The Cannon Group, Inc. is a family-owned global supply chain solutions provider (est. 1984) with headquarters in Ohio and operations spanning Vietnam, Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, China, and eight U.S. distribution centers​. As the company expanded its portfolio across four subsidiary brands (PDI Plastics, Saneck, Pine Creek International Sourcing, and Saneck Safety), its digital infrastructure had fallen behind. The Cannon Group needed a modernized online presence to unify its brands and support its global growth. CreativeHub partnered with Cannon Group to deliver a comprehensive digital transformation – revamping five websites under a unified platform. This whitepaper outlines how CreativeHub’s enterprise-grade solution leveraged modern web technologies to enhance user experience, enforce brand consistency, streamline content management, and strengthen Cannon Group’s digital presence.

Business Challenges

Despite Cannon Group’s strong market presence, its web platforms were outdated and fragmented. Key business challenges included:

• Outdated Infrastructure: Cannon’s websites ran on obsolete technology and design, leading to poor user experience and limited functionality​. The legacy sites could not easily support modern features or scalability demands. 
• Inconsistent Branding: Each subsidiary maintained a separate website with different designs and messaging, resulting in a fragmented brand identity across the group​. There was no cohesive look and feel tying the brands to the parent, causing confusion and dilution of brand equity. 
• Fragmented CMS & Content: Content management was decentralized – each site was managed in isolation. This made it difficult and time-consuming to update information or publish content across multiple sites, often leading to inconsistencies and outdated content​. 
• User Experience Issues: The combination of outdated tech and disjointed design led to suboptimal user experiences across the sites. Navigation was not uniform and the sites lacked mobile-responsive, modern interfaces, contributing to lower user engagement​. 

These challenges underscored the urgent need for a unified digital overhaul to support Cannon Group’s growth and marketing effectiveness.

Strategy & Solution

CreativeHub’s strategy was to implement a centralized, modern web ecosystem that would serve all five websites (the parent company plus four subsidiaries) while preserving each brand’s unique identity. The solution comprised several key components and approaches:

• Unified Front-End Revamp: We rebuilt all websites with a modern React and Next.js front-end framework. Next.js was chosen for its ability to deliver a fast, uniform, and highly interactive user interface across all brands​. This framework enabled server-side rendering and static site generation, significantly improving page load times and SEO performance by serving pre-optimized content to users and search engines​. The new front-end provided a consistent foundation – from responsive layouts to shared UI components – ensuring that each site felt modern and performed smoothly on any device. 
• Centralized Headless CMS: On the back-end, we unified content management by implementing Strapi, a headless Node.js-based CMS​. All content for the Cannon Group and its subsidiaries is now managed through this single platform. This centralized content strategy means updates are made once and deployed everywhere, eliminating duplicate work and ensuring consistency. Strapi’s flexibility enabled us to customize content types for each brand while still maintaining one source of truth for all web content​. The Cannon marketing team can easily update product catalogs, news, and pages across all sites from one interface, dramatically improving efficiency. 
• Consistent UX Design with Individual Branding: CreativeHub established a design system that delivers a cohesive user experience across the group’s sites while allowing each subsidiary’s brand to shine. We standardized global elements (navigation menus, footers, typography) under The Cannon Group umbrella, and implemented brand-specific styling, logos, and content for each subsidiary. This approach ensured brand consistency at the top level and a tailored feel for each division. Every site now provides intuitive navigation and a seamless experience for users moving between Cannon’s brand family, addressing the prior UX inconsistencies. 
• SEO & Performance Optimization: A core part of the strategy was optimizing each site for speed, responsiveness, and search visibility. By leveraging Next.js features and best practices (like image optimization, code splitting, and caching) and integrating techniques such as SSR, we achieved fast load times and smooth page transitions. These performance enhancements are crucial for user satisfaction and search engine rankings​. Additionally, we ensured all sites are fully mobile-responsive and follow modern SEO guidelines (clean URLs, meta tags, structured data), positioning the Cannon Group for improved organic search traffic. 
• Analytics-Driven Enhancements: We deployed advanced analytics and tracking to inform continual improvement. Google Analytics 4 (GA4) was integrated to monitor user behavior and engagement on each site, providing data-driven insights into what content performs well and how users navigate the multi-site ecosystem. In tandem, Google Tag Manager (GTM) was used to manage all tracking codes and marketing pixels centrally, allowing quick deployment of new tags without developer input​. These tools empower Cannon’s marketing and leadership teams with actionable data to refine their digital strategy over time. 

By executing this multi-faceted strategy, CreativeHub delivered a solution that modernized Cannon Group’s digital presence from the ground up – aligning technology, content, and design with the company’s current scale and future ambitions.

Technical Stack

To implement the above solution, CreativeHub utilized an enterprise-grade technical stack that balanced performance, scalability, and ease of management. Key components of the stack included:

• Frontend: React (for a dynamic component-based UI) and Next.js 14.2 for the web framework​. Next.js enabled features like server-side rendering and static generation, resulting in faster page loads and better SEO out of the box. This combination provided a robust foundation for building interactive, responsive interfaces across all Cannon Group sites. 
• Backend: Node.js was used for the server-side environment​. Node’s non-blocking, event-driven architecture is well-suited for handling multiple simultaneous requests efficiently, which was important for a global site infrastructure. It powers the custom API integrations and any server-side logic required by the websites. 
• Headless CMS: Strapi (Node.js-based) served as the centralized content management system​. Strapi’s flexible, API-first approach was crucial for managing content across multiple websites from one place. It allowed the development of custom content types for each subsidiary’s needs and provides an intuitive admin UI for content editors. The headless CMS architecture means the front-end sites fetch content via API, decoupling content creation from presentation and allowing future scalability (e.g., adding new brands or channels easily). 
• Analytics & Tag Management: Google Analytics 4 (GA4) was implemented for advanced web analytics​, giving Cannon Group rich insights into user behavior, engagement metrics, and conversion paths. Google Tag Manager (GTM) was used to centrally manage all third-party scripts and tracking pixels without manual code changes on the sites​. This setup enables the marketing team to deploy and update marketing tags (like remarketing pixels, A/B testing scripts, etc.) rapidly, and to track events and goals consistently across all brand sites. 
• UI/Performance Enhancements: We incorporated AOS (Animate On Scroll), a lightweight JavaScript library, to add subtle scroll-based animations on pages​. This enhanced the visual appeal and interactivity of the sites without compromising performance. The use of AOS helped bring the new designs to life – for example, elements fade or slide into view as the user scrolls – creating a more engaging experience. All animations were implemented carefully to ensure they remained smooth and did not slow down page rendering.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This modern tech stack empowered The Cannon Group’s web platforms with a scalable, high-performance architecture. React/Next.js and Node provide a solid foundation for growth, Strapi centralizes and simplifies content operations, and GA4/GTM ensure the Cannon team can measure and optimize their digital engagement effectively. The inclusion of tools like AOS further refines the user experience, making the websites both functional and visually dynamic.

 

 

Website Re-engineering Scope

Figure: One of The Cannon Group’s subsidiary websites (Pine Creek International Sourcing) after the revamp, showcasing a unified layout under The Cannon Group banner while featuring the subsidiary’s distinct content and branding.

CreativeHub’s engagement with Cannon Group spanned five distinct websites – the main corporate site and four subsidiary sites – all re-engineered within a unified system. The project’s scope and approach to multi-site re-development included:

• Unified Platform, Multiple Sites: The revamp encompassed the primary Cannon Group website plus the four subsidiary sites (PDI Plastics, Saneck, Saneck Safety, and Pine Creek International Sourcing). Each site was rebuilt on the shared tech stack and design system, ensuring a cohesive digital identity across the entire organization while honoring what makes each brand unique​. 
• Preserving Brand Individuality: We carefully balanced standardization with customization. The overall look and navigation structure remain consistent (so a user recognizes it as a “Cannon Group” family site), but each subsidiary site features its own logos, color schemes, imagery, and content relevant to its industry. In practice, this meant using common page templates and components across sites, then skinning them with brand-specific styles and content. Each website was tailored to reflect the subsidiary’s unique identity and offerings, while adhering to the overarching Cannon Group brand guidelines. This approach preserved brand individuality — for example, the PDI Plastics site emphasizes its newsbag products and heritage, whereas Saneck Safety highlights PPE solutions — yet all share a unifying corporate thread. 
• Centralized Content Hub: All five sites are powered by the centralized Strapi CMS. This unified back-end means that content teams can manage and publish updates to any site from one place, with no need to log into separate systems​. The content architecture was designed to reuse elements where appropriate (e.g. a news post or announcement can be shared across multiple sites) and ensure consistency in core information (such as corporate info or contact details that appear on each site). This re-engineering dramatically streamlined the previously siloed content workflow. 
• Seamless Navigation Between Sites: To reinforce the connectedness of the Cannon Group’s brands, we introduced a unified navigation experience. Users can easily switch between the Cannon Group’s brands through a common header menu (e.g., a “Brands” dropdown) that is present on all sites. This encourages cross-traffic and cross-selling opportunities — a visitor on the Cannon Group site can jump to Saneck’s site to explore packaging solutions, for instance. The re-engineered platform thus not only served internal efficiency, but also created a more integrated experience for external users exploring Cannon’s offerings.

 

 

By rebuilding the five websites under one platform, CreativeHub ensured operational synergy and a consistent customer experience. The Cannon Group’s web presence is now structured for growth: if new subsidiary brands are added in the future, they can be seamlessly deployed within the same unified system, shortening time-to-market and maintaining brand cohesion.

Outcomes & Impact

The digital transformation of The Cannon Group’s web presence has delivered significant business and operational benefits. Key outcomes include:

• Unified Brand Presence: The revamped websites establish a consistent, professional online presence for The Cannon Group and all subsidiaries, reinforcing a strong unified brand identity across all platforms. Cannon’s customers and partners now clearly recognize the relationship between the parent company and its divisions, strengthening overall brand trust. 
• Enhanced User Experience: Modern, responsive design and streamlined navigation have greatly improved user engagement. Visitors enjoy a smoother browsing experience, leading to a higher rate of return visits and longer time spent on the sites​. The intuitive interface across all devices has increased customer satisfaction and interaction with content (e.g., more product catalog views and inquiry form submissions). 
• Streamlined Content Management: The centralized CMS approach has reduced the time and effort required to update and maintain multiple sites​. Cannon’s team can publish content updates or new pages across all brands in a fraction of the time it used to take, freeing them to focus on strategic initiatives instead of repetitive site maintenance. This efficiency also ensures information is always up-to-date, improving the reliability of content delivered to users. 
• Stronger Digital Presence: With a faster, SEO-optimized web platform and integrated analytics, Cannon Group has seen an uptick in overall digital visibility. The improved site performance and SEO foundations have contributed to better search engine rankings and increased organic traffic. Furthermore, having a cohesive online presence across regions and product lines positions Cannon Group as a forward-thinking industry leader, capable of providing a seamless experience to a global audience.

 

 

These outcomes demonstrate how a well-executed digital modernization directly impacts key business metrics – from brand perception and customer engagement to internal productivity. The Cannon Group’s investment in digital transformation, led by CreativeHub, has set the stage for continued growth in the digital era.

For enterprises operating multiple brands or divisions, The Cannon Group’s success story is a compelling example of the value unlocked by unifying and modernizing your web platforms. CreativeHub is your strategic partner for enterprise-grade website modernization and centralized CMS implementations tailored to complex, distributed brand structures. We have proven expertise in revitalizing legacy systems and delivering cohesive digital ecosystems that drive business growth​.

Ready to elevate your company’s digital presence? Engage with CreativeHub to explore how our innovative solutions can unify your brand experience and empower your team. Contact us today to embark on your own digital transformation journey.