Everyone who opens an online store has one goal: to grow the business and increase revenue. But the larger the scale, the greater the challenges – and they can’t always be solved with the same tools that worked in the beginning. Scaling is not a linear process – it requires flexibility, adaptation and the right technological support. In this article, we suggest how to recognize the moment when your store needs more than a ready-made template and basic functionality—and how to prepare for this change.
 

Scaling up or growing?

 
“Scaling” and “growth” are two distinct concepts, and using them interchangeably can confuse your audience.
Growth is when your revenues increase. You acquire new customers, your sales increase, you hire more employees. Often, this involves a proportional increase in costs, resulting in more work.
Scaling is more than growth alone. It’s the ability to handle more sales without a proportional increase in costs and labor because the store’s system is technically and operationally prepared for such situations – the processes are automated.
And in practice?
Suppose you run an online shoe store, and you want to double your sales this year. Growth occurs when you hire additional employees to provide operational support to your current team, allowing your store to run more efficiently even during periods of high traffic. Scaling, on the other hand, occurs when your platform can easily withstand an increased influx of customers, order processing is automatic, and integrations ensure smooth communication with inventory.

What can limit the growth of your e-commerce?

Cezary Nazar, Business Development Manager at Media4U, answers.

Platforms for creating online stores are various – mainly, they differ in price and functionality. The type of software is also an essential element; here, we primarily distinguish between SaaS and Open Source systems.

Technological barriers are most common in off-the-shelf solutions, such as SaaS. Unlike Open Source, they do not have an open source code, thus preventing the implementation of advanced, dedicated functionality (this also has its advantages, closed access to the source code prevents “spoiling” the service by making an incorrect modification).

However, returning to technological barriers, they are one of the primary factors that necessitate changing the software and the so-called “migration” of our online store.
For example – with the growth of our brand’s position in a particular industry, the management decided to start overseas online sales. At first, there is euphoria and a positive attitude. However, upon closer examination, we realize that our software is not suitable for overseas sales. Integration with foreign carriers and payment operators is missing. Products that we have so far had in PLN are automatically converted to foreign currency without the possibility of manual pricing. Translation of language versions is also tricky, and not every element of the site is translatable.

Strategic decisions within the company effectively say “check” to our software. Larger companies want accounting and warehouse operations to be based on a single – usually very sophisticated – system. What if our existing platform does not have integration with a particular system? A partial solution may be to create the integration individually, using API documentation provided by the platform operator. This is a partial solution because the API only allows us to connect our store with the accounting and warehouse system to a limited extent. Additionally, since it is not a base solution for a given platform, with each software update, we may encounter irregularities in our integration, necessitating adjustments to the current version.

Another example is the automation of operations. As sales grow and the number of orders increases, manual “clicking” becomes inefficient, and we start looking for a way to streamline order processing. In such a situation, mass actions are helpful, which, literally after a few mouse clicks, send orders to a given carrier. What if our platform does not have such functionality? In this case, we hope that the functionality will be included in the base features of the software shortly. Usually, however, we are not so lucky and do not want to wait months or years for the introduction of more automation. Therefore, we seek a platform that offers this functionality, whether it is an open-source or SaaS solution.

When to change an e-commerce platform?

The decision to change software is usually not made overnight. Often, it is the result of many minor frustrations – something doesn’t work, something can’t be set up, or some process takes too long. For a while, you can counteract this with the resources you have, but eventually, there comes a point when maintaining the current platform starts to hinder more than help.

“Changing the platform for our online store is a key strategic decision, and when deciding to start selling online we should aim to choose software that will not create a need for us. However, this is the so-called “ideal world”, and I know from experience that in the initial stages, we look for solutions that require the least amount of money. Most of the low-cost solutions we have as our online business grows are no longer sufficient for us due to the lack of adequate functionality, automation or integration.”
describes Cezary Nazar, Business Development Manager at Media4U.

Despite growing frustration, many companies are delaying the decision to change, fearing implementation costs, sales downtime or complicated migration processes. Added to this is the belief that since the system is still in place, the decision to change can still be delayed. In practice, however, keeping a mismatched solution for too long can generate hidden costs and slow down the company’s growth. Sometimes, you just have to accept that the current solution is no longer sufficient.

“One of the most common reasons for changing an e-commerce platform is the technological ‘ceiling’. In the initial phases, the lack of automation for handling incoming orders is not a problem for us. The problem arises at the point where we have to ‘turn through’ 50, 100 or even 200 orders a day. Then we have to find a remedy that will significantly speed up our work.” adds Cezary Nazar.

For many companies, this becomes the turning point. The sooner we realize that the current tools are insufficient, the easier it will be to decide to make a change. A new platform means improvements in daily work and an opportunity for further development.

How to prepare for it? What mistakes not to make?

Changing the platform should be a thoughtful development step, not a reaction to a crisis. The earlier you start preparing for it, the better, as the likelihood of a smooth migration increases. It’s worth approaching the process in advance, with time to analyze, plan the integration, and assess the real needs of the business.
Most problems arise when the migration is not well thought out enough and the time reserve is too small. To avoid problems, it’s worth thinking through the most common mistakes:

• Disorganized organization of work – no fixed procedures, rules, data scattered in different files, and each team works in its way, which may work at a small scale, but over time leads to disorganization.
• Lack of control over costs and profitability – the company generates revenue. Still, it is unclear what drives profit and what merely creates traffic. There is a lack of analysis that shows where the company is growing.
• Deficiencies in sales data and analysis – we know something is selling, but we have no information on why. Without reliable data, it’s challenging to plan further activities.Limitations on the back office side – the company is not prepared for
• Larger orders – logistically, spatially, and operationally. There is a lack of space, tools, and people to handle larger-scale projects realistically.

It’s also worth knowing that you don’t have to do everything yourself. A good technology partner will help walk you through the analysis, plan the process step by step and advise you on how to avoid common pitfalls. The key is to act deliberately and with enough time to spare.

Summary

An online store that is expected to grow needs technology that grows with it. If an e-commerce platform begins to limit operations, doesn’t support automation, doesn’t allow integrations with key systems or doesn’t support international sales, it’s a clear signal that it’s time for a change. Postponing the decision runs the risk of rising costs, decreased team efficiency and lost growth potential. A well-planned migration, preceded by an analysis of processes, allows not only to improve current operations but also to prepare the company for the following stages of development. It is worth treating it not as a cost but as an investment in the future of e-commerce without limits.