From first call to first order, on a schedule.
A twelve-week path from brief to a live storefront taking real orders, with a named deliverable at the end of every phase and a decision point before each one begins.
12 weeks to live
Twelve weeks, four phases.
Dates are commitments, so each phase ends with something you can inspect. A phase that cannot show its deliverable does not advance.
Brief, market and catalogue
Category, target market, competitive position and the product list. Sourcing feasibility checked in parallel — there is no point designing a storefront for a product the network cannot hold a date on. Exit: approved brief, confirmed catalogue, indicative lead times.
Identity and architecture
Brand identity, tone, design system and the storefront information architecture. Supplier sampling starts now so physical approval runs alongside the build rather than after it. Exit: design system signed off, samples in production.
Storefront, catalogue and content
Theme build, catalogue and variant modelling, product photography and the first content batch.
Payment provider onboarding and policy pages run in the same window, because they gate launch. Exit: storefront complete in staging, sandbox transactions passing.
Samples, testing and dry run
Physical samples approved against the written standard. Full purchase path tested end to end, including a real dispatch. Delivery windows fixed from measured legs rather than estimates. Exit: approved samples, completed test order, published windows.
Soft launch and first scale
Controlled traffic to the live storefront, operations desk live, support targets in force. Media opens at a deliberately small ceiling while the fulfilment path proves itself on real orders. Exit: live storefront, orders flowing, targets being met.
Run, measure, improve
Daily operations loop, weekly media and margin review, monthly supplier scorecards and a quarterly catalogue review. Cadence: weekly operating review, monthly business review.
Four things, and they are not onerous.
A decision-maker
One person who can approve a design, a sample and a price without a committee. Phases slip on approvals far more often than on work.
The product truth
What it is, what it costs, where it comes from and what it cannot do. A specification that flatters the product produces a storefront that sells disappointment.
Commercial boundaries
Target margin, acceptable lead time and the markets you will and will not sell into. These shape sourcing before they shape design.
Responsiveness at the gates
Four decision points across twelve weeks. Each one has a window, and the schedule assumes you use it.
Decision points
The operating cadence.
| Cadence | What happens | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Daily | Order routing, exception queue, carrier monitoring, support | Operations desk |
| Weekly | Media performance against margin, spend ceilings, creative rotation | Growth and commercial |
| Weekly | Open-order review: anything at risk of missing its window | Operations and supply |
| Monthly | Supplier scorecards, quality incidents, lead-time drift | Supply chain |
| Monthly | Business review: revenue, contribution margin, cost lines | Ownership |
| Quarterly | Catalogue review: what to expand, reprice or retire | Commercial |
Ready to start the brief?
The first conversation is about the product and the market. If the numbers do not work, we would rather tell you in week one than in week twelve.
Start the brief →