Twilio + SendGrid notification platform for a US DTC brand
A unified notification layer between an e-commerce backend and the customer, routing every order, shipment and support event to the right channel (SMS via Twilio, email via SendGrid) with templates, suppression rules and a status dashboard.
What was breaking.
The brand had grown past the point where its e-commerce platform's built-in emails were enough. Order confirmations were generic, shipping updates didn't include the carrier's tracking link in the right place, support replies came from a different "from" address, and there was no SMS channel at all. Customers were complaining; CS was bleeding cycles answering "where's my order" emails.
How I built it.
- Built a notification orchestration layer that subscribes to e-comm events and decides per event-type which channel(s) to use, what template, and what suppression rules apply.
- Migrated all transactional emails from the e-comm platform's defaults to SendGrid templates with proper branding, dynamic content blocks and a consistent "from" address.
- Added Twilio-powered SMS for the high-value events (order confirmation, shipped, out-for-delivery, delivered, exception). Customers opt in at checkout.
- Built a CS console: every customer's notification history visible in one timeline — what was sent, when, opened/clicked/bounced. CS reps can resend or trigger ad-hoc messages from the console.
- Suppression rules: respect unsubscribes globally, throttle to one SMS per hour for the same recipient, dedupe identical events fired within 5 minutes.
What makes it tick.
- Channel-agnostic templating: change a template once, it propagates across email and SMS variants.
- Carrier-specific tracking link insertion (UPS, USPS, FedEx) so the link goes to the right deep page.
- "Order saved" recovery: failed delivery triggers a proactive SMS with reschedule options, deflecting a CS contact.
- Dashboard for the marketing team: deliverability, open rates, click rates, SMS reply rates by template.
What changed.
"Where's my order" CS contacts dropped roughly 60% within the first month — the SMS shipping flow was answering the question pre-emptively. Email deliverability improved with a properly warmed SendGrid sender. SMS opt-in at checkout sat around 38%, giving a high-value channel that hadn't existed. CS team redirected the saved hours into proactive retention outreach.
Tools used.
- Twilio API
- SendGrid API
- PHP
- MySQL
- Webhooks
- Custom CS console
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