How We Automated a $2M E-commerce Business
When Lifestyle Electronics approached us, they were drowning in manual work.
$2M in annual revenue across Shopify, Lazada, and Shopee. 10,000+ orders per month. A team of 8 people working 12-hour days just to keep up with basic operations.
6 months later, they're processing 15,000+ orders monthly with the same team size, and the founder takes weekends off.
Here's exactly how we did it.
The Situation: Chaos Disguised as Growth
The Numbers
- Revenue: $2M annually across 3 platforms
- Order volume: 10,000+ monthly, growing 20% each quarter
- Team: 8 people (2 warehouse, 3 customer service, 2 admin, 1 manager)
- Platforms: Shopify (main store), Lazada, Shopee
- Product range: Consumer electronics, 500+ SKUs
The Pain Points
- Inventory sync nightmares: Overselling on Lazada, understocking on Shopify
- Customer service chaos: Same questions asked 100+ times daily
- Order routing confusion: Wrong items shipped, delays, angry customers
- Financial reporting hell: 3 days to generate basic reports
- Supplier communication: Manual emails, missed restock deadlines
The Automation Strategy: Systems Over People
Instead of adding more people, we built systems that scale.
Phase 1: Inventory & Order Management (Month 1-2)
The Problem: Selling the same item on 3 platforms with no real-time sync.
The Solution: Multi-platform inventory orchestration
Technical Implementation:
- Central Inventory Hub (Airtable)
- Master SKU database
- Real-time stock levels
- Reorder points and supplier info
- Cost tracking and margin calculations
- Platform Sync System (n8n)
- Parallel updates to Shopify, Lazada, and Shopee APIs
- Slack notifications if any sync fails
- Real-time inventory updates across all platforms
- Smart Reordering (Zapier + n8n)
- Daily stock checks
- Automatic purchase order generation
- Supplier email automation
- Calendar reminders for follow-up
Results After 6 Weeks:
- Zero oversells across all platforms
- 90% reduction in manual inventory updates
- Supplier orders automated (saved 8 hours/week)
- Real-time visibility into stock levels
Phase 2: Customer Service Automation (Month 2-3)
The Problem: 200+ daily customer inquiries, 80% repetitive questions.
The Solution: Intelligent query routing with automated responses.
Technical Implementation:
- Smart Chatbot (Chatfuel + Zapier)
- Handles 15 most common questions automatically
- Order status lookups via API
- Returns/exchange process automation
- Escalates complex issues to humans
- Email Automation (Gmail + n8n)
- AI classification of incoming emails
- Auto-responses for order inquiries
- Automatic return form sending
- Smart routing to specialists
Results After 8 Weeks:
- 70% of customer inquiries handled automatically
- Average response time: 2 minutes (was 4 hours)
- Customer service team focus on complex issues only
- CSAT score improved from 3.2 to 4.6
Phase 3: Order Processing & Fulfillment (Month 3-4)
The Problem: Manual order routing, frequent shipping errors, no priority system.
The Solution: Intelligent order orchestration with automatic routing.
Results After 10 Weeks:
- Shipping errors reduced by 85%
- Average fulfillment time: 4 hours (was 24 hours)
- Automated carrier selection saves $2,000/month
- Priority orders identified and processed first
The Results: Numbers Don't Lie
Operational Improvements
- Order processing time: 4 hours (was 24 hours)
- Customer response time: 2 minutes (was 4 hours)
- Inventory accuracy: 99.8% (was 85%)
- Shipping errors: 0.2% (was 3.5%)
Financial Impact
- Cost savings: $8,000/month in labor
- Revenue increase: 40% (better inventory = more sales)
- Profit margin improvement: 12% (better carrier selection + reduced errors)
- ROI on automation: 400% in first year
Your Implementation Roadmap
Want to replicate this success? Here's your step-by-step guide:
Month 1: Foundation
- Audit current processes
- Clean up product/inventory data
- Set up central inventory system
- Implement basic platform sync
Month 2: Customer Service
- Document common customer questions
- Set up chatbot for basic inquiries
- Automate order status responses
- Train team on new tools
Month 3: Order Processing
- Map current fulfillment workflow
- Implement smart order routing
- Set up automated shipping
- Add exception handling
Want This for Your Business?
If you're running an e-commerce business in Malaysia and feeling overwhelmed by manual processes, we can help you implement a similar system.
What we offer:
- Free automation assessment (identify biggest opportunities)
- Custom implementation roadmap
- Hands-on technical implementation
- Team training and documentation
- Ongoing support and optimization
Book your free assessment: hello@digitalizeplus.com