FARCOM KNOWLEDGE
How to Structure an Ecommerce Website RFP
In an ecommerce brief, ‘all standard features’ cannot be tested. State what customers buy, how prices are determined, and how your team prepares and fulfils every order.
Begin with the sales model
Ready-stock retail, made-to-order products, digital goods, and wholesale sales follow different journeys. Define the buyer type, delivery area, and pricing method at the beginning. These decisions affect product structure, customer accounts, payment, and order management.
Products and inventory
Record the approximate product count, categories, attributes, and variants. Explain whether inventory is managed in the website or supplied by warehouse or finance software. Define expected behavior for unavailable products, pre-orders, and price changes so the development team does not have to guess.
The order journey for customers and operators
Every stage needs an owner and a clear outcome. For example, after successful payment, what is recorded, who reviews the order, and where can the customer see its status?
- Search, filters, and variant selection
- Cart, delivery cost, and discounts
- Successful payment, failed payment, and retry
- Preparation, dispatch, and delivery status
- Cancellation, returns, and support follow-up
Name integrations and their real status
The name of finance software or a CRM is not enough to estimate an integration. State its version, API documentation, the person responsible for access, and the data to exchange. Identify the source of truth for prices, inventory, and customer information, and decide how connection failures and discrepancies should be handled.
Budget, delivery stages, and acceptance
Define the first release instead of relying on a generic fixed rate. Custom design, integration count, data migration, and order rules all affect cost. Connect acceptance to specific scenarios: place a test order, update inventory, calculate delivery, verify administrator access, and check the mobile experience.
Content and growth after launch
Product photography, titles, specifications, and descriptions are part of the project and need named owners. For an existing store, match valuable product and category URLs with their new destinations. After launch, checkout errors and support questions can guide the next experience improvements.