Resource requirement for Ecommerce deployment

[jackchewie]

Hi all,

My company is a brick n mortar that wants to add e-commerce capability. We are in the process of planning the human resource requirements for IT staff. The e-commerce functionality is very basic, such as product catalogue, shopping cart, inventory management, etc.

Is there any "magic" number or metrics in terms of IT staff requirements in relation to revenues. I understand that, even if there was, this number is a very rough guesstimate as it would depend upon various other factors.

I just need a number for the feasibility study. I'm guessing that somebody must have a ballpark figure.

Thanks for your help.

[openmind]

I wouldn't have said there is a magic number as it really depends heavily on what you are selling.

For example, I work with a printing company that turns over about 100 orders per day and they have only one person validating the orders before preparing them for print.

So I guess it's a case of what is being shipped and how tight the existing controls are...

[Steve2507]

Hi Jack,

This depends on many factors - do you already have a website, does your current website have good serps, what marketing do you intend to carry out on launch, what is the current size of your company, are you going to use affiliates, are you going to use ppc, are you going to rely on natural SEO, are you going to build it inhouse, do you want an ecommerce package or are you going to have it specially built, what is your industry, shall I carry on?

The number of people needed to run it could range from 1 to dozens depending on complexity, and the anticipated turnover and all of the questions above (plus many others).

We started out with a massive number running the business (1 - me) when we first started, but now I would have no hope of running it on my own.

If you can give more details then we can start helping more.

[Steve2507]

Following on from what openmind said, one person can easily process 100s of orders a day depending on how the ecommerce back end is set up. But you have to remember website updating, customer service and (in my opinion the most important) getting the orders packed and out the door.

But are you going to have 100s of orders a day from day one?

[jackchewie]

Well, I actually think the same way as you all do. There are too many variables to consider before you can come up with the requirements. However, my boss thinks that there must be some white papers/studies that have this "magic" number.

For your reference, the company sells furniture and home accessories and will be developed, at the outset anyway, to cater for our existing corporate clients. Our corporate clients awards their employees with credit accounts on our site to shop. If I were to estimate, we might process around 60 client orders a day, but not from the start.

Apart from order processing and delivery, I wanted to get an idea of IT people (system administrator, web programmer, etc.) that would be required to maintain the site.

[openmind]

Heh, bosses are good at this, I've been in similar situations in my employed life ;)

OK here's some scenarios for you assuming the site has been developed and designed externally...

Hosted Application
The site is hosted on a shared webhosting platform so no need for a full sys admin, just someone who is computer literate and is able to update products etc. You may want to look at a body for SEO or marketing the site though...

Managed Dedicated Server
Similar to shared hosting except the box is yours. Again no need for sys admin...

Self Managed Dedicated
You will need someone who is very competent in managing your own server as you would be responsible for security, backups, maintenance etc...

Of course if you're developing the app in house the number will increase...

[Steve2507]

Unfortunately your boss may have a shock coming if he thinks there is a magic number.

Not including customer service staff, warehouse staff and order processing staff, personally I would only be looking at having one person to maintain the site. As openmind said depending on the form of hosting you decide depends on the level of experience the person will need.

I would go with managed hosting (prefereably on a dedicated server - but that depends on budget) and have the person you employ experienced in website maintenance and with a knowledge of SEO. Then use current staff to process and pack orders, until you have a better idea on order levels.

[quikshop]

It depends on how big your operation is. You need to give some thought to;

Online data entry and shop content
Order processing and fulfillment
Stock control and supply chain management
Increased demand on customer servicesHow will your Web shop sit in relation to existing business software such as accounts, stock control and knowledge management systems.

Also with a new sales channel and hopefully an increase in business, will this impact your warehousing capacity and staffing levels in there?

[awebapart.com]

There is no magic number, just a whole load of weighing up of various factors, alternatives, scales which then might give out a number or numbers.

Generally if it is B2B (business to business) ecommerce then it is usually more complicated than B2C (business to consumer) ecommerce. Also if you are looking for something which is more different rather than more common with other sites then that usually adds to the complexity too, since it pushes you more into the bespoke system build area, as opposed to semi-bespoke build or off-the-shelf system usage.

If you are building the system completely from scratch yourself then you will need more than one developer. Unless software development is a business you are experienced in, and want to be involved in, you should think about outsourcing this to a custom development solution provider, in which case you wont need any developers, merely a project manager (for the development side of the project).