How we work: ecommerce agency onboarding, the first 90 days and the standards we keep
Our ecommerce agency onboarding has a date, an owner and a test for done at every step.
Quick answer
We start with a free diagnosis, set up your systems in 14 business days, then a named ops lead runs daily operations on a fixed weekly, monthly and quarterly rhythm. You approve prices, purchases and suppliers. Response standards carry a 10% credit, and after the first term you can leave with 30 days' notice.
You approve the decisions; we do the work in your accounts and show it.
Before you sign
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The scope document.
What we will and will not do, and how each deliverable is accepted.
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The full fee schedule.
Every fixed price is on our pricing page; the proposal repeats the ones that apply to you.
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The costs you carry.
Inventory, freight, platform fees, apps and ad spend, which you pay directly.
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Your named ops lead.
Their name is on the proposal. If we ever need to replace them, you get at least 5 business days' written notice, unless the change is outside our control.
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NDA and Data Processing Addendum,
ready to sign before any access is granted.
You see everything that will bind you before you agree to it. No term appears for the first time in the contract.
The signed agreement says what this website says. That matters: 69% of B2B buyers report inconsistencies between what a supplier's website says and what its salespeople tell them (Gartner, Jun 25, 2025). If the two ever differ, the signed agreement governs and we fix the website.
Ecommerce agency onboarding: your first 90 days
For a brand at $1M+, the first quarter has five steps. Each has a deliverable and a test that tells you it is done.
| When | Step | What you get | Done when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 0 | Profit Leak Scan | A report pricing each leak in dollars a year and hours a week, and a ranked fix list | Every figure shows its period and source report |
| Weeks 1 to 2 | 14-Day Ops Foundation | Channels and data connected, one stock count, order routing rules, SOPs in your workspace, a live margin dashboard, a handover pack | Connected channels match source systems; inventory counts reconcile on a test day; test orders route correctly; you approve the SOP index; the dashboard shows contribution margin by SKU and channel; the handover pack (access list, SOP index, first 30-day plan) is delivered at day 14 |
| Week 3 | Ops Desk live | Your named ops lead takes the daily work | The daily log starts in your workspace |
| Weeks 4 to 8 | First Relay Modules | Automations from the top of your fix list | A written spec is approved before the build, and the module passes its acceptance tests |
| Week 12 | Quarterly review | Results against the baseline from your scan, and the next quarter planned | The review is held and the next quarter's plan is written |
The Foundation goes live in 14 business days from full access, or we keep working at no charge until it is.
What we need from you. Named user access within 2 business days of signing, a decision maker who can answer within 1 business day and time for short SOP interviews with whoever does the work today. Every date runs from working access and your approvals.
If you are starting a new store
New stores follow a shorter path with a written update at the end of every step: what was done, what is waiting on whom and what comes next.
- 01Launch Readiness Check.
A written plan within 3 business days of receiving your five numbers.
- 02Account Setup.
About 1 to 3 weeks, mostly waiting on marketplace verification. You submit in your own name; we prepare everything.
- 03Store Launch.
Amazon and Walmart about 6 to 10 weeks; Shopify about 4 to 6 weeks. Listings usually go live around week 6.
- 0430 days of support
after go-live, included in the launch fee.
- 05Store Care.
A named team runs the store day to day from $399 a month; you approve prices, purchases and ad budgets.
Owners spend about 2 to 4 hours a week on approvals once the store is running. Most new stores take months to find steady sales, and some never do. Inventory, platform fees, freight and ad spend are paid by you.
If you choose Full Relay
Full Relay is our managed store service. It adds the two steps the other services leave to you: product research and sourcing. The timings below are typical, not promised, because suppliers, samples and marketplace approvals set part of the pace.
| Typical weeks | Stage | What we do | What you approve |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 3 | Research | Demand, competition, fees and margin per unit for each product idea, before anything is bought | The products to launch |
| 3 to 8 | Sourcing | Suppliers found and vetted, samples, quotes and terms negotiated | The supplier and the first order, which you pay directly |
| 6 to 12 | Launch | Seller accounts in your name, brand registry where eligible, listings, storefront, first inventory into FBA, WFS, Shopify fulfillment or a 3PL | Prices, the launch plan and any ad budget |
| Every day after | Running | Orders, customer messages, account health, stock and reorder alerts, reimbursement claims | Purchases, price changes and ad budgets |
You get a weekly written update and a monthly results review. Every account, the brand, the inventory and each supplier relationship are yours from day one. Full Relay is signed under its own Full Relay agreement, which sets the scope, the term, the exit terms and, on the performance model, the commission rate before any work starts. We do not sell stores and we never promise income. Most new stores take months to find steady sales, and some never do. Inventory, platform fees, freight and ad spend are paid by you.
If you add a Dedicated Ops Team
A Dedicated Ops Team is one or more named, full-time people who work only on your business. We hire and manage them; you set their priorities.
- 01Agree the role and the KPIs.
We write down what the person will own and how their work is measured.
- 02Meet and approve.
You meet each candidate and approve the person before they start. Their salary is shown on the proposal and on every invoice, passed through at cost.
- 03Onboarding and access.
Named logins with multi-factor authentication on a company-managed device, and only the permissions the role needs. Never your owner password.
- 04Daily supervision.
We supervise the work every day and track it against the KPIs you agreed. Each person works an agreed schedule that overlaps US business hours, under a named US-facing lead.
- 05Replacement.
If someone leaves or is not the right fit, we replace them at no extra fee, and their access is removed within 24 hours of the change.
The first term is 3 months, then month to month with 30 days' notice.
The operating rhythm
Once the daily work starts, it runs on a fixed rhythm you can check without asking us.
| When | What we do | What you see |
|---|---|---|
| Every business day | Stock and inbound checked, order exceptions cleared, tier-one tickets answered, Amazon and Walmart account health checked | A log of the day's work in your workspace |
| Every week | Margin, stockouts and response times reviewed, reorder plan, account health check-in | A KPI review on a fixed day |
| Every month | Fee and 3PL invoice audit, reimbursement claims filed and tracked | A written operations report |
| Every quarter | Operating review against your starting baseline, next automations chosen, channel and catalog plan | A quarterly review meeting |
Every number in a report names its period and source system, and estimates are labeled.
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Who decides what
You own the business, so the decisions that spend your money or bind your accounts stay with you. We do the work inside the rules you set.
| You approve | We do without asking, inside your rules |
|---|---|
| Prices, and any price change outside the rules you approved | Daily listing upkeep, stock checks and order exceptions |
| Purchases and purchase orders | Draft purchase orders and reorder alerts for your approval |
| Refunds above an agreed limit | Refunds and replacements below that limit, within your policy |
| New suppliers, and on Full Relay every product and supplier | Supplier follow-up and 3PL coordination |
| Ad budgets | Campaign upkeep within the budget and rules you set |
| Any claim a listing makes about your product | Reimbursement claims, filed with no commission |
| Anything that binds you to a platform agreement | Account health monitoring and appeal preparation |
Service standards
These are written into our agreement, with a credit when we miss them. Business hours are 9am to 6pm US Central, Monday to Friday, excluding US federal holidays.
| Request | First response | Resolution target |
|---|---|---|
| New inquiry | A real person within one business hour | |
| Urgent: listing suppressed, orders not flowing | 1 hour | 4 hours |
| High: stock about to run out on a top seller | 4 hours | 1 business day |
| Normal client request | 4 business hours | 3 business days |
| Amazon or Walmart account-health warning | Acted on the same business day |
In any month in which fewer than 95% of first replies to client requests arrive within 4 business hours, you get a 10% credit on that month's fee for the affected monthly service. We report response times monthly and apply any credit to the next invoice.
How we use automation, and where it stops
We use automation for named, narrow jobs. A person reviews each one. People run your store; software does the checking and the drafting.
- Alerts for stockouts, fee changes and breaks in your pricing rules.
- Drafted purchase orders, which a person checks and you approve.
- Order-status updates and drafted replies to "where is my order" questions.
Some actions always need a person: price changes outside your rules, refunds above your limit, appeals and anything that binds you to a platform agreement. Automations follow each platform's rules for automated software. We never put your customers' personal data into consumer AI tools, and your data is never used to train an AI model. More on our approach: AI orchestration with guardrails.
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Changes and extra work
Nothing new appears on an invoice without your written approval. Work outside the written scope is quoted in writing first and billed at $75 an hour only once you approve it. Tier changes are agreed in writing before the next billing month, through a change order both sides sign.
If you leave
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Handover pack within 5 business days
of the end date, once undisputed invoices are paid: the access list, SOP index, module documentation and open items.
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Access removed within 24 hours
of the end date, in every case, confirmed in writing.
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Data returned or deleted within 30 days,
in every case, at your choice.
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Everything we built stays in your accounts:
listings, workflows, dashboards, SOPs and reports.
You can leave after the first term with 30 days' notice by email, and you keep everything. Store Care and Ops Desk carry no exit fee.
Full terms: terms of service and security, access and ownership.
Start with the first step
Brands at $1M+ start with a free Profit Leak Scan. New stores start with a free Launch Readiness Check.
Not sure which applies? Talk to an ops lead (free). A real person replies within one business hour, 9am to 6pm US Central, Monday to Friday.
Does the setup cost extra?
For brands at $1M+, setup is the 14-Day Ops Foundation: a fixed $1,500 for one channel or $2,500 multichannel. 50% of it is credited to your first Ops Desk month if you sign within 21 days of go-live. New stores pay a fixed launch fee from $999 per channel instead, and Full Relay's retainer starts with a $1,499 onboarding fee.
What if the Foundation runs late?
If it is not live in 14 business days from full access, we keep working at no charge until it is. If a platform or a pending approval holds things up, we tell you, and the date moves by the same amount.
How much of my time does this take?
For new stores, about 2 to 4 hours a week of approvals once the store is running. For Ops Desk, a weekly KPI review on a fixed day plus approvals for prices, purchases and suppliers. The first two weeks ask more: named access within 2 business days of signing, short SOP interviews with whoever does the work today and a decision maker who answers within 1 business day.
How will I know what you did?
A daily log in your workspace, a weekly KPI review, a written monthly report and a quarterly review against your starting baseline. Every number names its period and source system. You can also ask for the access register at any time.
Who do I contact when something breaks?
Your named ops lead, through the channel agreed in your statement of work. Urgent issues, such as a suppressed listing or orders not flowing, get a first response within 1 hour during business hours, with a resolution target of 4 hours.
Do you use AI on my account?
For named, reviewed tasks: alerts, drafted purchase orders and drafted order-status replies. Price changes outside your rules, refunds above your limit and appeals always need a person. Your data is never used to train an AI model, your customers' personal data never goes into consumer AI tools, and any tool we use on client data runs under business terms that bar the provider from training on it.
Can I change what is in scope?
Yes. Tier changes are agreed in writing before the next billing month, and one-off extra work is quoted first at $75 an hour and billed only once you approve it. On a Dedicated Ops Team, adding or changing a role starts with the same step as the first hire: an agreed role and KPIs.
What happens when we stop?
A handover pack within 5 business days of the end date, access removed within 24 hours and data returned or deleted within 30 days. Everything we built stays in your accounts. On Full Relay, the accounts, brand, inventory and supplier relationships were yours all along, so nothing needs to transfer.
Sources1 sourceLast checked Oct 20, 2026
- 01gartner.com"69% of B2B buyers report inconsistencies between information on the sales organization's website" and what sellers provide; Jun 25, 2025; checked Oct 20, 2026Primary