Project K - Fully Automated E Commerce website requirement

Website Design Brief Shopify or Similar Platform Designers/Developers This project is for an online product kit sales and information providing platform. The platform shall sell mainly kits of a collection of products which shall be drop shipped from initially one US wholesaler. We will also sell individual products that collectively make up the kits. There shall also be items sold as add ons that we source from different suppliers outside of our main supplier. Each purchaser of a kit will also be provided with detailed information (likely by a series of follow up emails) on why each product is in the kit, how to use etc. This level of information is a key point of difference and will be a value add to the customer. Ultimately this is a simple Ecommerce website, but with a lot of information included and follow up communication post purchase. The entire ordering process, distribution with dropshipper/wholesaler/fulfillment center (ideally we will just use dropshipping to start so will be sent from supplier to customer directly), updating inventory and costs lists, and follow up+periodical email communication with the customer must be fully automated. (doesn’t have to be all fully automated at launch but we need a clear roadmap of how to get there). We would like our website developer to also help with some recommendations on how to deliver what we want in a timely fashion and keeping costs down, using existing SAAS products. Ecommerce platform and Integration: We think its probably easiest to use a SAAS solution like, Shopify, Big Commerce and Amazon webstore platform with shopping cart platform integrated (as it provided high quality platform/tools and a huge customer potential at a reasonable price). We will probably be set up in Cyprus so need to ensure shopping cart compatibility to Cyprus bank accounts - seems Shopify has a number of options here. The site must be scaleable and able to plug in the latest technologies such as inventory management and enable us to add in an automated email system in the back end as well as change sign up process to capture what we need. Also F Commerce integration (facebook commerce) - which most big platforms have built in (Big Commerce, Shopify, Volusion and ShopVisible). The E commerce platform needs to also be optimised for drop shipping. We would have both our own website through which we sell, as well as a presence on Amazon, E Bay and other major platforms. Inventory Management The site must be integrated with an inventory management system, so that we do not include products that are out of stock at our Dropshipper/wholesaler. Such as: Inventory Source and eComm Hub and [login to view URL] - because we’re sending kits we must be able to manage kitting and bundling. Q: does this affect our ability to use shopify or big commerce as the main platform? Website Hosting: We may need to host this website offshore/outside the US for tax purposes. Therefore ensure if we’re buying a SAAS product that we can host it outside of their platform - or is their platform outside the US etc. Likely our holding company for this investment will be based in Cyprus. Payment processing: We may also need to have offshore payment provider and processing. Again, likely Cyprus bank accounts. [login to view URL] [login to view URL] 2chekcout seems ok? We must be compatible with Amazon, E Bay and other major platforms. Other: Would it be possible to add an option for pre packaged kits to have some choices for product type or colour when there are different choices available from our wholeseller? How can we do this? Price may differ based on alternate products, but if too difficult the price can stay the same. Follow up emails: This is a major part of the business. Customers will be sent emails automatically after purchasing product, but also during their use of the kit which will be over a few months. As such we will need to consider what info we will need to capture in the logins. Different kits mean different emails/information. If consumer purchases the kit through Amazon + Ebay, how would we capture the relevant information to send the follow up emails? Must have unsubscribe system - automatically linked to database Hopefully this is included in the SAAS software we choose, or we can buy a customer relationship management (CRM) plug in Database: Emails will need to be linked to a back end database. I would hope that the SAAS product(s) we use will have a good inbuilt database which can help with our customer relationship management CRM going forward? we will track all sign up info, previous orders, current orders etc Ideally users will be able to see their previous orders (I assume so if we use one of the SAAS products listed earlier?) Blog The site must have a blog section, that allows for images and video. The Home page should also be able to take images and video. Forum: We should also have a Forum section that users can also search for specific topics related to our kits. To be discussed how the forum would work and who moderates etc. Social media: Must have twitter, facebook, pinterest integration Sign Up: Anyone will be able to browse the site without logging in, they must only sign up/log in when they go to make a purchase. When sign up occurs, we must capture some specific information (further info to be released to designer during the process), which relates to the kit they are buying. Tracking Pixels: we will need some tracking pixels for CPA marketing, some minor but ongoing help with these may be needed particularly at the start when we’re setting up facebook advertising, adwords etc.