Ops‑led replatforming: a practical guide to de‑risk scope, timeline, and budget
Platform‑first projects fail because the operating model is fuzzy. Flip it: decide the ops model and KPIs first, then let tech follow. That’s the whole thesis. The rest of this article shows the playbook.
If you’re an exec sponsor or project lead staring down a replatform (or a big expansion), you’ve seen how fast a “simple” scope turns into a budget balloon with missed dates and frayed teams. You’re not alone. The pattern is common, especially in B2B ecommerce implementations where pricing logic, approvals, and integrations multiply risk.
The fix isn’t a bigger RFP or more feature lists. The fix is an ops‑led sequence: align the operating model, write the data contracts, map workflows and exceptions, define “good,” and only then pick tools. Do that, and you de‑risk the entire ecommerce project. You protect scope, timeline, and budget by removing the fog before you move.
Use this as your ecommerce replatform checklist. It’s vendor‑neutral and practical. You can run it inside your team or with a partner like us. Either way, the goal is the same: clear rules of the game before you pick the ball.
Download to keep handy:
Ops‑Led Replatform Checklist (2 pages)
Executive Alignment Workshop agenda + decision log templates
Along the way, I’ll link to our Executive Alignment Workshop and Strategy Sprint so you can see how we run this work. These are optional, but they exist because they save months.
Why replatforms go over budget (and how to avoid it)
Projects don’t implode because your team can’t code. They implode because the rules are ambiguous or unknown until late. When you don’t settle the operating model first, the build becomes a scavenger hunt.
Here are the usual budget traps and the antidote for each:
Hidden business rules. Tiered pricing, pack sizes, substitutions, punchout quirks, quote approvals. These rules surface after sprint three. The antidote: write data contracts and workflow specs before picking tech. You’ll see the sharp edges early.
Integration surprises. ERP has a nightly batch “you didn’t know about.” PIM fields don’t match. OMS rejects orders over a certain discount. The antidote: do current‑state mapping with live endpoints and sample payloads. Name owners. Confirm SLAs.
Decision gridlock. Marketing wants speed; ops wants control; finance wants cash terms. The antidote: run an Executive Alignment Workshop with a clear decision log and a KPI tree so trade‑offs are made on purpose.
Feature‑led scope. A long list of platform features is not a plan. The antidote: build a single steel thread (browse → cart → checkout → fulfillment) that proves the operating model, then add slices.
Change sneaking in sideways. Stakeholders inject scope late because the project never set guardrails. The antidote: guardrails and a change budget from day one. Every change ties to KPIs or it waits.
That’s the pattern. Fix the operating model early, and your timeline and budget calm down.
Ambiguous rules, hidden integrations, misaligned teams
Let’s call these out with examples you can spot in week one.
Ambiguous rules. “Customer‑specific pricing” actually means eight overlapping rules: contract price, matrix price, quantity breaks, UoM conversions, quote discounts, promotion overlays, freight surcharges, and sales rep overrides. If you don’t list these upfront, you’ll write logic twice.
Hidden integrations. The ERP is the source of truth for inventory… except for two vendor‑managed warehouses, three drop‑ship partners, and a seasonal off‑site DC. Inventory “real‑time” isn’t real‑time. It’s “fast enough” with exception handling. You need to define that phrase.
Misaligned teams. Sales wants self‑serve quotes. Finance wants credit holds. Ops wants no partials. CX wants ship‑complete only when a customer asks. All true. Without alignment, your backlog will oscillate and your sprint burndown will look like a ski slope.
Spot any of that in your world? Good. The ops‑led sequence exists to pin these to the mat early.
The ops‑led sequence
This is the backbone. It’s the ecommerce replatform checklist you can run line by line.
1. Pre‑mortem: how this fails if we’re not careful
A pre‑mortem is a fast, honest session that imagines the project failed. You list causes first, not fixes. Keep it blunt and short.
Run it like this:
Invite a cross‑section: sales, marketing, CX, finance, IT, fulfillment.
Ask: “It’s six months after launch and it went badly. What happened?” Capture 20–40 bullets.
Cluster by theme: data, workflow, scope, resources, adoption.
Convert the top 10 risks into guardrails and early tests (see “steel thread” below).
Output you need:
A one‑page risk register with owners and mitigations.
A “never again” list for past failures (e.g., “No go‑live without 14 days of production telemetry in a canary region.”)
2. Current‑state mapping: systems, flows, pain
This is inventory, but not the dusty kind. You want a living picture: what systems talk to each other, how, and when. Where it hurts today.
Scope to map:
Systems: Commerce platform, ERP, PIM, OMS/WMS, CRM, tax, payments, CDP/ESP, search, DAM, punchout, EDI, BI.
Interfaces: Real‑time APIs, webhooks, file drops, message queues, EDI doc types, batch jobs.
Flows: Pricing, inventory, order placement, fulfillment, returns, credits, invoicing.
Pain: Stockouts despite “inventory available,” double shipments, invoice mismatches, tax mis‑calcs, slow quote turnaround.
Depth you actually need:
A one‑page architecture diagram.
For each integration, a one‑pager: direction, frequency, protocol, auth method, sample payload, error handling, SLA, owner.
Don’t try to solve everything yet. Just get it true and visible. Truth beats polish.
3. Data contracts for pricing/inventory/orders
A data contract is a clear definition of the shape of data you send and receive. It’s not a marketing doc. It’s a schema you can test against. In B2B, this step de‑risks half your project.
Define three first:
Pricing contract. Inputs: customer ID, contract ID, SKU, UoM, quantity, ship‑to, date, channel, promo codes, sales rep ID. Outputs: net price, components (list price, contract delta, quantity break, promo), currency, quote flag, rounding rules, price valid‑until timestamp.
Inventory contract. Inputs: SKU, UoM, location(s), ATP mode (available‑to‑promise rules), backorder policy, lead times. Outputs: ATP by location, allocation status, next receipt date, can‑split flag, oversell tolerance, substitution list.
Order contract. Inputs: customer, ship‑to, bill‑to, PO number, lines (SKU, UoM, qty), price per line, freight terms, tax details, requested dates, carrier preferences, notes. Outputs: order ID, committed ship date(s), split reason, backorder lines, credit hold flag, tax calc details, payment capture status.
What “good” looks like:
Concrete examples ready to run through a stub service.
Field‑by‑field rules, including nullability and defaults.
Versioning plan. Contracts evolve; breaking changes don’t.
Write these before vendor demos. Bring them to every conversation. Watch who can speak your language and who stares at the floor.
4. Workflow design and exception handling
Workflows are how work moves. Exceptions are where budgets go to die. Design both.
Map the happy path:
Quote created → approval → convert to order → pick/pack/ship → invoice → cash.
Browse → contract price displayed → add to cart with UoM → freight quoted → order placed.
Then map the real world:
Partial inventory at two DCs; customer wants ship‑complete.
Contract price missing on a new SKU; fall back to matrix price.
Customer on credit hold, but has an urgent PO and a long relationship.
Tax service down for 90 seconds during peak hour.
For each exception, define:
Who decides? (role, not person)
Decision rule or threshold.
System behavior (auto, manual queue, escalate).
SLA and telemetry (what we log, what alerts).
Pro tip: Document “cannot happen” states. Example: “Never capture more than authorized.” Build tests to prove that.
5. KPI tree + guardrails (what “good” looks like)
A KPI tree shows how outcomes relate. It makes trade‑offs explicit and gives you guardrails to say “no.”
Start at the top:
Customer outcomes: On‑time delivery rate, first‑time‑right orders, quote turnaround, NPS/CSAT.
Commercial outcomes: Conversion rate, AOV, reorder rate, margin per order, credit risk exposure.
Operational outcomes: Order cycle time, pick accuracy, return rate, exception rate, time to resolve exceptions.
Technical outcomes: Uptime, latency, error budgets, incident MTTR (mean time to repair).
Guardrails you can actually use:
“We will not trade quote turnaround beyond 1 business day to hit a conversion lift.”
“We will keep error budget to 1% of order attempts per week.”
“We will ship on time ≥ 96% with ship‑complete honored when the PO says so.”
“We will not add scope unless it moves one of the top‑level KPIs or removes a top risk.”
Put these in your decision log. Refer back often. This is how you de‑risk scope creep without politics.
The Executive Alignment Workshop (agenda + outcomes)
You can run this in a day. The goal is alignment on operating model, KPIs, and the smallest set of decisions needed to move. Keep it tight.
Sample one‑day agenda (in person or remote):
9:00–9:30 — Objectives, constraints, success definition
9:30–10:15 — Pre‑mortem: how this fails (capture risks)
10:15–10:30 — Break
10:30–11:30 — Current‑state map: systems and pain points
11:30–12:00 — Draft KPI tree + guardrails
12:00–1:00 — Working lunch: review data contract stubs
1:00–2:00 — Workflow deep dive: quoting, pricing, inventory
2:00–2:15 — Break
2:15–3:30 — Decide: guardrails, steel thread, success criteria
3:30–4:30 — Plan next 30/60/90: telemetry, pilots, owners
4:30–5:00 — Confirm decisions; publish decision log
Expected outcomes:
A written operating model, not a slogan.
A first pass KPI tree and guardrails.
Agreement on the steel thread to build and prove first.
Owners for each data contract and integration.
A decision log with dates and rationale.
A list of open questions with a plan to close each.
Grab the kit: Executive Alignment Workshop agenda + decision log templates
If you want facilitation and momentum, we run this as our Executive Alignment Workshop. One day saves months.
Who must be in the room; decisions you will leave with
People:
An exec sponsor who can make trade‑offs.
Ops leaders over fulfillment and customer support.
Sales leadership (B2B account owners).
Finance (credit/terms, revenue recognition).
IT/engineering and security.
Product/marketing for site experience and merchandising.
A frontline voice (rep, CSR, picker) who knows the real pain.
Decisions you should lock:
The operating model: what the commerce platform will own vs. defer to ERP/OMS/PIM.
Guardrails for time, quality, and cost.
The steel thread and first KPIs you will measure weekly.
The change process and change budget.
The buy‑vs‑build stance for key functions (pricing, OMS behavior, search).
The platform selection criteria and non‑negotiables (if you might switch).
Leave with signatures on the decision log. “We’ll circle back” is not a decision.
Vendor‑neutral selection questions (if you do switch)
If you’re switching platforms, stay vendor‑neutral until the operating model is clear. Then use questions that test fit to your model, not to a feature grid.
Ask every platform and integrator the same set:
Operating model fit. Show them your data contracts. Ask them to walk through how their platform handles each input and output. Where do they extend? Where do they defer to ERP/OMS?
Steel thread proof. Can they implement your steel thread in a pilot with real data in 4–6 weeks? What corners must be cut? What risks remain?
Total cost to evolve. Not just license and build. Ask about the cost to change pricing logic, add a new DC, switch tax providers, add a punchout customer, or add a new UoM. Get a sense of change friction.
Integration stance. Do they provide first‑class integration patterns (webhooks, queues, retries, idempotency)? How do they handle error budgets? What observability is built‑in?
Security and compliance. SSO/SAML/OIDC, secrets management, PII controls, PCI scope, SOC 2 posture. Ask for plain‑language answers.
Performance baselines. P95 page and API response times at your median traffic and at peak. Error rates under stress. Real numbers or it’s theater.
Ecosystem depth. For your stack: ERP, tax, payments, search, PIM, OMS, CDP/ESP. How many live customers run your combination?
Support reality. What is the path to escalate a production incident? Who has the pager? What’s the actual MTTR for similar customers?
Roadmap alignment. Ask where their roadmap conflicts with your operating model. The honest vendors will tell you.
Exit plan. How do you export everything cleanly if you part ways? Data, code, infra, and DNS. A grown‑up answer here is a green flag.
These questions shift the conversation from “can you do feature X?” to “can you support our operating model with less risk?” That’s what you need.
What to ask agencies and platforms; artifacts to require
When you talk to agencies or systems integrators, ask for artifacts that prove thinking, not just enthusiasm. Require these before you sign:
Decision log populated with your initial guardrails and trade‑offs.
Architecture diagram that shows system boundaries and owners, with a RACI (who’s Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed).
Integration specs for the three core data contracts (pricing, inventory, order). Include sample payloads, error handling, and SLAs.
Steel thread plan with a calendar, success criteria, and rollback strategy.
Test strategy that includes exception paths, contract tests, and load tests tied to your KPIs.
Security posture summary: auth model, secrets handling, PII data flow, PCI scope.
Telemetry plan: dashboards for KPIs, error budgets, and weekly scorecards. Name the alerts and who gets them.
Change control: definition of ready/done, change budget usage rules, and the escalation ladder.
Resourcing plan with named roles, time allocations, and backfills for key SMEs on your side.
If a partner balks at these, ask why. If a platform can’t show reference customers with similar complexity, slow down. This is how you de‑risk the ecommerce project before it starts.
The first 90 days after kickoff
You don’t need a giant Gantt chart. You need clear proof and steady burn. Here’s a template we use. Adapt it to your world.
Days 0–14: Foundation and proof rail
Confirm guardrails, success metrics, and the steel thread in writing.
Stand up environments, CI/CD, access controls, and secrets management.
Wire telemetry from day one: logs, metrics, traces; dashboards for KPIs.
Create stubs for pricing, inventory, and order contracts. Run sample payloads.
Validate SSO and role‑based access (least privilege).
Draft the “cannot happen” list and build the first safety tests.
Days 15–45: Steel thread to first customer
Implement browse → price display (contract price) → add to cart with UoM → freight estimate → checkout.
Integrate with ERP for pricing and inventory using your data contracts.
Hook up tax and payments in a test mode with full logging.
Prove exception handling for three cases (credit hold, partial inventory, tax service outage).
Run a small user test with real account data. Capture time‑to‑quote and time‑to‑checkout.
Days 46–90: Hardening and extensions
Load test the steel thread to your median and peak traffic. Track P95 latency and error rate.
Add account management, quote workflows, and the first self‑serve features (reorder, order status, invoices).
Expand telemetry: alert thresholds, incident runbooks, on‑call rotations.
Prove the first two value drivers from your KPI tree (e.g., quote turnaround under 4 hours; on‑time ship at 96%).
Prepare the go/no‑go checklist with rollback. Include canary release plans.
This 90‑day plan keeps everyone honest. It avoids the “all features, no proof” trap and builds confidence early.
Early wins, telemetry, adoption plan
You don’t have to wait for a go‑live to deliver value. Early wins build trust and buy you runway.
Fast wins that matter:
Search and browse relevance. Tune search weights and facets to match your top revenue categories. If your platform supports it, push a rules‑based boost for contract SKUs per account segment.
Checkout friction fixes. Save carts for logged‑in buyers, support PO numbers by default, and pre‑fill ship‑to addresses. Reduce a click today; measure conversion tomorrow.
Quote acceleration. Build a “request a quote” flow with SLA alerts. Add auto‑approval thresholds tied to margin rules. Measure time‑to‑quote.
Self‑serve order status. Pull order events from OMS to the account portal. Let buyers see shipment splits and tracking in one place.
Data hygiene. Close the loop on the top three catalog or pricing data errors causing exceptions. Publish a weekly defect scorecard. Watch exceptions drop.
Telemetry that keeps you out of the dark:
KPI dashboard: top‑level outcomes (on‑time ship, quote turnaround, conversion, margin/order).
Error budgets: percent of price lookups, inventory calls, or order posts that fail or time out.
User behavior: time on PDP, cart abandonment by segment, quote conversion.
Operational load: queue lengths for exceptions, time in each state, SLA breaches.
Adoption plan that sticks:
Train by workflow, not by screen. “How do I handle a partial?” beats “click here next.”
Appoint “floor captains” in sales and ops who can answer day‑one questions.
Publish a simple “What changed this week” note every Friday. Small changes reduce fear.
Tie training to metrics. Celebrate the team when the KPI moves. People repeat what you reward.
A simple ecommerce replatform checklist (copy, adapt, use)
Use this as your one‑page reminder. It covers B2B ecommerce implementation needs and general replatform tasks without feature fluff.
Run a pre‑mortem; create a risk register with owners.
Map current systems, flows, and pain on one page per integration.
Draft data contracts for pricing, inventory, and order. Include examples.
Define workflows and exception handling, including “cannot happen” states.
Build a KPI tree and guardrails. Publish them.
Hold an Executive Alignment Workshop; publish the decision log.
Select the smallest steel thread that proves your operating model.
Stand up environments, CI/CD, access, and telemetry on day one.
Prove the steel thread end‑to‑end with real data. Load test it.
Expand to early wins tied to KPIs. Measure weekly.
Lock a change control process and a change budget.
Prepare go/no‑go and rollback plans; run a canary release.
Post‑launch, run a weekly scorecard and incident review.
Download: Ops‑Led Replatform Checklist (2 pages)
Decision log template (copy/paste)
You’ll use this every week. It keeps scope honest and builds institutional memory.
DecisionDateContextOptions ConsideredDecision OwnerRationaleImpacted TeamsFollow‑upsExample: Ship‑complete policy for DC splits2025‑09‑23Partial inventory across DC1/DC2Ship‑complete only; Allow split by distance; Allow split if backorder < 48hVP OpsImproves on‑time ship with predictable costOps, CX, FinanceMonitor return rates, freight costs for 30 days
Tip: Every change request must reference a decision or create a new one. If it doesn’t tie to a KPI or reduce a top risk, it waits.
Vendor demo script (use with your data contracts)
When you reach demos, don’t accept canned flows. Hand each vendor your pricing, inventory, and order contracts. Ask them to:
Compute price for three real SKUs across two account types, two quantities, and one promo overlay. Explain overrides.
Show inventory for SKUs in two DCs with your ATP rule. Simulate a backorder and show what a buyer sees.
Place an order with a split shipment and a credit hold. Walk the exception handling and SLAs.
Fail the tax service for 60 seconds; show how orders recover and what the buyer sees.
Export the order in your order contract format with full event history.
Record the session. Note how often they switch to slides versus staying in product. Fewer slides, fewer surprises later.
How this approach de‑risks scope, timeline, and budget
Let’s tie the loop.
Scope is protected because you made the operating model explicit and wrote data contracts. New features must map to those or wait. You also documented “cannot happen” states and tests.
Timeline is grounded because you chose a steel thread you can measure. You load tested that thread early. You cut unknowns into slices and cleared each with telemetry.
Budget stays real because you front‑loaded the decisions. The change budget absorbs true discovery without derailing the core. Early wins fund goodwill.
This is not project theater. It is an operating model first, tech second. In a B2B ecommerce implementation, this is the difference between “launched” and “works.”
Internal links you can explore
Executive Alignment Workshop. We facilitate the one‑day session described above, with decision log and KPI tree included. See the agenda and outcomes here: Executive Alignment Workshop.
Strategy Sprint. A 2–4 week engagement to prove your steel thread with real data and telemetry, vendor‑neutral. It results in a roadmap, a backlog, and a go/no‑go plan: Strategy Sprint.
FAQ (short and blunt)
Do we need to switch platforms?
Maybe. An ops‑led approach often shows you don’t. Many “platform problems” are really operating model or integration problems. Decide ops first, then tech.
Can we skip data contracts to go faster?
You can skip them like you can skip a parachute. Contracts force clarity. They save you from rewrites.
What if our ERP is the bottleneck?
Then your guardrails decide. You can buffer with a thin service layer, batch workflows, or event queues. But name the bottleneck and plan for it early.
What about composable vs. monolith?
It’s an operating model question. If you need to evolve parts at different speeds, composable helps. If your model is stable and your team is small, a well‑chosen monolith may be safer. Dogma loses; clarity wins.
How soon do we involve customers?
Immediately. Even two buyers in your top segment will surface rules you forgot. Run a 30‑minute call, show a click‑through, and ask about exceptions.
Closing thought and CTA
Replatforms don’t fail because teams are lazy. They fail because we solve for tools before we clarify how the business will operate. Ops‑led replatforming flips the order. When you define the operating model and KPIs first, the technology follows cleanly. You de‑risk the ecommerce project and you get a platform that actually serves your business.
Before RFPs go out, run an Alignment Workshop. One day saves months.
