E-commerce process consulting: when the shop arrives and nothing fits anymore.
A retail company opens its online shop, a manufacturer suddenly sells directly to end customers – and all at once the grown processes no longer work: orders have to be picked individually instead of by the pallet, cartons go into the parcel network instead of crates onto the truck, and the shop does not talk to the ERP. We bring order to exactly this transition – from system integration and order processing all the way to the physical shipping area with packing stations, label printers and walking routes. Software and warehouse floor, from one source.
Hands-on instead of slide decks
We have planned and implemented entire shipping areas – including rebuilt packing stations, installed label printers and optimized walking routes. Consulting that brings the folding rule along.
Software included
Where the process gap is a system gap, we build the integration right along with it: shop, ERP, inventory management, shipping carriers – we develop ourselves.
Grown processes understood
Branch retail plus online shop, manufacturing plus direct sales: we know the break between bulk thinking and single-parcel logic from practice.
When e-commerce meets grown processes.
The online channel rarely fails on the shop itself – it fails because behind it works a company whose workflows were built for a different business:
From branch retail to parcel shipping
Until now the branch stores were supplied by the pallet – suddenly individual customer orders have to be picked, packed and tracked. The same people, the same warehouse, a completely different process.
Manufacturing thinks in bulk
Industry and wholesale calculate in batches, pallets and truckloads. The company's own online shop suddenly demands single parcels for end customers or business customers – and the bulk thinking no longer fits anywhere.
Shop and ERP do not talk to each other
Orders are retyped from the shop backend, stock levels maintained by hand. Every channel has its own truth – and at some point you sell what is no longer there.
Shipping as improvisation
The packing station is a repurposed desk, the label comes out of the office printer, and whoever packs first has to hunt for a carton and filling material. At ten parcels a day that works – at fifty it breaks.
Nobody accounts for walking routes
Goods are stored by history, not by turnover rate. For every order someone walks clear across the warehouse – costs that appear on no invoice and still accrue every day.
Returns and edge cases by shouting across the room
What comes back piles up; who gets refunded is decided by chance. Without a defined process, every exception becomes an individual case with search effort attached.
What we tackle in the e-commerce process.
The whole picture: processes, systems and the physical implementation – because the best interface is useless if the chaos continues at the packing station.
- Process assessment & target concept – From order intake to returns: we record the current state – on screen and on the warehouse floor – and define the target process that fits your volume, team and growth.
- Shop connection & ERP integration – Cleanly connect web shop, marketplaces and POS system to the ERP or inventory management: automatic order intake, stock keeping with a single truth, status feedback to the customer.
- Order processing & picking – From bulk to single-parcel thinking: picking logic, pick lists, batch and best-before handling – built so that even temporary staff can pick without errors.
- Planning & implementing the shipping area – Packing stations, label printers, scales, cartons, material flow: we plan the shipping area physically – and have already rebuilt one completely, not just drawn it.
- Shipping carriers & software – DHL, DPD & co. straight from the process: labels, tracking, manifests. Where standard software falls short, we build the missing piece – up to a touch-optimized packing application.
- Walking routes & physical optimization – Storage locations by turnover rate, short distances, clear zones for inbound, picking, packing, returns – the invisible minutes per order that add up daily.
Reference from practice
For a food producer we planned and implemented the entire shipping area for e-commerce: processes, pack-and-ship software (marketplaces & web shop connected to the ERP, DHL/DPD integrated) – and physically rebuilt packing stations and installed label printers.
Typical starting points
Retailers with branch stores going online · manufacturing and wholesale businesses with a new direct-sales channel (B2C or B2B single-parcel shipping) · grown shops whose back office has not grown with them.
Systems
Common shop systems (incl. Shopware, Shopify, WooCommerce) · ERP & inventory management (incl. Business Central, CSB) · shipping APIs (DHL, DPD) · custom software where standard ends.
Is your shipping still running – or already improvising?
Briefly describe your channel, volume and systems. We will tell you honestly where your process loses the most time – and what to fix first.
From pallet thinking to parcel thinking.
The real break when stepping into e-commerce is rarely technical – it is logistical and cultural. Retail and manufacturing are optimized for volume: full pallets, consolidated deliveries, fixed routes, crates onto the truck. The online channel inverts this logic: many small orders, individually picked, individually packed, individually tracked – for end customers just as for business customers, who these days also order by the parcel.
That is why pure software consulting falls short here. The interface between shop and ERP is necessary – but it does not answer who picks where with which hand movement, what the packing station looks like, where the label printer stands and why the picker walks clear across the warehouse for every single order. Process, system and floor space have to be thought through together.
That is exactly how we work: first the process, then the system, then the floor space – and all three from one source. We come from software development and have still rebuilt packing stations with our own hands. That combination is rare – and it is the reason our concepts do not end up in a drawer but run in daily operations.
Typical effect
Fewer minutes per parcel, fewer mispicks, fewer oversells – and a shipping operation that absorbs growth instead of slowing it down.
In stages
Rebuilding during live operations: we change things step by step and never let shipping stand still for a single day.
Amazon too
Marketplaces and your own shop in one process logic – you will find the marketplace specialization under Amazon Seller Central Consulting.
How the process consulting works.
On-site process analysis
We look at order flow, systems and the warehouse floor – from order intake to the loading dock. The result: weak spots, quick wins, a target process with an effort estimate.
Concept: process, system, floor space
Picking logic, system integration and physical layout in one concept – prioritized by impact, not by fashion.
Connecting the systems
Shop and marketplace integration with the ERP, shipping software, missing pieces as custom development – in stages, without a sales stop.
Implementing the floor space
Packing stations, printers, zones, walking routes: we accompany the rebuild hands-on – until the first optimized order goes across the table.
Measure & hand over
Minutes per parcel, error rate, throughput: the new process proves itself in numbers. Documentation and team training included.
Frequently asked questions about e-commerce process consulting.
From what order volume is process consulting worth it?
Earlier than most people think: as soon as picking and packing happen daily and involve improvisation, the minutes add up. As a rule of thumb: if shipping noticeably ties up staff time or errors are increasing, the analysis pays off – and it also tells you if everything is still fine.
Do you only consult or do you also implement?
Both – that is the point. We do not deliver a concept for the drawer, we implement: we develop interfaces and software ourselves, and we have already completely rebuilt the physical shipping area at client sites – packing stations, label printers, zones, walking routes.
We are a manufacturing company and want our own shop – can you help?
Yes, that is a core case: manufacturing and wholesale think in bulk and pallets, direct sales demands single parcels for end or business customers. We plan the complete transition – picking, packaging, system integration, shipping area – before the shop goes live, not after.
Which shop systems and ERP systems do you work with?
System-agnostic: common shop systems such as Shopware, Shopify or WooCommerce, ERP and inventory management from Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central to industry-specific ERP (including CSB from the food industry). What matters is the process logic – we build the integration to match.
What does the process analysis cost?
The analysis is a compact project of a few days with a clear price up front. The result is an action plan with effort estimates that you could also proceed with without us – after that, you decide what we implement together.
Does shipping have to be interrupted for the rebuild?
No. We rebuild in stages during live operations – new workflows start in parallel, and only once they hold up do we switch over. That shipping never stands still for a single day is a planning premise, not a hope.
Related services.
Amazon Seller Central Consulting
The marketplace specialization: Seller Central processes and Amazon integration into the ERP.
Learn moreCustom Software Development
Packing applications, interfaces and business software where standard ends.
Learn moreAI Automation
Automate inquiries, documents and back-office routines in e-commerce.
Learn moreYour business has grown. Time for the processes to catch up.
Channel, volume, systems – that is all we need for a start. You will get an honest assessment of where your e-commerce process is leaving money on the table.
Request e-commerce process consulting.
Briefly name your sales channels, order volume and systems – we will get back to you with an initial assessment and a proposal for the process analysis.
We usually reply within 24 hours.
Remote & on site – working across the DACH region (DE, AT, CH), with international project experience.