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eCommerce Guides
Practical guidance for store launch, marketplace onboarding, shipping optimization and scaling operations — written for teams running real ecommerce workflows.
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Click any topic below to read the full guide — practical steps your team can follow today.
Store Launch Checklist
Use this checklist before you go live so your store is ready to accept, fulfill and track orders from day one.
Storefront & catalog
- Confirm theme, navigation, policies and contact pages are published.
- Upload products with variants, images, pricing, tax settings and collection structure.
- Test product pages, search, cart and checkout on mobile and desktop.
Payments & shipping
- Connect payment gateways and run a test transaction in sandbox or live mode.
- Configure shipping zones, rates, COD rules and courier accounts.
- Validate pin-code serviceability for your primary delivery regions.
Go-live checks
- Place a test order end-to-end — confirmation, label, tracking and notification emails.
- Verify analytics, WhatsApp or support channels and return/refund policy links.
- Share a launch checklist with ops so the first real orders are handled smoothly.
Marketplace Onboarding
Marketplace selling adds volume fast — but only if listings, inventory and fulfillment stay connected to your core operations.
Before you list
- Prepare brand documents, GST details, bank information and category-specific compliance.
- Standardize SKU codes, titles, images and attribute mapping across channels.
- Decide which warehouse or fulfillment location will serve each marketplace.
Catalog & order sync
- Connect marketplace accounts and map products to a single master catalog.
- Route incoming orders into one dashboard instead of checking each seller panel separately.
- Set inventory buffers so you do not oversell when multiple channels update at once.
After go-live
- Monitor listing health, cancellation rates and SLA breaches in the first two weeks.
- Align returns, replacements and customer support workflows across channels.
- Review which marketplaces drive profitable orders — not just top-line volume.
Shipping Rate Optimization
Shipping cost directly affects margin. Optimize with data — not by switching couriers randomly every week.
Understand your shipping profile
- Break down orders by zone, weight slab, payment mode and average order value.
- Track cost per shipment, RTO rate and delivery TAT for each courier partner.
- Identify high-volume pin codes where a single courier may not be the best fit.
Configure smarter rules
- Use zone-based rate cards and automate courier selection by weight, COD and destination.
- Offer free shipping only where margin supports it — pass cost elsewhere when needed.
- Review express vs economy options based on customer expectations and category.
Review monthly
- Compare billed weight vs dead weight disputes and renegotiate with top carriers.
- Drop underperforming lanes and double down on couriers with better delivery success.
- Feed learnings back into checkout messaging so customers choose viable options.
COD & NDR Best Practices
COD remains essential for many Indian brands. The goal is fewer failed deliveries — not eliminating COD entirely.
At order placement
- Validate phone numbers and addresses with OTP or confirmation prompts where possible.
- Flag repeat RTO customers or incomplete addresses before dispatch.
- Set clear COD charges or minimum order values if abuse is common in your category.
During delivery attempts
- Act on NDR (non-delivery report) alerts the same day — call, SMS or WhatsApp the buyer.
- Give customers simple options: reschedule, address correction or cancellation.
- Escalate repeat NDR shipments before they become costly return loops.
After RTO
- Log reasons by courier, zone and SKU to spot patterns.
- Adjust packaging, sizing charts or product descriptions if mismatch drives returns.
- Restrict prepaid-only checkout for high-risk profiles when data supports it.
Inventory Sync
Inventory drift creates cancellations, angry customers and marketplace penalties. One source of truth is non-negotiable.
Set up master inventory
- Define SKU-level stock across warehouse, store and third-party fulfillment if applicable.
- Map the same SKU on every sales channel — avoid duplicate listings with different codes.
- Reserve buffer stock for high-velocity SKUs during campaigns or flash sales.
Sync frequency & controls
- Sync inventory in near real-time where possible, especially during peak hours.
- Pause listings automatically when stock hits zero instead of relying on manual updates.
- Reconcile physical counts weekly for top SKUs and monthly for the full catalog.
When things go wrong
- Investigate oversell incidents by channel, sync lag and warehouse handoff timing.
- Document who owns inventory updates — ops, warehouse or marketplace team.
- Use alerts for low stock so replenishment happens before listings break.
Scaling Operations
Growth breaks informal processes first. Build repeatable workflows before volume forces reactive firefighting.
Standardize daily ops
- Batch pick-pack by courier cut-off times, zone or payment mode.
- Assign clear owners for orders, exceptions, returns and customer escalations.
- Document SOPs for onboarding new team members in under a week.
Automate repetitive work
- Auto-allocate couriers, print labels in bulk and push tracking to customers automatically.
- Use dashboards for SLA tracking, pending shipments and channel-wise performance.
- Reduce manual spreadsheet updates — they do not scale past a few hundred orders a day.
Plan for the next stage
- Review ops capacity monthly: people, warehouse space, courier contracts and support load.
- Test peak scenarios before festivals or sale events — do not discover limits on day one.
- Bring in dedicated ops support or platform tooling before errors become customer-facing.
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