Alexey Salychev,
curator of the course "E-commerce in the fashion industry" HSE,
ex-director of e-commerce Love Republic, InCity

«Icómers», «ecomépc», «icomErs»– in one interpretation, this word sooner or later pops up at meetings and boards of directors of any retail company. And if five years ago it was pronounced in companies that considered themselves innovative and progressive, now even convinced conservatives are forced to urgently look for ways to go online, resources and, perhaps most importantly, expertise in this area.

Why does a company need an e-commerce manager?

E-commerce is no longer just an additional source of sales or modern technologies, it is a key competence of a retail company. Every year the share of sales via the Internet becomes more and more. In fact, we are talking about a qualitative change in the entire structure of trade, when on the way from an idea to an acquisition, the buyer moves freely between channels and instantly collects a lot of information about different offers. One of the main tasks of the retailer is to ensure the same service and quality of services provided in all channels. That is why every retail operator planning to develop successfully needs a qualified e-commerce manager.

Who should I assign to engage in e-commerce?

The first dilemma – and who will be engaged in this project? There are two ways: to entrust the project to an internal specialist (often it is a marketer or a retail department manager) or to hire an expert with experience in the market. Each approach has its pros and cons. On the one hand, the internal candidate already knows the company's structure well, is loyal and loyal, efficient and motivated. But, on the other hand, he has no experience. And for all the mistakes that he will make, the company will have to pay. An external expert will be expensive, it's often a cat in a bag, and he will need time to adapt and study business processes, but after passing the probationary period, this employee will be able to immediately engage in meaningful work and launch the desired online store faster. If a firm follows the path of hiring an external employee, then it inevitably faces the problem of a shortage of personnel and the high cost of such experts - the average e-commerce director in Moscow claims a salary of at least 150,000 rubles a month plus bonuses and bonuses depending on the results. Not every retail company is morally ready for such costs.

But there is a third, compromise way. Take a capable internal candidate and send him to training courses, where he will be able to gain basic knowledge and an introduction to the profession, so that during the implementation of the project he does not make expensive mistakes for the employer and does not make wrong decisions.

The employee starts work and makes the first plan. And then it turns out that the salary is still half the trouble, we need investments in development, marketing, call center, photo production, logistics and much more. Often it is at this moment that the company's management realizes that the online store is not just "well, let's make a website there, let it trade slowly", but a full-fledged sales channel, which on the one hand requires capital investment, but on the other hand is potentially capable of generating additional income with the usual marginality.

Where do they teach?

There are different schools in the West, such as Fashion Retail Academy in the UK or Ecommerce Academy in the USA. However, it is important to remember that regional peculiarities and practices are of great importance in e-commerce: what works in England is not necessarily suitable for Russia. In our country, only Fashion Consulting Group conducts training at the Higher School of Economics. This is a three-month evening course where students go through all the main blocks of ecommerce and learn the basics of the profession, and these lectures are given by well-known practitioners of the field.

Responsibilities and scope of activity

What exactly does an e-commerce manager do? Who should he functionally obey? What is his area of responsibility? How many people does he need in the team? What resources can be allocated from existing departments, and which ones can be created from scratch?

In fact, there is no universal solution to these issues, each company has its own established specifics of dividing competence into inhouse and outsource, its own strengths and weaknesses, etc.

The director of e-commerce, being in fact the director of the business unit, must understand and control all the processes of online trading: procurement, warehouse and transport logistics, development and technical support of the website and applications, online marketing and customer service, photo production and content management - all this should be in his field control, since retail consists of hundreds of little things. Therefore, wherever you embed this project in the sales department, in the marketing service, or directly subordinate the CEO, make sure that all commercial and service services of the company provide support and assistance to the ecom manager: only in this case he will be able to achieve maximum synergy between the available and necessary resources for the implementation of the project.

Competencies or the role of personality in history

Both the charm and the complexity of the profession of an "e-commerce manager" lies in the fact that it is actually the head of a separate business within an existing company. A potential ecom manager should be a good communicator, because each of these processes is subordinate to its own department, and not everywhere employees meet new tasks with enthusiasm. To agree, without being a direct manager, to build a process and, summing up the activities, to achieve a significant result is a very difficult task to deal with in large companies. Therefore, it is already not uncommon for ECOM specialists from large companies to switch to smaller online stores, but already at the level of general, commercial or executive director. This is not surprising, because such an employee often knows the entire business cycle, whereas specialized specialists are usually competent within their narrow profile.

Author: Alexey Salychev

Photo: Shutterstock.com