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Case Study
From Fragmented Global Teams to a Scalable E-commerce Operating System
Problem: Scaling Operations
Company
BikeExchange
Industry
Global E-commerce
Problem
Regional e-commerce performance was inconsistent and declining. Knowledge lived in one high-performing team but was never documented or shared globally.
What we built
- • Global e-commerce operating standard from top-performing team
- • Capability-based hiring framework across regions
- • Searchable knowledge hub with recorded workflows
- • Global operating cadence with performance visibility
Outcome
- ✔ E-commerce standards replicated across regions
- ✔ New hire onboarding reduced to approximately one week
- ✔ Underperforming roles redeployed or replaced
- ✔ Leadership gained clear visibility into operational performance
The Situation
Where things stood
Bike Exchange, a global online marketplace connecting retailers with consumers had recently secured a major funding round and was under pressure to accelerate growth.
However, performance across several key regions, particularly Australia and the United States, was inconsistent and in some cases declining.
Historically, the platform had generated most of its revenue through advertising packages sold to retailers listing products on the marketplace.
But as digital advertising trends shifted, retailers were spending less on banner placements and promotional visibility.
The company needed to transition toward stronger e-commerce sales performance.
Several symptoms were becoming clear:
• Sales performance varied dramatically between regions
• Some regions struggled to grow marketplace transactions
• Teams lacked clarity on how e-commerce should actually be executed
• Roles were filled by passionate enthusiasts rather than experienced e-commerce operators
• Leadership was under pressure to hire expensive executives to "fix growth"
At first glance, the issue appeared to be a leadership gap.
But when we analysed how the business actually operated, it became clear the problem was different.
There was no consistent operating system for e-commerce execution across the company.
The Bottleneck
What was actually in the way
One region was performing extremely well.
The team in that region had developed a strong e-commerce capability with:
• clear processes
• operational discipline
• team members with the right skills
However, this success was not being replicated globally.
Key problems included:
• their knowledge was not documented
• their processes were not shared across regions
• other teams were effectively "figuring it out as they went"
• hiring decisions were made without a clear definition of required capabilities
The organisation had islands of excellence, but no way to replicate them.
Instead of hiring expensive executives to diagnose the problem months later, we took a different approach.
We reverse-engineered what was already working inside the business.
The Fix
What we built
Working closely with the high-performing regional team, we mapped the full e-commerce operating system that was driving their success.
1. Process Mapping
We documented how the successful team actually operated.
This included mapping how they:
• managed product listings
• worked with retailers on the platform
• optimised marketplace sales
• prioritised marketing channels
• structured day-to-day operational workflows
This created a clear picture of what effective e-commerce execution looked like.
2. Defining the Global Standard
Next, we translated those practices into a global operating standard.
This included defining:
• standardised processes
• clear role definitions
• required capabilities for each role
• hiring criteria for new team members
This created a shared definition of what "good" e-commerce performance looked like across the organisation.
3. Global Hiring Framework
Using the new operating standards, we created clear hiring profiles.
The high-performing regional team helped interview and recruit candidates for other regions.
This ensured new hires matched the actual operational requirements of the business, rather than relying on generic job descriptions.
4. Knowledge Capture and Knowledge Hub
To avoid endless cross-time-zone training sessions, we introduced a structured knowledge capture system.
Team members simply recorded themselves while performing important workflows using screen recording and voice narration.
These recordings were automatically:
• transcribed
• structured
• stored in a searchable knowledge hub
New hires could instantly access the exact process they needed without waiting for training sessions.
5. Global Operating Cadence
Finally, we introduced a consistent operating rhythm across regions.
This included:
• monthly performance tracking
• quarterly goal setting
• clear onboarding milestones
• visibility into progress across regions
This created alignment across the global organisation.
Tool Layer
The tools supporting the operating system were deliberately simple.
15Five
• goal setting and performance tracking
• monthly and quarterly accountability
• visibility across global teams
Screen recording and transcription tools
• capturing operational knowledge
• documenting workflows directly from team members
Searchable knowledge hub
• central repository of role-specific knowledge
• fast onboarding support for new hires
The tools enabled the operating system — they did not replace it.
The Outcome
What changed
- ✔E-commerce standards replicated across regions
- ✔Hiring accelerated with clearly defined skill requirements
- ✔Onboarding time dropped to approximately one week
- ✔Underperforming roles redeployed or replaced
- ✔Leadership gained clear visibility into operational performance
- ✔Clear path to transition from advertising to e-commerce revenue
The Human Payoff
What it actually meant
The biggest change wasn't just operational, it was human.
Before the changes:
• high-performing teams were constantly pulled into late-night training sessions
• new hires struggled to understand expectations
• leadership felt uncertain about how to scale execution
Once the operating system was in place:
• knowledge could be accessed instantly instead of repeatedly explained
• new hires gained confidence quickly
• hiring and performance decisions became objective and fair
• leadership could focus on strategy instead of firefighting
Instead of operating as disconnected regional teams, the organisation now had a shared operating system that allowed teams around the world to execute with clarity and momentum.