How Chempro Chemists cost effectively future-proofed their online store

One of Australia’s largest and fastest growing pharmacy groups partnered with Habitat3 to future-proof their 

e-commerce store on AWS.

Overview

Chempro Chemists is one of Australia’s largest and fastest-growing pharmacy groups, with over 150 stores across South-East Queensland and Northern New South Wales. In addition to its extensive retail presence, Chempro operates a highly successful online store, offering a wide range of health and personal care products—including first aid supplies, vitamins, skincare, cosmetics, over-the-counter medicines, and home health equipment. 

The  Challenge

As Chempro’s online store grew in popularity, ensuring a seamless shopping experience for customers—especially during peak traffic—became a top priority. To maintain fast, reliable, and always-available access, Chempro needed to reassess its AWS cloud infrastructure. The goal was to implement a more robust, scalable, and cost-effective solution that could handle increasing demand while delivering a flawless customer experience 24/7, 365 days a year. In addition, Chempro was concerned that security might not be fully up to date and that costs were higher than necessary.

“We wanted to ensure our online store could keep up with customer demand while maintaining high performance, security, and cost efficiency. Partnering with Habitat3 gave us confidence that our AWS infrastructure would be optimised for both our current needs and future growth.” 

— Caitlin Probert, Online Manager, Chempro

The Solution

To meet these challenges, Chempro looked to Habitat3, Australia’s leading AWS consulting partner for small businesses. Together, they designed and implemented a high-performance, auto-scaling cloud infrastructure that enhances reliability and availability while strengthening security and improving cost efficiency. This modernized AWS environment ensures Chempro’s online store remains fast, scalable, and resilient, delivering a seamless customer experience at any time, even during peak demand. 

The Process

Habitat3 designed and deployed an updated cloud infrastructure on AWS which included;

Scalability capabilities

• Migrated four websites to new updated AWS Linux-based servers for improved performance. 

• Implemented auto-scaling groups that automatically increase/decrease the number of servers needed to meet traffic demands, reducing unnecessary costs. 

• Added high-availability functionality to Databases.

Security enhancements

• Deployed AWS security tools, including AWS Shield and Web Application Firewall (WAF), to safeguard against cyber threats. 

• Strengthened data protection with AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) for secure access control. 

Improved Business Efficiency & Cost Savings 

• Upgraded legacy databases, eliminating costly extended support fees and enhancing performance. 

• Optimised infrastructure costs while boosting system reliability. 

• Automated scaling mechanisms to efficiently handle demand fluctuations, ensuring cost-effective operations. 

Outcomes & Benefits

By working with a Habitat3, Chempro future-proofed its online operations, ensuring a faster, more secure, and cost-efficient digital presence. The new AWS cloud infrastructure allows Chempro to scale effortlessly, handle peak shopping periods without disruption, and provide customers with a best-in-class online experience. 

"Scalability and security were key concerns for Chempro, and we knew that AWS could provide the right solution when configured correctly. By leveraging auto-scaling, high-availability architecture, and enhanced security measures, we’ve helped Chempro create a cost-effective, resilient infrastructure that will support their business well into the future." 

 — Stuart Gravenor, Cloud Solutions Manager, Habitat3 

Chempro Case Study .pdf

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