Online Sales and E-Commerce Operations

Every sale is a chain: visit, view, add to basket, checkout, pay, pick, pack, ship, deliver, support. A break anywhere loses money.

• Draw the chain for your shop and mark where customers drop out.
• Learn the four key numbers: visits, conversion rate, average order value, returns.
• Know who does what: you, courier, payment partner, customer.
• Set a promise: price, delivery time and returns.

Activity. Draw your order journey and compute the four numbers for a sample week.

Standard to meet. Complete the journey and calculate four numbers correctly.

Buyers decide in seconds. A page answers: what is it, is it for me, can I trust it, what does it cost, when does it arrive?

• Title: plain words a buyer would search.
• Photos: clear, several angles, scale.
• Description: size, material, use, care; the top 3 benefits first.
• Price, delivery and returns visible without scrolling.

Activity. Build five product pages and have two peers try to buy.

Standard to meet. Show that peers find price, delivery and returns within 10 seconds.

Stock is cash sitting on a shelf. Too little loses sales; too much traps money.

• Count stock weekly and compare with the shop's records.
• Reorder point = daily sales x supplier lead time + safety stock.
• Track cost per item including delivery to you.
• Mark slow sellers and discount before they become dead stock.

Activity. Set reorder points for your five products.

Standard to meet. Match counts to records within 2% and write reorder rules.

Choose simple, trusted ways to be paid and to deliver.

• Use card or bank-transfer payment pages and trusted partners; never store card numbers.
• Compare couriers on price, speed, tracking and damage record.
• Set a returns policy you can afford and describe it clearly.
• Reconcile payments with orders every week.

Activity. Write delivery and returns rules and test the process with one order.

Standard to meet. Publish rules, deliver a test order and complete reconciliation.

Service wins repeat buyers. Answer fast, politely and with a clear next step.

• Answer within one working day; say when you will update.
• Use short templates for the ten commonest questions.
• When something is wrong, apologise once, fix it, and say what changed.
• Keep a log of problems and review it monthly.

Activity. Write ten templates and role-play two hard messages.

Standard to meet. Give each template a clear next step and review two role-plays.

Traffic costs time or money. Choose a few channels and measure each.

• Free channels: search-friendly titles, social posts, word of mouth, marketplace listings.
• Paid: only with a budget cap and a target cost per order.
• Track source of each order if you can.
• Cost per order = spend divided by orders from that spend.

Activity. Run two small channels for two weeks and compare.

Standard to meet. Tabulate spend, orders and cost per order.

Practice is the course. Process orders with care and learn from every error.

• Order log: date, order number, items, value, delivery, issue, fix.
• Pack carefully; photograph packed orders for proof.
• Review mistakes weekly and add a check to stop repeats.
• Keep personal data only as long as needed.

Activity. Complete 20 orders with a full log.

Standard to meet. Log 20 orders and give every issue a fix.

Report to yourself like a manager: weekly numbers, decisions, next steps.

• Weekly report: visits, conversion, average order, returns, margin.
• Change one thing at a time and compare.
• Three lessons learned.
• Decide: grow, fix or stop.

Activity. Present at a review room; give two peers feedback.

Standard to meet. Support the decision with numbers.

On the slide: L1 Basic · How an online shop works. Focus module: The order journey (Understand, 8 h). Every sale is a chain: visit, view, add to basket, checkout, pay, pick, pack, ship, deliver, support. A break anywhere loses money. Key points: Draw the chain for your shop and mark where customers drop out. Learn the four key numbers: visits, conversion rate, average order value, returns. Know who does what: you, courier, payment partner, customer. Set a promise: price, delivery time and returns.

Notes: Name the steps from visit to delivery. Notes: draw the order journey for one shop. Teach: open with the worked example. 100 visits, 3 orders: conversion 3%. Average order EUR 28. Revenue EUR 84 per 100 visits. Doubling conversion to 6% doubles revenue without more visitors. Then set the activity: Draw your order journey and compute the four numbers for a sample week. Mark against the standard: Complete the journey and calculate four numbers correctly. Check at this level: Conversion rate for 5 orders from 200 visits? Model answer: 2.5%.

On the slide: L2 Awareness · Honest product pages. Focus module: Product pages that sell (Create, 14 h). Buyers decide in seconds. A page answers: what is it, is it for me, can I trust it, what does it cost, when does it arrive? Key points: Title: plain words a buyer would search. Photos: clear, several angles, scale. Description: size, material, use, care; the top 3 benefits first. Price, delivery and returns visible without scrolling.

Notes: Write a clear title and true details. Notes: compare "Item 17" with a full title; check size, price and delivery are shown. Teach: open with the worked example. Weak title 'Item 17'. Strong title 'Glass water bottle 750 ml with cork lid'. Add: 'Delivered in 3 working days. Returns within 14 days.' Then set the activity: Build five product pages and have two peers try to buy. Mark against the standard: Show that peers find price, delivery and returns within 10 seconds. Check at this level: What must a product page show quickly? Model answer: Price, delivery and returns.

On the slide: L3 Foundation · Stock and reorder. Focus module: Stock and suppliers (Apply, 16 h). Stock is cash sitting on a shelf. Too little loses sales; too much traps money. Key points: Count stock weekly and compare with the shop's records. Reorder point = daily sales x supplier lead time + safety stock. Track cost per item including delivery to you. Mark slow sellers and discount before they become dead stock.

Notes: Work out when to reorder. Notes: 4 a day, 5 days lead time and 8 safety stock gives a reorder point of 28. Teach: open with the worked example. Sales 4 per day, lead time 5 days, safety stock 8: reorder when 28 remain. Then set the activity: Set reorder points for your five products. Mark against the standard: Match counts to records within 2% and write reorder rules. Check at this level: Reorder point formula? Model answer: Daily sales x lead time + safety stock.

On the slide: L4 Practitioner · Run 20 real orders. Focus module: Run 20 orders (Apply, 48 h). Practice is the course. Process orders with care and learn from every error. Key points: Order log: date, order number, items, value, delivery, issue, fix. Pack carefully; photograph packed orders for proof. Review mistakes weekly and add a check to stop repeats. Keep personal data only as long as needed.

Notes: Pick, pack, ship and log twenty orders. Notes: add a check such as reading the size aloud; record wrong-size orders. Teach: open with the worked example. Week 3 log shows two wrong-size orders. New check added: read size aloud when picking. No repeats in week 4. Then set the activity: Complete 20 orders with a full log. Mark against the standard: Log 20 orders and give every issue a fix. Check at this level: What belongs in an order log? Model answer: Date, order number, items, value, delivery, issue, fix.

On the slide: L5 Specialist · Conversion and ad spend. Focus module: Get visitors and measure (Analyse, 20 h). Traffic costs time or money. Choose a few channels and measure each. Key points: Free channels: search-friendly titles, social posts, word of mouth, marketplace listings. Paid: only with a budget cap and a target cost per order. Track source of each order if you can. Cost per order = spend divided by orders from that spend.

Notes: Calculate conversion and cost per order. Notes: 3 orders in 100 visits is 3 per cent; EUR 30 for 6 orders is EUR 5 each against EUR 9 margin. Teach: open with the worked example. EUR 30 on a social ad brings 6 orders: EUR 5 per order. Average margin per order EUR 9, so the ad earns EUR 4 per order. Then set the activity: Run two small channels for two weeks and compare. Mark against the standard: Tabulate spend, orders and cost per order. Check at this level: Cost per order for EUR 40 spend and 8 orders? Model answer: EUR 5.

On the slide: L6 Advanced · Lead customer service. Focus module: Customer service (Create, 14 h). Service wins repeat buyers. Answer fast, politely and with a clear next step. Key points: Answer within one working day; say when you will update. Use short templates for the ten commonest questions. When something is wrong, apologise once, fix it, and say what changed. Keep a log of problems and review it monthly.

Notes: Set reply times and templates for a small team. Notes: sample five replies against a checklist. Teach: open with the worked example. Template: 'Thank you for your message. Your order 1042 left us on Monday and the tracking link is below. If it has not arrived by Friday, write to us and we will trace it.' Then set the activity: Write ten templates and role-play two hard messages. Mark against the standard: Give each template a clear next step and review two role-plays. Check at this level: How soon should you answer a customer? Model answer: Within one working day, with a next step.

On the slide: L7 Super expert · Design an online business. Focus module: Report, decide and plan (Evaluate, 14 h). Report to yourself like a manager: weekly numbers, decisions, next steps. Key points: Weekly report: visits, conversion, average order, returns, margin. Change one thing at a time and compare. Three lessons learned. Decide: grow, fix or stop.

Notes: Plan range, suppliers, delivery and returns for a year. Notes: review conversion trends and risks; present targets. Teach: open with the worked example. Page change raised conversion from 2.5% to 3.4% in two weeks; plan: replicate on all products. Then set the activity: Present at a review room; give two peers feedback. Mark against the standard: Support the decision with numbers. Check at this level: Why change one thing at a time? Model answer: So you know what caused the result.