Overview

Who Are Your Ideal Customers?

We have two major customer segments:

• Middle-market Private Equity-backed brands. $80M - $1B revenue. Many of our customers start with less than 5-10% of their overall revenue through digital channels.

• Venture-backed software, service providers and marketplaces. Software companies, agencies, and investors are all types of companies that need help during a critical transition point in their business. RMW Commerce has also worked with several marketplaces at various stages of their development in order to fine-tune their growth and operations.

Why do Clients Typically Reach out to an eCommerce Consultant?

You need to bring in outside expertise during a critical period to ensure that a critical initiative is planned or executed properly. Here are a few different reasons why other clients have sought out RMW Commerce:

• Private equity firm evaluating potential digital acquisition

• New fundraising has changed focus of the company

• CEO needs to take the current business in a new direction during an important planning cycle

• Missing a key role (Marketing, Product, Technology, Supply Chain) that needs guidance during an important period

• Strategic plan needed for a high-growth D2C, marketplace, or B2B eCommerce venture

What Are Your Specialities?

Our specialties tend to be strategic planning, eCommerce (in all its forms - DTC/D2C, B2B, marketplaces) technology, and supply chain based on the expertise of Rick and the team. Clients should think of us as their outsourced digital CEO.

This includes the intersection of eCommerce with traditional retail and wholesale business models, or what is more commonly known as Omnichannel.

What Categories Do You Work In?

RMW Commerce has served Direct to Consumer and Business to Business clients in Food & Beverage, CPG, Home, Furniture, Apparel, Footwear, Wastewater, Auto & Truck Parts, Aerospace, Licensed Merchandise, and Toys & Baby. Over Rick’s eCommerce career, there are very few industry categories that he has not worked in.

We have worked with pure marketplaces, retailers, brands, as well as eCommerce software & service providers.

The beauty of consulting is that the category is not as important as you might think. Our job is to analyze an industry starting with two areas: how do you make money, and how do you wish to serve the customer? When you do that, category loses its importance ultimately because we will learn about the details of your business as the project progresses.

The nature of consulting is that each client is unique, and we design our process and timelines appropriately to become experts in the things that matter about your business. We do that because we are willing to ask the hard questions.

What Do Your Services Cost?

Our rates are based on the value of the project which includes many different factors. Our projects are priced on a fixed-bid basis almost exclusively.

Here are some of the elements that go into our pricing decisions:

• Expected revenue or cost savings impact

• Your current revenue and employee count

• Size of deliverables needed

• Number and expertise of individuals on the project

• Length of expected engagement time

• Expected turnaround time

We find that customers who are extremely price-focused aren’t the best fit for our services, because the project isn’t a high enough priority for it to be a win-win for both sides.

What Makes RMW Commerce Different?

Two major things make us different.

1 - Experience. It is not uncommon for RMW Commerce to bring 50+ years of eCommerce, supply chain, marketing, and technology experience to a project. By hiring us, you get access to not only the consultants on the project and their experience, but we will often bring to bear others in our network during our engagements that have relevant insights or expertise. We have a pulse on eCommerce and technology like few other firms on the market.

2 - A balanced view of both business model and customer experience. There are very few companies that can put both of those together in a way that allows you to build a sustainable business, where at each stage of the journey, you understand why you are making specific investments, what results they will produce, and the metrics to watch along the way to ensure that things remain on track.

In many ways, we’re the anti-consulting consulting firm. Instead of working with MBA students fresh out of college, you get experienced eCommerce operators who have been in the space and understand profitability and making smart investments. 

What Does an eCommerce Consultant Do?

A great eCommerce consultant has the following attributes:

• Ability to quickly analyze any multichannel eCommerce business, whether it is a direct to consumer brand or a vertical-specific B2B commerce offering.

• Ability to consider elements related to the business model, financial plan, as well as all aspects of the customer experience.

• Ability to benchmark a company against its peers, or the industry in general.

• Ability to recommend specific tactics or develop major strategic plans to improve and grow an eCommerce business.

• Ability to dive in and assist with the implementation, rollout, and successful adoption of recommended tactics and strategic plans.

What Will You Need From Me In Order To Create A Sales Proposal?

We will need a few major items from you:

• An understanding of your current situation

• Your revenue and profitability goals

• Blockers currently standing in the way of your success

It is extremely important during initial conversations that we develop a shared vision of success for your company.

What Will Be Contained In A Sales Proposal?

Here are the elements of a typical sales proposal:

• Situation Appraisal

• Objectives

• Measures of Success

• Value Delivered

• Timing

• Methodology and Options

• Joint Accountabilities

• Fees, Terms, and Conditions

Process

What Does Your Sales Process Look Like? How Long Will It Take?

After an introductory conversation with RMW Commerce, the first thing you can expect is that we send you a “What We Heard” document summarizing our conversation. We find it’s important to document the results of discussions, particularly during the sales cycle, so that conversations can be as efficient as possible.

Other people can then be brought in and become more involved in the decision-making process and meet other potential team members on our side based on the mission.

From here, we agree on what your goals are, the challenges, and the timeframes. Afterward, we then create a proposal for services in a week or less that we can then discuss in further detail.

How Many People Are Usually Involved In An Engagement?

This entirely depends on the scope of the engagement, but we usually bring in from 1-3 team members during the course of an engagement.

If it’s a short engagement, all team members will likely be on the project the entire time. In a longer engagement, it’s possible that different team members will come in at different points throughout the process.

What Are The Phases Of An Engagement?

Most engagements begin with a discovery & assessment phase where we spend time learning about your business and its processes. The next phase involves analyzing and benchmarking what we learned in order to create a set of recommendations. The final phase usually includes the creation and delivery of a final deliverable.

What Will The Findings And Deliverables Look Like?

The deliverables are most often a set of spreadsheets, documents, and presentations that contain the plans and expected deliverables. Since each business is different, there is no such thing as a standard length or template for deliverables. We create the set of deliverables that best suit the needs of each client.

Business Assessment / Due Diligence

What Is The Typical Timeline of An Assessment?

A thorough business assessment engagement can take 2-3 months. This can be tailored to fit the timeline of your company.

For investors, we can even slim down this process to a 2-3 week engagement to fit into your strict due-diligence timelines.

What are the Benefits of a Business Assessment?

There are several major benefits of a business assessment. These are just a few of them:

• Benchmark the business against best practices and competition

• Highlight blind spots in the company’s current strategic plan

• Identify important organizational gaps

• Assess the company’s technology stack currently supporting the business

• Highlight cost savings or revenue growth opportunities

• Having an impartial third-party look at the overall business, without regard to politics

Why Do Customers Come To You For A Business Assessment?

There are several reasons that customers seek out RMW Commerce for business assessments:

• A portfolio firm of a private equity fund is evaluating a potential acquisition target.

• A new CEO of a brand would like an independent review of the company in order to identify next steps to growth.

• A SaaS CEO needs an outsider’s perspective on the company’s growth opportunities.

• A brand is looking to sell itself to a larger company in the next 12 months and would like to use an independent audit in its sales process.

What Will The Findings And Deliverables Look Like?

An assessment attempts to answer a few critical questions:

• Is the company getting its “fair share” of eCommerce revenue?

• How can the company learn more about its existing customers?

• Does the company have an optimized supply chain?

• Where are the organizational gaps?

• Is the company acquiring customers efficiently?

• What are the risks to the company as it grows?

• How does this business compare to its peers?

• What is the company’s market potential?

The deliverable would be a comprehensive deck outlining these findings.

How Many People Are Usually Involved In A Business Assessment Engagement?

We will bring 1 - 3 other people based on the type of business being analyzed.

What Will I Need to Provide You?

In addition to requesting interviews with key employees (usually 1-3), we will also request the following types of information that may be made available in a data room:

• Spreadsheet of your eCommerce catalog

• Sales projections for the next 2-3 years, broken down to units, by customer and channel

• Technology architecture diagram, if available

• Contribution margin details for the past 2 years, by category and SKU

• Access to your eCommerce platform, or Amazon accounts

• Human Resources organization information, including departures and reasons by department

Can You Do An Assessment On A Competitor’s Website?

Yes, we can assess your competitors on several different levels:

• Website assessment

• Customer experience touchpoints (e-mail, delivery, returns, etc.)

• Digital marketing tactics

• Technology (very high-level)

Strategic Planning

What Is The Typical Timeline of A Strategic Planning Engagement?

A complete strategic planning engagement typically takes around 10-14 weeks including assessment and discovery. Of course, this can be tailored to fit your company timeline.

Who Should Be Involved In The Engagement?

At the start of the project, we would like to speak with your essential employees and stakeholders to gain a greater understanding of the business. Often this involves the heads of major departments like marketing, merchandising, technology, supply chain, and finance.

What Will I Need to Provide You?

In addition to the time of your employees (usually 2 meetings per involved employee is required), we also request the following types of data:

• Company presentations and goals

• Sales projections and unit forecasts by customer and channel

• Contribution margin information on the category or SKU level for the past 2 years

• Supply chain cost data

How Frequently Will We Meet?

Expect at least weekly meetings during the strategic planning portion of the engagement, along with consistent e-mail communication.

What Will Success Look Like At The End Of The Engagement?

By the end of the engagement, RMW Commerce will have completed an eCommerce strategic plan which presents a long-term vision for the company. The strategic plan will also contain a detailed financial plan outlining project revenue and costs for the initiative.

Business Optimization

What are Examples of Business Optimization Projects?

Business optimization projects are designed to improve one or more aspects of your people, process, or technology. Here are a few examples:

• Deliver a critical eCommerce replatform or other major technology project to the proper scope, timing, and budget.

• Redesign your eCommerce value-delivery processes such as content creation, product data management, parcel delivery, digital marketing, etc.

• Find a new set of technology vendors for your eCommerce platform, such as a PIM, OMS, WMS, CDP, etc.

• Find and implement a new supply chain initiative such as finding a new 3P or other service provider.

• Design and assist with the hiring of an eCommerce-focused organization.

• Design a P&L for a new eCommerce business venture.

• Redesign your supplier onboarding processes.

• Act in an advisory or interim Head capacity (Interim CMO, for example) during a critical period.

What Is The Typical Timeline of A Business Optimization Engagement?

A typical engagement of this kind takes around 6-9 months. The timeline can be tailored to fit your needs and the goals of the project.

How Will RMW Commerce Operate During The Engagement?

RMW Commerce will operate as a discrete, outsourced digital commerce operator for your company, taking full ownership of the initiative, including setting goals, establishing budget, working with vendors, costs, revenue, marketing, and operational details.

What Are The Requirements Of The Client?

There could be up to two meetings per week depending on the timeline and scope. You should expect regular "Zoom Style" face-to-face interviews and constant email communication. Any timeline delays due to participant availability could risk project deliverables.

What Will Success Look Like At The End Of The Engagement?

The client should expect RMW Commerce to have led the hiring, training, or transition of the go-forward eCommerce business depending on the scope of the engagement. Our job is to build out and implement a plan to support the goals of the business.