Model what you sell and deliver
Physical products, digital goods and booked services have different stock and fulfilment rules. Write down variants, pricing, availability and what happens after payment. Test returns and cancellations too. The platform should support those workflows without forcing staff to maintain conflicting records in several places.
Trace a partially fulfilled order
An example order contains a stocked item and a pre-order item. The customer later returns only the stocked item. Choose systems by whether they can preserve the order, shipment and refund relationships through this journey.
| Record | Rule to demonstrate |
|---|---|
| Inventory | Reserve only sellable quantity and release cancelled reservations once |
| Shipment | One order can have separate tracking and fulfilment states |
| Refund | Return money for the selected line without cancelling the remaining shipment |
Connect the systems that own each record
Decide where products, stock, orders and accounting records are managed. Check the actual integration options for the intended payment and delivery providers. A storefront connection is incomplete if refunds, duplicate notifications or delayed stock updates leave staff unable to reconcile the order.
Evaluate the operational workload
Run a sample order through payment, fulfilment, customer support and reporting. Compare platform fees with the work needed for extensions, content and maintenance. Confirm export options and business ownership of accounts so changing suppliers later does not mean losing product or customer records.
Before you proceed
- Test an order, failed payment, refund and cancellation.
- Agree which system owns stock and financial records.
- Include content, extensions and support in the budget.
