Building Internal Support for Your Commerce Replatform

There is nothing more frustrating than starting a project only to have it derailed or underfunded because you did not include the proper decision-makers and teams at the beginning. It is no different when starting to consider a commerce replatform initiative within your organization.

Achieving internal alignment ensures shared objectives, effective resource allocation, and efficient risk management. It enhances stakeholder buy-in, improves communication, streamlines workflows, and ensures smooth transitions. This alignment boosts efficiency and productivity by reducing duplicative efforts. The initial step is securing internal buy-in during the vendor selection process.

Choosing the Right Vendor

Selecting the right vendor for a commerce platform is more than just ticking boxes—it’s a strategic decision that will impact your business’ future. With countless options available, it may seem daunting, but with the right approach, you can make a decision that aligns with your business goals.

When exploring a new commerce platform, you should:  

• Define Your Needs and Goals: Identify specific requirements and long-term objectives like scalability, integration, and budget.
• Research Potential Vendors: Compile a list of reputable vendors, considering those with industry experience for insights into your challenges.
• Evaluate Features and Capabilities: Use a vendor scorecard to compare platform features such as multi-channel selling, payment processing, and analytics.
• Consider the User Experience: Ensure the platform is user-friendly with demonstrations to enhance operational efficiency and adoption.
• Assess Technical Support and Training: Evaluate the level of support each vendor offers to minimize downtime.  
• Check for Customization and Flexibility: Ensure the platform can adapt to your evolving needs for long-term viability.
• Evaluate Security and Compliance: Ensure the platform meets security standards like GDPR to protect your data.
• Negotiate Terms and Pricing: Understand pricing models and negotiate terms to fit your budget, including hidden costs.  
• Request References or Case Studies: Gain insights from existing clients to gauge vendor performance.  
• Test the Platform: Conduct a trial to assess integration and performance in real-world conditions.
• Make an Informed Decision: Choose the vendor aligning with your current needs and growth plans using the vendor scorecard.

Choosing the right vendor for your commerce platform is key to realizing your company’s vision. Deciding on who will be part of the decision-making process, key criteria, and evaluating with a vendor scorecard will set your team up for vendor selection success.

Creating an Effective Vendor Scorecard

Vendor scorecards allow teams to be aligned and assess the quality, reliability, and overall performance of their vendors based on specific, measurable criteria. Vendor evaluations are most effective with a cross-functional team—procurement, quality assurance, finance, operations, and, if relevant, compliance, sustainability, and IT.  

Each team brings unique insights: procurement on relationships, quality on standards, finance on costs, and operations on delivery. Involving end-users and leadership ensures alignment with practical and strategic goals. Regular reviews promote informed decisions and stronger vendor partnerships.

Key Elements of a Vendor Scorecard

• Quality: Measures defect rates, specification compliance, and customer complaints.
• Delivery: Assesses on-time delivery and lead times.
• Cost: Evaluates pricing stability and competitiveness.
• Responsiveness: Looks at issue resolution speed.
• Compliance: Measures adherence to regulations and ethics.
• Innovation: Rates value-added services.
• Risk Management: Examines risk strategies and adaptability.
• Sustainability and Social Responsibility: Includes environmental, labor, and community criteria. 

Setting Up a Vendor Scorecard  

• Define KPIs: Customize them to your business' most relevant needs.
• Assign Weights: Prioritize KPIs by their importance.
• Data Collection: Regularly gather data for objective scoring.
• Score Calculation: Calculate individual and weighted scores for performance.
• Review and Feedback: Share results with vendors and offer actionable feedback.

Vendor Scorecard Example

Sharing Your Vendor Recommendation and Getting Internal Buy-In

When pitching your commerce replatform project and your vendor choice, craft a compelling story tailored to your audience. For peers, provide a detailed presentation; for the executive team, condense it; and for the board, keep it concise. Tailor your slides accordingly: peers might need 30, the executive 15, and the board just 7-8. 

A board presentation should include:

• Executive Summary: A single slide on problem, solution, timeline, and impact.
• Why, What, and How: Business problems, outcomes, and metrics.
• Partner and Platform Choice: Justification of selections.
• Technical Understanding: Highlight business impacts, not technical details.
• Incremental Implementation: Phased approach outline.
• Cost and Timeline: Realistic budget and timeline with a buffer.
• Risks: Major risks and mitigation strategies.
• Next Quarter Expectations: High-level future plans.

Ensure your content is concise and impactful, driving internal alignment and buy-in. You can offer to share the full vendor scorecard with those who are interested after your presentation if they wish to see the granular details on how the vendor choice was made.

Setting the Stage for a Successful Replatform  

Successful commerce replatforming hinges on selecting the right platform and securing internal support. Begin with stakeholder alignment to ensure shared goals. Carefully choose vendors based on clear needs and a robust scorecard.

Communicate your recommendations effectively, tailoring messages for different audiences. Emphasize business impacts, vendor choices, and implementation plans to ensure understanding of risks and benefits.

 Success requires collaboration, informed decisions, and clear communication, enabling organizations to navigate replatforming and drive growth.