The Deployment Process

At IRP Commerce we believe that compound digital sales growth depends equally as much on training, education and alignment as it does on finding the correct technology package.

Table of Contents

Introduction 4

The IRP Deployment Process 4

Project Management Tools 5

1. IRP World setup – your network for success 5IRP Training – how to use the IRP to its full potential 6

Ecommerce Education – how to grow in digital commerce 7

Digital Strategy Creation – awareness and planning 7

Alignment – be rewarded for your success 8

2. IRP Software setup – your technology for growth. 9IRP instance creation 9

Required accounts creation. 10

Design and content 10

Data Import and Configuration 11

Technical Configurations 12

Integrations 12

Marketing Preparation 12

GO LIVE and Consulting. 13

Conclusion 13

IntroductionThe IRP Deployment ProcessAt IRP Commerce we believe that compound digital sales growth depends equally as

much on training, education and alignment as it does on finding the correct technology

package.

Successful deployment of an IRP therefore involves two main components:

1. IRP WORLD SETUP

Expanding the network and knowledge you need to grow online sales. This includes:

1. IRP Training

2. Ecommerce Education

3. Digital Strategy Creation

4. Alignment of goals

2. IRP SOFTWARE SETUP

Putting the technology in place to generate and process online sales.

For every IRP deployment we carry out, the key goal is to get our clients launched on

time, up-to-speed, and with immediate operational efficiency and growing sales. The

deployment process outlined in this document contains all the elements that we see as

necessary for the completion of that goal.

Project Management ToolsIn order to manage our deployment projects effectively, we use an online project/task

management tool called Asana (www.asana.com) for all inter-team communications. This

allows complete transparency and visibility at all stages of the deployment process, letting

all stakeholders know who is responsible for which task and on what timetable.

If Asana is used effectively it should replace the need for email (Asana works best if all

questions and queries are asked via the comments in the relevant task). This provides

all parties with a central place to view all project tasks and progress, making sure that

milestones and targets are met.

1. IRP World setup – your network for successTo run and grow successful digital commerce businesses it is vital to understand the

differences between offline and online retail. Specific Ecommerce teams need to be put in

place and these teams need to study and understand the digital commerce marketplace

– where to source traffic, how to measure success, how to test, iterate and persuade the

customer to buy from you as opposed to others. The same principles as regular retail apply,

but it’s a faster, more reactive marketplace which offers an amazing scope to measure,

track and improve on almost every action.

As a key part of the IRP deployment process, all Ecommerce professionals and new

companies setting up on the IRP are required to sign up to IRP World:

https://www.irpcommerce.com/MyIRPWorld/Login.aspx

The IRP World is our central repository for all information and resources and is your

gateway to strategy articles and news, Ecommerce education, IRP training and

accreditations, as well as an ever-growing network of experts and service providers. It’s a

place where you can learn about the IRP and digital commerce and where you can build

the relationships you need to succeed online.

IRP Training – how to use the IRP to its full potentialThe IRP World Knowledge Base contains step-by-step guides and training for all aspects

of the IRP. From creating admin accounts, to importing product data, to stock control, to

order processing or creating email campaigns, this is where you’ll find all the information

you need to make the most out of the wide range of services included in the IRP

package. Your deployment manager will ensure you have access to all these resources

as well as online and face-to-face training sessions throughout the project launch phase

and thereafter.

Your team will be encouraged to take control of their IRP from a very early stage so that

by the time you are ready to launch you have a full grasp of all the key functionalities at

your disposal.

As a member of IRP World, you will also be able to take our IRP exam modules, enabling

you to gain full accreditation in all things IRP.

This training is vital to the success of your business.

Ecommerce Education – how to grow in digital commerceThe IRP World Strategy Center is your resource for digital commerce articles, strategy

documents, and up-to-date industry news, opinion and knowledge. We fully encourage all

our clients and service providers to participate in this ever-growing online resource network.

As part of your Ecommerce Education, we’ll be hosting workshop sessions on the digital

transformation required to succeed online, multichannel marketing and the instant

importance of your value proposition.

Operational efficiency is also key here. During deployment we will analyse your current

processes and provide recommendations so that your business operations can be readied

for the logistical challenges that accompany rapid sales growth.

Foundation courses in Ecommerce strategy will be included as part of the deployment

process and we’ll work with you to help you create your initial digital strategy document.

This is highlighted in more detail below.

Digital Strategy Creation – awareness and planningWe believe that it is essential to have a digital strategy in place before taking the plunge

into online commerce. We’ll work with you to create and review your digital strategy

before the launch of your website. Your strategy should cover a number of key areas,

for example: your business, team, market, competition, pricing and traffic channels. You

should prioritise the steps needed to grow your sales, describe your objectives, how

you intend to reach them and in what time parameters.

Planning is one of the most overlooked but vital parts of succeeding online. In helping

you create you digital strategy, we’ll be pushing you to plan to ensure that you are

in control (as much as possible) of events and the direction in which your business

moves.

Alignment – be rewarded for your successWe believe it is very important to award initiative and success. Our goal is to work

in partnership with your business to achieve record growth and profitability. To do

this we feel it is important to reward our partners. Every company and individual

setting up on the IRP will be rewarded for hitting targets – be that completing our

accreditation programs and training workshops, writing strategy documents, hitting

launch dates or breaking sales predictions.

Our success is intrinsically linked to that of our clients and that’s why a key part of the

deployment process is focused around the alignment of all stakeholders’ goals and

objectives.

Please contact our commercial team for more information on how we can align

project goals.

2. IRP Software setup – your technology for growth.Outlined below are the key steps involved in the technical deployment and launch of your

IRP website. Your deployment manager will be working with you throughout this process to

make sure that your site is launched on time and with maximum operational efficiency.

IRP instance creationStep one of your deployment, the Export Technologies development team will build a test

environment for your future website. This will be hosted and maintained by us, as will your

live store. This removes the headaches of setup and server maintenance and lets you get

on with the important task of growing sales.

Essentially, we will set up your site on our servers on a password and IP protected test

domain name. Admin access will be created for your teams and all members will be able to

access the IRP frontend and backend throughout the deployment process. Once all parties

are satisfied that the website is ready to go live we will open access to your IRP and make

it accessible on the domain name of your choice to the outside world.

Required accounts creation.To be able to sell, ship and process payments online you will require a number of

third-party accounts. The first step of the IRP setup process is the creation of these

accounts. We will guide you through this and put you in touch with the third parties

you may require. This includes:

• Shipping – Royal Mail, Parcelforce, DPD, An Post, etc. etc.

• Payment Processing – RealEx, Paypal, Merchant Bank accounts.

• Payment Financing – V12 Finance.

Design and contentOur in house design team will advise and create the optimal look and feel required

to fit your brand/market and to promote sales. Early on in the deployment process

we’ll ask for your design ideas, feedback and input. Our team will take these ideas

and work them together with IRP features to create your unique website template.

We will transfer the design to your IRP once approved. The design process will

iterate throughout the deployment process until all sides are happy that your IRP is

optimised for both desktop and mobile sales.

Custom content and copy are vital to the success of your IRP. The main goal here

is to optimise and customise the content pages of your website for your key visitors.

You will require specific messaging for your UK customers, who are different to your

Irish customers, who again are different from your European and North American

customers. The IRP allows for drilldown to specific countries and languages and we

recommend you take advantage of these functions as much as possible in order to

tailor your content and messaging to every key user group and market in which you

believe you are competitive. This is a key area and will be covered in more detail in

your ‘Value Proposition’ education workshop.

Data Import and ConfigurationVital to your success, your product data needs to be as close to perfection as possible and

this is one of the key areas we will work with you on right through the deployment process.

The IRP allows for bulk imports and updates of data, enabling your teams to progress with

data preparation and cleaning right from the outset of the project. We will guide you and

advise you on this and how to export data templates for offline manipulation in Microsoft

Excel. Once your data is ready we will take you through the training on how to import and

update it – so that right from the beginning your team is comfortable adding and optimising

all product data.

Once your product data is in, it is important to correctly categorise it so that it is as easy as

possible for your users to find what they are looking for. Again, in this respect the IRP is

extremely flexible and allows for changes from the administration area of your account or

via bulk changes to Excel or flat file spreadsheets.

The same applies here for customer data. If you already hold customer addresses and

emails, these can be imported and formatted just before launch so that the data is as up-to-

date as possible.

Technical ConfigurationsOnce you have all the necessary 3rd party accounts created (shipping, card processors,

finance providers, etc.), it is necessary to configure your IRP with all the account details

and access parameters so that it can interact with them. The main task here is shipping

– and requires you to map out your shipping zones, methods and rules so that you can

display appropriate shipping options to customers depending on their location, value

and/or weight of their order. Inputting these into the system is relatively simple, but it is

the preparation of these rules that is important in advance so that you have a clear idea

of exactly how much you need to charge for each shipping variation. The deployment

team will guide you through this process.

IntegrationsThe IRP is fully equipped with Stock Control, EPOS, Labelling, Order Management etc.

but has also been developed to easily allow third-party provisions of such software.

Your deployment manager will help you work out which integrations you require and

build these into your deployment plan.

Marketing PreparationEach site on the IRP is allocated an IRP World Consultant who will be responsible for

helping you develop your growth strategy document.

Aside from this, as one of the final parts of the technical setup of your IRP, your

consultant will be responsible for getting your email and PPC campaigns set up for

launch. This requires content creation for emails and paid search adverts, and working

together with you to make sure that this content is correctly targeted to generate

maximum clicks and conversions.

As part of your strategy document, your consultant will also give you advice and

guidance on the other channels you need to target from the offset.

GO LIVE and Consulting.Once all the above tasks have been completed you are ready to go live. The ‘Go Live’

process is relatively simple once everything has been prepared and just requires our

development team making all final checks and changing security settings to allow external

traffic to access your domain. Your deployment manager and consulting team will then

work closely with you over the following days and weeks to make sure everything is on

target and that campaigns, conversions and sales are optimised. Once we are satisfied

that the site is underway correctly and that you have everything required to succeed, your

deployment manager will hand over responsibility to the consulting team who will be your

main point of call for advice from then on in. You will also have full access to our dedicated

support team for any technical queries you have in the future.

ConclusionIRP deployment requires a successful blend of technology and knowledge.

• IRP World Setup – IRP Training, Ecommerce Education, Digital Strategy Creation

and the Alignment of goals..

• IRP Software Setup – technical setup and configuration.

Your deployment project manager is responsible for guiding you through this process

and will ensure that you have both the proven technology and methodology required for a

successful launch in international digital commerce.