Launch Operations
Part of DTC launch operations
Preparing a support plan for the first order surge
Estimate launch enquiries, assign support and escalation owners, and give paid customers accurate updates when orders need attention.
Estimate likely launch enquiries, then assign an owner and backup to each incoming case. Agree how urgent problems reach someone who can act. The immediate aim is to answer paid customers accurately while stock and dispatch status change quickly.
Size the work from the order plan
Start with the range of orders the team plans to accept. List questions each stage could generate: fit and contents, payment or address trouble, stock changes, dispatch status, delivery exceptions, damage and returns. Use relevant prior contact data if available. Otherwise, label the expected contact rate as an assumption and plan for a higher-contact case.
Allow time to investigate as well as reply. A tracking question may require an order check, packer confirmation or carrier enquiry. Assign backup when the usual owner is packing or unavailable. Base any public response-time promise on the hours and staffing actually arranged.
Key support metrics for launch readiness
- Expected contact rate
- Assume higher than historical data; plan for surge
- Response time promise
- Based on actual staffing and availability
- Escalation path coverage
- All critical issues assigned to decision owners
Give support verified order facts
Support needs access to the current product version, page terms, stock state, order record, dispatch events and earlier customer messages. Prepare short answer guides for common questions, but check the individual order before using them.
| Enquiry | First check | Route |
|---|---|---|
| Can I change this order? | Payment and packing stage | Order operations |
| Is my item available? | Sellable stock and existing commitments | Stock owner |
| Where is my parcel? | Last verified handover or carrier event | Dispatch or carrier contact |
| Item is wrong or faulty | Order, product version and customer's account | Support with remedy authority |
| Possible safety concern | Item, version or batch and reported risk | Product safety owner promptly |
Assign actual people and decision authority before opening the store. If a product may be unsafe, escalate immediately for an assessment of sales, affected customers and any applicable recall or reporting duties.
Escalation paths for key support issues
- Can I change this order?
- Order operations – only before payment or packing stage
- Is my item available?
- Stock owner – check sellable stock and commitments
- Where is my parcel?
- Dispatch or carrier contact – verify last handover or tracking event
- Item is wrong or faulty
- Support with remedy authority – assess under consumer guarantees
- Possible safety concern
- Product safety owner – escalate immediately for risk assessment
Triage exceptions and keep cases moving
Prioritise possible safety issues and paid-order problems. For each case, record the customer's report, the last verified fact, the next action, its owner and the next update time. If supply timing is at risk, tell affected customers what is known and what options are available.
Give staff a route for consumer-guarantee requests. Answer guides should help staff gather facts, record the issue and explain the next step, referring complex rights questions for appropriate advice.
Review open cases alongside accepted orders, available stock and dispatch capacity. Repeated questions about contents or size belong with the page owner; wrong-item reports belong with packing; a possible defect belongs with the product owner.
Keep each customer's case moving while the wider cause is investigated. Before increasing launch traffic, check that older paid-order cases still have owners and next update times.
