SERVICE 06
E-commerce operations consulting
Selling from your own store does not end once the site is live. Stock, orders, shipping, returns and customer communication form one chain; when a link loosens, the customer feels it directly.
Where do operations break?
In e-commerce, growth strains the operation before it breaks it. A routine that handles five orders a day jams at fifty — because it was never a routine, it was one person's memory. When nobody has written down who does what and when, errors grow with volume.
The second bottleneck is stock. When the stock shown on the site differs from the stock in the warehouse, either an item that is out of stock still shows as available, or an item sitting in the warehouse is never offered. The first causes cancellations and costs you customers; the second costs revenue outright. Selling across several channels multiplies the risk.
The third is returns. The return rate is usually treated as a cost line and left there — but once return reasons are classified, most turn out to have a fixable source in the description, the images or the packaging.
If any of these sound familiar, this page is for you:
- The order workflow is unwritten and depends on one person's knowledge
- Site stock and warehouse stock regularly disagree
- Shipping cost is tracked in total rather than per product
- Return reasons are not recorded or classified
- Response time to customer questions is not measured
What we do
For a new store we start from the foundations; for an existing operation, from the link where most is being lost.
Catalogue and product structure
We build the product, variant, collection and attribute structure. Naming rules, SKU conventions and description templates defined at the start are what stop a catalogue from falling apart as it grows.
Stock structure
We set up the flow between warehouse and site, the counting routine and critical level alerts. Where several sales channels exist, we plan how synchronisation runs.
Order and shipping flow
Every step from order received to parcel delivered is written down with its owner and its timing. Carrier selection, packing standards and cost tracking are part of the same flow.
Returns and exchanges
We define the returns policy, the returns workflow and what happens to returned goods. Reasons are classified and recurring ones fixed at source.
Customer communication
We set the content and timing of order confirmation, dispatch notification and post-delivery messages, with prepared replies for common questions and a response time target.
Supply flow
We build a reorder routine that accounts for reorder points, lead times and minimum order quantities. We want neither an empty shelf nor capital sitting in the warehouse.
How we work
The goal in operations work is that your team can run the processes. A routine that cannot be handed over has not been built.
Mapping the flow
We map step by step how the work actually runs today — what happens, not what is documented.
Finding the losses
We identify the links where time, money and customer goodwill are most often lost, and rank them.
Building the new routine
New flows, checklists and ownership are prepared and put into use for the priority links.
Handover and tracking
The routine is handed to your team and watched together for a period. What falters is corrected; what works is fixed in place.
What you receive
Documents a new team member can read and follow:
- Product, variant and SKU naming rules
- Warehouse-to-site stock flow and counting routine
- A step-by-step flow from order intake to delivery
- Packing standards and a shipping cost tracking table
- Returns policy, returns workflow and reason classification
- Customer message templates and response time targets
- Reorder points and a supply calendar
Common questions
Which platforms do you work with?
Mainly Shopify. A different platform is workable too — the core operating principles are similar, but workflows, integrations and platform capabilities need to be assessed individually.
Do you do site design as well?
The scope of this service is operations: stock, orders, shipping, returns and supply. Where we see a need on the design or marketing side we say so, and say plainly that it falls outside the scope.
We also have a physical store — can you set up both?
Yes, and that is usually the most productive way to work. How a product is managed in store and online, how stock is shared and how pricing is built can only be made consistent when both sides are addressed together.