Built for Impact: Custom Umbraco E-commerce Solution Revamps Online Shopping Experience

Norfolk Sheriff's Office Badge Logo

The Norfolk Virginia Sheriff’s Office is an organization dedicated to public safety, public service, and public trust. The sheriff’s department supports initiatives that ensure the people who are staying in jail (inmates) are treated with dignity and respect and promotes rehabilitation through positive practices, programs, and services. One such service is their 811 Marketplace, a website that allows friends and family of inmates to order freshly prepared meals for them while they’re incarcerated.

Challenge

In 2024, the Norfolk Sheriff’s Office 811 Marketplace website was running on an old version of Umbraco 7 that had passed end of life. For its e-commerce functionality, the website integrated with the uWebshop package, which had also passed its end of life and was no longer being supported.

Aside from needing to upgrade to a modern and supported version of the Umbraco CMS, the organization needed a more sophisticated reporting system for their e-commerce transactions and flexibility for order scheduling.

Solution

Norfolk Sheriff’s Office oversees the entire meal ordering and fulfillment process through a fully integrated Umbraco backoffice interface. Using Umbraco Commerce, staff can efficiently create and manage meal offerings, schedule deliveries for specific dates, and oversee the logistics of order fulfillment.

To enhance operational efficiency, Marathon Consulting developed a custom administrative section that empowers staff with advanced management tools, including:

  • Order and Delivery Controls – The ability to reschedule meal deliveries, ensuring flexibility for both staff and recipients.
  • Financial and Product Reporting – Robust reporting capabilities to track revenue, monitor product delivery trends, and manage order data.
  • Tailored Fulfillment Functionality – Purpose-built tools that streamline the Sheriff’s Office’s unique multi-step fulfillment process, ensuring accuracy and accountability in meal distribution.

Given the Norfolk City Jail’s multi-building, multi-floor structure, meal delivery presents unique logistical challenges. To ensure accuracy, a detailed delivery report is generated on each delivery day, summarizing what is to be delivered to each location. Inmates must sign a receipt upon receiving their meal, confirming delivery. These signed receipts are then scanned into Umbraco’s backoffice fulfillment system using a barcode reader, marking the order as complete. Once processed, an automated email notification is sent to the purchaser, providing confirmation that their loved one received their meal.

Results

The newly launched 811 Marketplace e-commerce website is a fully customized solution leveraging Umbraco Commerce. Upgraded to Umbraco 15, 811 Marketplace features tailored reporting and backoffice tools that give the Norfolk Sheriff’s Office the flexibility to manage complex order fulfillment workflows and delivery scheduling with ease.

The 811 Marketplace not only facilitates connections between inmates and their loved ones, but also gives select individuals the opportunity to work in the kitchen and help with order fulfillment, allowing them to gain valuable skills that can aid in their reintegration post-incarceration. 

Features

  • Fully rebuilt reports with new data models to support internal operations
  • Custom batch reports that provide pre-delivery printouts for daily order tracking
  • Enhanced usability and intuitive navigation for site visitors
  • Custom order confirmation process
  • WCAG 2.2 AA Compliant

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