Tactical One Stock: US e-commerce logistics merge
Christian Dior Couture · E-commerce Project Manager
Managed the IT side of merging Dior's US e-commerce logistics into the existing retail warehouse run by a third-party logistics provider, from interface requirements through cutover, hypercare and warehouse operations.
- Client / organization
- Christian Dior Couture
- Consulting firm
- VISEO USA
- Role
- E-commerce Project Manager
- Period
- Apr 2023 - Dec 2024
- Location
- New York, USA
- Area
- Digital commerce
Business context
Dior decided to merge its US e-commerce logistics: all e-commerce activity of one warehouse would move into the existing retail warehouse managed by a third-party logistics provider. The move touched every system around online sales, from the e-commerce platform and integration layer to the store and warehouse systems. Brought in to help Dior implement the merge and manage all of its IT implications on the e-commerce platform, working with teams in France and the US and with the logistics provider.
Key contributions
- Wrote the business requirements for the e-commerce interfaces affected by the move and ran the workshops to validate them.
- Reviewed and validated the design of the logistics interfaces between the e-commerce platform and the warehouse.
- Defined the service levels for the new e-commerce activity in the retail warehouse.
- Prepared steering committees, the mitigation plan and the cutover, then ran warehouse tests and go-live hypercare.
- Put a monitoring tool in place for e-commerce sales and supported the warehouse business operation after go-live.
Responsibilities in detail
Analysis & design
- Business requirements for the e-commerce interfaces
- Workshop preparation and presentation
- Design review and validation of the logistics interfaces
- Specification validation
- SLA definition for the new e-commerce activity in the warehouse
Testing & go-live
- Integration tests
- Feature acceptance tests
- UAT follow-up
- Mitigation plan and cutover preparation
- Warehouse tests and go-live hypercare
Coordination
- IT project follow-up with the France and US teams
- Communication and task follow-up with the logistics provider
- Steering committee preparation
Support & training
- Business training
- Monitoring tool implementation for e-commerce sales
- Support of the warehouse business operation
The challenge
Moving an e-commerce operation from one warehouse into another that already serves retail is not only a logistics move: every interface that sends orders to the warehouse and receives shipments and stock back has to point to a new partner, with new service levels, without interrupting online sales. The receiving warehouse was run by an external logistics provider, so the project also had to align Dior's teams in France and the US with that provider's own planning.
My scope
I acted as the e-commerce project manager for the IT implications of the merge. In practice that meant three things:
- Define what the systems must do. I wrote the business requirements for the e-commerce interfaces, prepared and presented the workshops, and reviewed and validated the logistics interface designs and specifications produced by the technical teams.
- Agree how the new activity is run. I defined the SLAs for the e-commerce activity in the retail warehouse and followed up tasks and communication with the logistics provider.
- Get it live safely. I organized integration tests, feature acceptance tests and UAT follow-up, prepared the mitigation plan, the cutover and the steering committees, ran the warehouse tests and covered go-live hypercare.
Project flow
| Phase | What I did |
|---|---|
| Requirements | Interface business requirements, workshops with business and IT |
| Design | Design review and validation of logistics interfaces, specification validation, SLA definition |
| Build follow-up | IT project follow-up with the France and US teams and with the logistics provider |
| Testing | Integration tests, feature acceptance tests, UAT follow-up, warehouse tests |
| Go-live | Mitigation plan, cutover preparation, steering committee material, hypercare |
| Run | Business training, monitoring tool for e-commerce sales, support of the warehouse operation |
Systems involved
The e-commerce landscape around the move included Salesforce, the MuleSoft and Talend integration layers, Cegid and Manhattan WMS. My role was functional and managerial: I owned the requirements, the validation of designs and specifications, and the test and cutover plans across these systems rather than their build.