eCommerce Platforms: How to Find the ‘Best Fit’ …...eCommerce Platforms: How to Find the ‘Best Fit’ #IRCE17 and Ensure It’ll stick IRCE 2017 Tech Workshop 2 Rod Forsythe

#IRCE17

ECOMMERCE TECHNOLOGY WORKSHOPJune 6, 2017

eCommerce Platforms: How to Find the ‘Best Fit’and Ensure It’ll stick

#IRCE17eCommerce Platforms: How to Find the ‘Best Fit’and Ensure It’ll stick

IRCE 2017 Tech Workshop 2

Rod ForsytheSenior Consultant

Mike NelsonGlobal Director of Partnerships & Ecommerce

Todd KellyVP, Ecommerce

#IRCE17

When thinking of changing your e-commerce platform, what keeps you up at night?

35%

40%

20%

5%

Not enough time to get it all done

Ending up without all the features/functions needed now and in thefuture

Revenue dropping upon relaunch

Nothing. I always sleep like a baby

Answers

Answers

#IRCE17

It’s Complicated!

How Do You Know?

When is the right time to upgrade technology?

47.2%

Source: Internet Retailer 2016 Ecommerce Survey

Nearly half of the retailers surveyed want to re-platform

4

52.8%

eCommerce PlatformsIRCE 2017 Tech Workshop

IRCE 2017 Tech Workshop

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FitForCommerceSpecialized consultancy founded to help businesses accelerate growth by leveraging digital.

Trusted advisor to hundreds of retailers.

Digital Diligence™Our philosophy and methodology based on an investment and due diligence mindset for decision-making to ensure success.

We are the help.

Curated digital innovation tracking and applied market advice to businesses in a CDO-on-demand service.

Benchmarking ofTop 120 Retailers for Web, Mobile, Storecapabilities

#IRCE17

First things first, a look at the market

6eCommerce PlatformsIRCE 2017 Tech Workshop

#IRCE17

ECP OMS

WMS

CRM

Site Search

Ratings & Reviews

eMerchandising

eMarketing

SEO/SEM

Comparison

Engines

Affiliate

Email

Social

Mobile

Web Analytics

Personalization

Facebook

PinterestTwitter

Rich Internet

Apps (RIA)

Loyalty

Zoom

360°

eCatalog

Searchandising

Quick View

Marketplaces

Payment

CMS

Customer Care

Call Center

CRM

Customer Satisfaction

MeasurementGifting

Security PCI Fraud

Hosting

Logistics

Fulfillment Returns

Inventory

Chat

CDNPerformance

Click-Recording

Digital / eCommerce Galaxy

MCP

Omnichannel

Global

DataWH

ERP

Retargeting

DAM

Instagram

Photography

Content Mgmt

Geolocation

Apps & Games

Pricing

POSPIM

BI

Clienteling

#IRCE17

CustomerCRM

Marketing

Webstore(ECP / CMS)

Order Mgmt(OMS)

FulfillmentWMS

ERP

CustomerService

Customers/ordersInventory

Shipping info

Tracking info

SalesTracking

info

Inventory

Price/Stock Qty.

MerchandisingCatalog

Pricing

Content

Images

Traffic

Retail(POS)

Mobile store(MCP)

Catalog

Product InfoMgmt (PIM)

Cust/Order

© FitForCommerce

(Over-simplified!)

Key components and integrations


#IRCE17Time for a change?

Soft Reasons, Initial Assessment:

Falling behind the competition and retail partners

▪ Don’t have the tools?

Missing benchmarks and/or not exhibiting best practices

▪ Can’t do what you want? – Difficult to maintain

Growing platform deficiencies

▪ Too expensive? Low ROI?

Increasing internal costs

▪ Does the platform not fit your current or future needs?

Questioning strategic or future growth


#IRCE17Strategy before requirements before selection

Strategic Diligence

• eCommerce Strategy

• Business, Merchandising, Marketing, Functionality, Customer Experience, Operations, Organization

• Approach/Model

• Deployment Model: Licensed, On-demand/SaaS, In-house, Open Source

• Support: Managed, 3rd-Party, In-house

• Budget

• Pricing model: revenue share, variable monthly, fixed fees

• TCO: external fees, internal costs

• Other Considerations

• Organizational model: internal skills, culture

• Amount of control

Requirements Diligence

• Follow a rigorous process

• Align with Business Objectives

• Define Functional Requirements in Great Detail

• Know Relevant Best Practices

• Perform Competitive Analysis

• Prioritize and Time Phase Requirements

• Document Use Cases

• Diagram Workflow Design

• Apply Creative Design

• Test and Adjust Requirements …again and again

• Keep Requirements Updated …always

Selection Diligence

• Continue the rigorous process

• Creating a long list (5-10) of same model/approach

• Request for Proposal (RFP)

• Short List of 2 to 5 Providers

• Compare apples to apples

• Demos, tire-kicking, live ex.

• Meet the team

• Review their roadmap

• Background check vs references

• Proof of concept, prototypes

• Ideally, have 2 finalists and review terms with both

• Get everything in writing

• Choose a winner

• Breathe a sigh of relief….

• …. then get back to work!


#IRCE17

Begin with the end in mind….

• Define your strategyLook 3 years out, 5 years out

What is the decision path?

Comprehensive Granular Honest

Lessons learned: The 3 B’s of Strategy


#IRCE17

But, I believe there are 4!

What is the decision path?

Comprehensive Granular Honest Nice


#IRCE17FitForCommerce Retailer Strategic Directions

Mobile First Omnichannel

•Clienteling / CRM

•Integration with POS

•Enterprise Fulfillment

•360 view of the customer for marketing and customer service

User Experience

•Personalization

•Merchandising

•Enhanced Search

•Engaging and Useful Content

Content Management

•User Generated

•Content Management Systems (CMS)

•Product Information Mgmt (PIM)

Social Media Integration

Enhanced Customer Service

•Customer-Managed Tasks

International B2B, B2B2C

13eCommerce Platforms• IRCE 2017 Tech Workshop

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Compare – Gap Analysis

Moment of truth

Future Needs – Current Systems = GAP

It’s Easy, Right?

Take your strategy and objectives and map them to your systems

and processes

✓ Is the gap big enough to warrant a new platform? ✓ Is an additional point solution needed? ✓ Can the current platform be modified?✓ Is it worth it?


#IRCE17

Uh-oh…. I need to re-platform


#IRCE17Manage and run the RFP process

Make sure you have the time to devote to a comprehensive RFP process

Strategy

Requirements

Selection

200-800hours

80-120hours

40-80hours

Based on a review of 20 FitForCommerce engagements


#IRCE17

Determine, define, and rank your needs

✓ Rank them in order of priority; classify by need, want, or nice to have.

✓ Determine what front-end features you want.

✓ Identify requirements for managing the site.

✓ Choose the best solution approach and/or model.

✓ Include systems, data and processes your eCommerce system will integrate with in the back end.

Requirements based selection


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Select your participants


#IRCE17

** Not a full listConfusion?


#IRCE17

It gets worse!


#IRCE17Deployment and implementation models

On-Premise

Hosted

SaaS

On-Demand

Cloud

Licensed

Subscription

Revenue Share

Deployment Pricing Implementation Model

Micro Services

Commerce Led

Hybrid

Content Led


#IRCE17Run the process!

Perform the RFP process like a funnel with many steps

• Nice long list of providers at the top

• Narrow down based on RFP responses – compare

• Narrow down based on web interactions

• Narrow down based on finalist meetings

Build Requirements

Long List

Request for Proposal

Comparative Results

Short list

FinalistSelection

#IRCE17Make your decision

Functional

✓ Which platform most closely matches my requirements▪ Lower customizations means less risk (schedule / scope / budget)

✓ Look at the roadmap▪ Does it align with your vision?

Financial

✓ Is the 3 yr TCO within your budget?

Cultural

✓ Do you have rapport✓ Does the team seem eager, are they engaged?✓ Do they respond quickly


#IRCE17

✓ How the vendor’s implementation team guides the process.

✓ What didn’t go as expected?✓ What was the timing promised for

implementation?✓ What was the actual time for implementation?✓ If it took longer than expected- Why?✓ Add budget…✓ Ask around the interesting✓ Understand there are always ugly periods, ask

about their experiences around that

Check References!!


#IRCE17Implementation

Keys to successful implementations


#IRCE17

What to look for:

Strong Project Management

Weekly status reports that

include:

• Budget Analysis with burn down

• Schedule

• More than just Sprints!!

Issues and risk to:

• Schedule

• Scope


#IRCE17Clear Change Management

What to ask:• How do you manage change?

• Requirements or integration

What to look for:

• Structure process and rules around scope and requirements changes

• Change should be welcomed but not structured


#IRCE17

Data Migration

Readiness – YOU!

YOU must have….

Creative Integrations

Products

Orders

Customers

Attribution

Standard exports

-congruent with platform

What

How

Templates

Style sheets

Business rules

Designs?

What

Internal systems

Data flows

SOR’s

Diagrams!!

What

How

Self reflection: Do you have resources for each of these, include testing, QA and User Acceptance Testing?


#IRCE17OOPs - Ongoing Operational Process

• Requirements-driven test

• Build requirements in a way they can be inserted into a UAT plan

• Monitor progress of each sprint (determine feasibility) – Don’t let’em fool you!

• Look at velocity

• Compare to next sprint

• Data and creative, top of mind

• Continuous migration of data

• QA


#IRCE17

• Most retailers update platforms every 3-4 years

• Costs to re-platform can range as high as $2 million+ for large enterprises taking up to 12-18 months

– Though smaller projects often range $400K - $1M and can be implemented in 6-12 months

• KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) such as conversion, AOV, SEO, etc. sometimes fall immediately after a re-launch

Re-platforming can be disruptive


#IRCE17

E-Commerce Platforms: How to Find the ‘Best Fit’ and Ensure It’ll Stick

ECOMMERCE PLATFORMS:Optimizing the Selection Process

#IRCE17AGENDA

VISION AUDITING PROPOSAL SELECTION32

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33

COMPANY HISTORY & SITE

eCommerce Platforms

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COMPANY HISTORY: 1973

eCommerce Platforms

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35


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eCommerce Platforms

#IRCE17COMPANY HISTORY: TODAY

eCommerce Platforms 37

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ECOMMERCE VISION

eCommerce Platforms

#IRCE17

VisionCurrent

StateRoadmap

ECOMMERCE VISION


#IRCE17

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Unique Functions (examples)

• International Tax Laws

• Book Previews & Formats

Needed Functions (examples)

• Responsive Design

• Market-Specific Promos

Current State Future State

ECOMMERCE VISION

eCommerce Platforms

#IRCE17

3 Year Roadmap

• Vision

• Incremental demand

• Customer experience

• Effort/investment

Immediate Site Efforts

• Target promotions

• Mobile optimized

• Book previews

ECP Business Case

• Vision, roadmap

• Incremental demand

• Customer experience

• Costs, effort, sequencing, timing

Building a Roadmap and Business Case

ECOMMERCE VISION


#IRCE17

Business

Requirements

Technical

Requirements

Selection

Diligence

ECOMMERCE VISION


#IRCE17

STRATEGIC DILIGENCE

eCommerce Rapid

Site Evaluation

Strategic Analysis

Optional:

Competitive Analysis

EG100 Benchmark

REQUIREMENTS DILIGENCE SELECTION DILIGENCE IMPLEMENTATION REVIEW

Requirements

Definition

Workflow

Definition

Optional:

Design Wireframes

RFP Development &

Long List Creation

RFP Distribution,

Response & Analysis Provider(s) Selection

Optional:

Contract(s) Assistance

Implementation

Coaching

Project/

Selection

Review

Feedback

Into

FFC DB

Project Mgmt

Assistance

LAUNCH !

Site Metrics

Summary Document

Requirements

Definition Grid

Requirements

Definition Summary

System Context

Diagram

RFP(s)

Long List of

Targeted Providers

Short List of

Targeted Providers

RFP(s)

Tracking

RFP(s) Comparative

Analysis

Finalists &

Recommendations

Client SMEs/

Functional OwnersFFC Consultants eCommerce Industry

Best Practices

eCommerce

Technology/Services

Providers

Chosen eCommerce

Provider(s)

FFC DBNew

Webstore

Rapid Site Eval

Strategic Diligence

Document


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ECOMMERCE AUDIT

eCommerce Platforms

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…3,000 lines of xls

ECOMMERCE AUDIT

eCommerce Platforms

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ECOMMERCE PLATFORMS

eCommerce Platforms

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eCommerce Platforms

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RFP Rqmts RFIProceed Decision

RFP Selection

ECOMMERCE PLATFORMS

#IRCE17

CriteriaRequest for Information (RFI) Process Request for Proposal (RFP)

Process

Requirements Fit High Level fit against requirements categories Detailed requirements fit; analysis and scoring of vendor requirements match

Vendor Stability

Evidence of vendor size and stability Review of vendor financial statements, credit worthiness, deeper dive on stability, vendor roadmap / investment

Scalability Market proof points demonstrating scalability / reference implementations

Reference checks and written documentation of scalableimplementations

IntegrationCapabilities

Evidence of integration experience / capabilities Detailed description of integration approach specifically for client; assessment of project management capabilities

Implementation Time

Typical implementation timeframes Proposed timeframe specifically for client; ease of implementation

Cost Range of implementation and maintenance costs for similarly sized projects

Detailed quote (typically a range) based on clientRequirements / Integration Points

Partner Ecosystem Evidence of broad ecosystem Detailed investigation of partner ecosystem

Cultural fit Not assessed Assessed through vendor meetings, reference checks

ECOMMERCE PLATFORMS

RFI

vs.

RFP


#IRCE17

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Company

• Co. History

• Client Base

• Typical Client Revenues

• Team (SI) Background

• Location

Product

• License or SaaS

• Code Base

• Typical Build

• 3rd Party plugins

• Necessary Skills

Features

• Missing Features

• Competitive Advantages

• Data Integration

• Staging & SEO

ECOMMERCE PLATFORMS

eCommerce Platforms

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Presentations

• Preparation

• Ease of Use

• Complications

• Critical Functions

• “Custom”

Weights

• Functionality

• Integrations

• Custom Work

• Expertise

• Business knowledge

Decisions

• Pricing

• Time to Build

• Client Feedback

• Ongoing Support

ECOMMERCE PLATFORMS

eCommerce Platforms

#IRCE17

Program Management

Pick the right partners

Build project top down

Block diagram key components and data

Challenge your System Integrator

Assign ownership of major work categories

Over communicate internally and externally

Create both working and published schedules

eCommerce Platforms 51IRCE 2017 Tech Workshop

#IRCE17

Re-Evaluate Your Platforming Goals

Review and update your

main goals for re-platforming

Ensure all players agree and “buy-

in” your goals are achievable

Earmark key goal-achieving

milestones

Link payments to milestone

achievements


#IRCE17

Create a Thorough, Accurate, Usable SOW

• Ensure all RFP data flows into SOW

• Update with any recent requirements

• Sign off on vendor assumptions and requirements

• If SOW is time & materials cap all estimates

• Keep SOW a working reference document

• Link document to above-created milestone markers

SOW


#IRCE17

Establishing Key Milestones

KickoffCreative design

acceptance

Customer data

migration

Product data

migration

Enterprise subsystem integration

Staged system testing

Throttle testing

Go Live


#IRCE17

Schedule and Budget Allocation

• Partner with your SI to create your schedule

• Allocate time and resources per major milestone

• Define milestone testing and buy-off procedures

• Identify and highlight areas of highest schedule/budget risk

• Do multiple schedule review cycles for all-party input/buy-in

• Give yourself some wiggle room in the published schedule


#IRCE17

Team Creation and Management

• Exec sponsor, project manager, IT, ops, creative, marketing, merchandising

Internal Team

• Engagement manager, project manager, creative lead, data architect, development team

System Integrator

• Site search, social tools, personalization, product reviews, etc.

Point Solution Providers

• OMS, ERP, WMS, CMS, etc.

Existing Enterprise Vendors

56IRCE 2017 Tech Workshop

#IRCE17

Staff Training

• Do not skimp on training, it will pay off

• Never believe “it’s easy to learn”

• Formal hands on classroom training is best

• Have all system users participate

• Execute old workflows and update to fit new platform

• Ensure ECP vendor has follow-on system learning resources


#IRCE17

Mistakes to Avoid

• Insufficient testing

• No roll-back plan

• Not using 301 redirects where needed

• Insufficient staff training

• Not accounting for changes to previous workflows

• Forgetting about editorial content


#IRCE17

Rod Forsythe

Sr. Consultant

FitForCommerce

[email protected]

Mike Nelson

Global Director of Partnerships & Ecommerce

Lonely Planet

Todd Kelly

VP, Ecommerce

Kaltex North America

For additional questions:

[email protected]

Q&A

eCommerce PlatformsIRCE 2017 Tech Workshop 59

Documents

eCommerce Platforms: How to Find the ‘Best Fit’ …...eCommerce Platforms: How to Find the ‘Best Fit’ #IRCE17 and Ensure It’ll stick IRCE 2017 Tech Workshop 2 Rod Forsythe