working in close partnership with CIPS and their Oracle Commerce partner, we ran a structured programme - from discovery through to post-launch support - that treated the Oracle Commerce integration as a fixed constraint to design around, not a problem to solve later.
- A focused discovery phase to define migration scope, integration dependencies, and operational constraints
- Seamless migration of thousands of digital assets into the Optimizely DAM - cleanly, completely, and with no loss of content integrity
- Close collaboration with the Oracle Commerce partner to build seamless journeys between Optimizely CMS12 and the retained Oracle Commerce platform - ensuring purchasing, membership sign-up, and renewal flows worked flawlessly across both systems from day one
- Around 80% of the build delivered using Mando Group’s accelerated component library - pre-built, accessibility-compliant, and designed specifically for membership organisations
- Best-in-class design patterns tailored to the needs of professional bodies: clear membership pathways, intuitive navigation, and content hierarchies that serve members at every career stage
- Delivery to a fixed deadline, with a planned transition into support and optimisation from day one post-launch
Built for members. Designed for growth.
The platform CIPS now has isn’t just technically sound - it’s commercially and strategically aligned to where CIPS wants to go. The website is the frontline of member engagement, and every design decision was made with that in mind.
For prospective members, the journeys are cleaner, faster, and more compelling. For existing members, the platform supports deeper engagement with CIPS’ content, qualifications, and community - reinforcing the lifetime value CIPS provides across a procurement career. For internal teams, improved editorial workflows and streamlined compliance processes mean less friction and more time focused on what matters.
Outcomes
We delivered a structured CMS migration programme covering discovery, design, build, launch and post-launch support.
| What we delivered |
What it means for CIPS |
| Full CMS migration to Optimizely CMS12, delivered on time and on budget |
No disruption to members, no operational risk, no last-minute fire-fighting |
| Thousands of assets migrated to Optimizely DAM - cleanly and completely |
A single, well-governed content repository that editors can trust |
| Seamless Optimizely CMS12 / Oracle Commerce integration - two platforms, one joined-up member experience |
Uninterrupted membership purchase, renewal and upgrade journeys from launch day |
| ~80% of build delivered via accelerated, accessible component library |
Faster delivery, lower cost, and a consistent design language built for member organisations |
| Best-in-class UX designed for membership organisations |
Improved conversion for new memberships and stronger engagement for existing members |
| Improved editorial workflows and compliance processes |
Reduced internal friction; content teams work faster with greater confidence |
What's next?
Phase one complete. The real work begins.
The migration was always phase one. CIPS and Mando Group are now working together on the next stages of the platform journey - focused on turning a solid technical foundation into measurable commercial growth.
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Personalised member experiences - content and journeys tailored to career stage, specialism, and engagement history
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Experimentation and CRO - structured testing to improve membership conversion and lifetime value
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New member journeys - developed in close collaboration with CIPS digital and membership teams
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KPI framework - defining and tracking the metrics that matter: acquisition, retention, engagement, and revenue
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Ongoing platform optimisation - continuous improvement as CIPS grows its international footprint
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Confidence at launch, with no disruption to members or business operations
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Improved day-to-day efficiency for internal teams
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A stable base for personalisation, experimentation and new user journey
