Sector(s)
Henry Schein is a global distributor of medical and dental supplies serving practitioners worldwide. To help dental offices and laboratories access pre-owned equipment more easily, the company launched Dentist to Dentist Place (D2D Place), a B2B marketplace under the Henry Schein brand.
The platform connects buyers with sellers across multiple country markets. Editors manage product listings from a central Drupal CMS while visitors browse offers, filter by category, and contact sellers directly.
About the project
Henry Schein planned an online B2B marketplace where dental offices and laboratories could buy and sell pre-owned medical equipment across multiple countries. Dentist to Dentist Place (D2D Place) is that platform: a multi-seller site under the Henry Schein brand. Listings cover categories such as treatment units, imaging equipment, handpieces, and clinic furniture. Buyers browse trusted offers; Henry Schein entities manage sales through regional markets.
Challenge
The marketplace needed to:
- Present a large and growing number of product listings in a user-friendly way.
- Let buyers find equipment quickly and contact sellers directly.
- Store and manage extensive product data securely in the database.
- Enable editors to publish, edit, and review offers with minimal friction.
- Support multiple country markets and languages from one CMS.
- Handle traffic reliably as the catalog and audience grow.
Solutions
User-focused design and navigation
A custom theme aligned with the client's brand guidelines delivers clear navigation and product-focused layouts. Category browsing, promoted products, and product detail pages give buyers a consistent experience across markets.
Dual-server architecture for performance
Traffic is split between two server roles: one serves public product browsing and buyer contact requests, and one supports platform administrators and editorial workflows. This separation keeps editorial tasks and public traffic from competing for the same resources during peak usage.
Centralized editorial workflow in Drupal
Separate user accounts and permissions let editors add products, update listings, and review changes through the Drupal admin interface. Product information lives in structured content types with fields for condition, pricing, location, and media, supporting consistent cards and detail pages across the site.
Search, filters, and product discovery
A built-in search engine lets buyers find offers by product name, brand, or description. Category filters and sorting options help users narrow large result sets. Related and promoted product sections surface similar equipment and current promotions without manual curation on every page.
Multilingual multi-market rollout
Regional sites share product data from a single Drupal installation while presenting content in local languages. New markets can launch without rebuilding the platform from scratch.
Buyer-seller contact
A contact form connects buyers with Henry Schein entities selling equipment. Initial inquiries stay on the platform while transaction details are handled directly between parties.
Result
D2D Place launched under the Henry Schein brand as a live multi-seller marketplace for dental practitioners. Regional websites are active in multiple markets and languages, all managed from one Drupal CMS. The platform supports catalog browsing and seller contact at scale.
Ongoing development extends the implementation with Drupal Commerce for additional ecommerce capabilities and easier data analysis.
Examples of implemented features:
- Product search by name, brand, or description.
- Category filters and sorting for large product catalogs.
- Promoted products and related equipment sections.
- Structured product cards with photos, parameters, and pricing.
- Contact forms linking buyers with sellers.
- Multilingual regional sites from a single Drupal backend.
Why Drupal was chosen
A standalone ecommerce SaaS would have limited control over multi-market publishing, seller-specific editorial workflows, and how product data is structured over time. Drupal provides content types for listings, search and filtering, role-based access for editors and administrators, and multilingual support for country-specific sites from one codebase.
With its entity model and APIs, Drupal supports a multi-seller catalog without forcing every listing into a rigid storefront template. The platform can grow with the business: ongoing work adds Drupal Commerce capabilities for expanded ecommerce features and reporting, while editors keep managing offers in familiar CMS tools.
Technical Specifications
Drupal version:
