SHOP.ORG HOME
This afternoon’s Selecting the Right Solution Provider for Your Retail Operations: eCommerce Platform Selection Case-Study focused on the best practices for selecting the right solution provider for your business. The panel included representatives from top online retailers New York & Company, David’s Bridal, Diane Von Furstenberg and Bare Escentuals and was moderated by Mitchell Kramer.
The following is a recap of the tips these retailers learned from the trenches at every key phase of the vendor selection process:
- Start
- Research
- Developing and prioritizing requirements
- Set evaluation criteria
- Request for information and proposals
- Checking references
- Proposal
- Considering options, approaches and selection solutions
- Implementation
Start
Do’s
- Clearly define why you’re replatforming, agree on short-term and long term benefits that will be realized
- Overcommunicate – plan for lots of project updates, meetings and reports
- Make sure stakeholders are involved right from the start
- Research options using experienced vendors and partners
Do not’s
- Don’t think re-platforming will fix business process problems (garbage in, garbage out)
- Don’t underestimate the cost of the project (factor about 25% additional “buffer” into the budget)
- Don’t assume current staffing will carry you through the project (integration partners, etc)
- Don’t assume agreement with the project = a complete understanding of what needs to be done and why
Research phase
Do’s
- Understand what end result you want and success criteria before you begin, and communicate them clearly
- Document success criteria for RFP group, a simple way is a checklist or scorecard
- Involve a C-level executive and IT executive in your RFP group, and include members from various functions in your organization (finance, marketing etc)
Do not’s
Developing and prioritizing requirements
Do’s
Do not’s
- Don’t allow the 20% of top requirements to affect your judgment on the 80% of requirements
- Don’t lose focus on what your organization is not good at
- Don’t fall into the “this is how we do this today” trap
Set evaluation criteria
Do’s
- Start with entrance criteria and “table stakes” – this saves a lot of time for both you and vendor
- Be specific and concise with your criteria – 1 paragraph or less
- Gain internal signoff before heading to vendor selection
- Share evaluation criteria with vendors and allow them to explain how their product or service meets your needs
Do not’s
- Don’t include vendors outside your selection criteria
Request for information and proposal
RFI (request for information) do’s
- Include this step if you need information on a new industry or from an unfamiliar vendor, if your new system is “critical” to your business or if you need to narrow your playing field of vendors
RFI do not’s
- Don’t skip this step if you need it because of tight time lines
RFP (request for proposal) do’s
- Be specific about key milestones and dates
- Set a hard deadline – and add 25% to that deadline as buffer
- Be realistic about timelines and manage internal expectations – often executives are not aware of the level of detail involved
RFP do not’s
- Don’t take on RFP work in the middle of critical business periods (holiday, back to school etc)
- Don’t assume every milestone will stay on schedule
Checking references
Do’s
- Reach out to colleagues who’ve done process before, linkedin, shop.og posting information, vendor user groups – due diligence
- Secondary research forrester / Gartner
- Information about company itself –stock price today vs. one year ago, financial health etc. people previously employed by company etc.
- Dig into references, the people you speak with should have similar experiences to you
- Avail yourself of vendor provided references, but also check out blind references – could discover another side of the story
- Consider references outside of your vertical
- Consider hiring a consultant to help you with your overall project – someone objective and familiar with the process
- Prepare a list of questions for your references so you don’t take more of their time than you need to – but be aware to keep the list short, and allow references to decline to answer certain questions
Do not’s
- Don’t short circuit this process – you can glean more than just from white papers and site copy
Proposal
Do’s
- Combine the terms of the website development including time frames potential constraints and legal responsibilities involved
- Determine specific items included in quotations, not cost of additional services and any penalty provisions
- Pay attention to the qualifications of the people who will actually be performing the work for you
- Look for a summary of organization and outcomes to be achieved, be on the same page with your vendor
Do not’s
- Don’t assume everything is included. Watch out for integration costs. Integration with POS and warehouse systems can be huge
- Don’t accept a proposal without a delivered deadline. It is a written understanding between parties
Considering options, approaches and selection solutions
Considering options, approaches and selection solutions
Do’s
- Define the “long list” of providers and platforms, consider where the bisuiness will be in 3-5 years
- Determine selection team and agree on the process prior to down-selecting
- Use the opportunity to eductate the organization through the process
Do not’s
- Be afraid to let the vendor educate you
- But also don’t allow them to create requirements that are not important to YOUR organization
- Lose control of the process either internally or externally
- Forget to bring the internal stakeholders (all of them) along in the process
Implementation
Do’s
- Properly staff the project
- Ensure time padding exists for high risk and complex items
- Share the responsibilities for successful implementation
- Ensure segmentation to learning for the self sufficient in critical areas to be
Do not’s
2 Comments
This is one of the better ecommerce implementation frameworks I have seen.
One extra “Do’s” you have take into consideration, when international transaction involved: local taxes or VAT.