E-commerce Outsourcing

Last updated: November 11, 2026

Selling online means running many functions at once: marketplace accounts, the product catalog, orders and returns, customer service, product content and digital marketing. Few brands can staff all of them in-house at the right level, and volumes swing with every campaign. 360 Soft provides dedicated outsourced teams for e-commerce companies, from a single specialist to a complete multi-function team of 1 to 200+ people, working remotely, on site or in a hybrid model from Istanbul.

Here we describe who the service suits, the problems specific to e-commerce, which functions can be outsourced, a typical team structure, the rules to observe, the operational differences between your own web shop and marketplaces, working and contract models, process steps, KPIs, pricing factors, a comparison, risks and a vendor checklist. If you only need the day-to-day order, catalog and returns routine, see our dedicated e-commerce operations outsourcing page.

Who is it for?

E-commerce outsourcing suits companies that want to grow sales without growing a large internal organisation:

D2C brands running their own web shop on Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento or a custom platform.
Marketplace sellers on Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Noon, Trendyol or Hepsiburada who need channel specialists.
Retailers moving online that have stores and ERP but no digital operations team.
Cross-border sellers needing multilingual content and customer service for several countries.
Agencies and e-commerce enablers that need white-label operations capacity for their clients.

Problems specific to e-commerce

E-commerce teams run into the same constraints again and again:

Volume peaks around campaigns and holidays, followed by quiet periods that make fixed headcount expensive.
Every marketplace has different rules, panels and performance scores.
Product data is incomplete or inconsistent across channels.
Customer questions arrive on many channels: marketplace messages, email, chat, WhatsApp and social media.
Marketing, content and operations compete for the same few people.
Customers expect answers and shipping within hours, including evenings and weekends.

Which e-commerce functions can be outsourced?

Each function can be outsourced alone or combined under one contract and one team lead.

Function	Typical tasks	Technology / tools
Marketplace management	Store setup, listings, campaigns, performance scores, policy compliance	Amazon Seller Central, eBay, Etsy, Noon, Trendyol and Hepsiburada panels
Catalog management	Listing creation, attributes, variants, images, bulk feeds	PIM tools, feed managers, Excel/XML
Order and returns operations	Order confirmation, shipping handoffs, returns, refunds, exchanges	OMS, ERP, carrier portals
Customer service	Pre-sales and after-sales support on chat, email, phone, WhatsApp and social	Zendesk, Freshdesk, Gorgias, WhatsApp Business
Product content and design	Descriptions, SEO texts, banners, product images, short videos	CMS, Figma, Photoshop, Canva
Digital marketing support	Campaign set-up, feed optimisation, reporting, social media posts	Google Ads, Meta Ads, Merchant Center, analytics tools
Reporting and analytics	Sales, margin, returns and channel dashboards	Looker Studio, Power BI, Excel

Typical team structure by role

Role	Responsibility	Note
Marketplace specialist	Channel performance, listings and campaigns per marketplace	One specialist can cover 1–3 channels
Catalog specialist	Product data quality across channels	Works closely with your buying team
Order and returns specialist	Daily order flow and refunds	Knows carrier cut-offs
Customer service agent	Multichannel customer support	Language and tone matter
Content writer / designer	Product content, banners, images	Follows your brand guide
Performance marketing assistant	Campaign set-up and reporting under your strategy	Budget decisions stay with you
Team lead	Planning, quality, escalation, reporting	Single point of contact

Rules to observe in e-commerce

Because the team works from Turkey, our internal playbooks start from Turkish e-commerce law: Law No. 6563 on electronic commerce (commercial messages and consent records via İYS), registration in ETBİS, Consumer Protection Law No. 6502 and the Distance Contracts Regulation with its 14-day withdrawal right, and KVKK for customer data.

For your store the consumer and e-commerce rules of the countries you sell to apply as well, and they are built into the playbook during onboarding, for example the EU Consumer Rights Directive, the GPSR and the Omnibus price-reduction rules, UK consumer contract rules, US FTC rules on reviews and advertising, and consumer protection and e-commerce laws in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Marketplace policies add a further layer. We implement the rules you and your counsel confirm; we do not give legal advice.

Own web shop vs. marketplaces: operational differences

Operating your own store and selling on marketplaces look similar from the outside, but the daily work differs. The team structure is planned around these differences:

Topic	Own web shop	Marketplaces
Customer relationship	Yours, including data and marketing consent	Owned largely by the marketplace
Rules	Your policies within the law	Marketplace policies on top of the law
Performance pressure	Conversion rate, basket size	Seller scores, response deadlines, buy box
Content	Full control over layout and SEO	Fixed templates and attribute rules
Customer service	All channels, your tone	Marketplace messaging with strict time limits
Payments and returns	Your payment provider and return flow	Marketplace-managed processes

Working models

Model	How it works	When it fits in e-commerce
Remote	The team works from our Istanbul office or secure home setups with access to your systems via VPN or VDI	Marketplace, catalog, content and customer service work
On-site	Team members work at your premises under our supervision	Physical returns, photo studio work, warehouse coordination
Hybrid	Remote day-to-day work with scheduled on-site days	Peak seasons and the first weeks of a new channel

Service model	Definition	Example
Dedicated team	Named people working only for you, led by our team lead	Multichannel team for web shop and three marketplaces
Managed service	We own an agreed output with SLAs and reporting	All customer messages answered within agreed hours
Project	Defined scope, deliverables and deadline	Launch on a new marketplace or country
Capacity extension	Additional people for a defined period	Extra agents for Black Friday or Ramadan

Legal note for staffed engagements

Contract note for international buyers. We work under a B2B service agreement governed by a clear statement of work: the output, the SLA, the reporting cadence and the exit terms are written down before the team starts. The agreement includes an NDA, an IP assignment clause (all work product, templates, data and documentation created for you belong to you), and, wherever personal data is processed, a GDPR data processing agreement (Art. 28) with the EU Standard Contractual Clauses for transfers to Turkey, or the UK IDTA/Addendum for UK controllers. On the Turkish side processing also follows KVKK (Law No. 6698), including its cross-border transfer rules. Marketplace and shop access runs through individual user accounts with role-based rights, never shared passwords. Our people are employed by 360 Soft in Turkey, so payroll, social security and Turkish labour-law obligations stay with us; you buy a service, not employees.

Under Turkish law (Labour Law No. 4857) a service purchase has to be distinguished from subcontracting of core activities and from temporary agency work. We define the scope as an outcome-based service under our own supervision; for your side, local outsourcing rules apply and should be confirmed by your counsel.

Process steps and typical timelines

Step	Content	Typical duration
Discovery	Channels, volumes, tools, goals	1 week
Scope and proposal	Functions, roles, SLA, pricing	1 week
Contract	Service agreement, NDA, DPA	1 week
Team selection	Tests and interviews	Typically 1–2 weeks
Onboarding	Access, brand guide, playbooks	1 week
Ramp-up	Close review of output	2–4 weeks
Steady state	Weekly reports, monthly review	Ongoing

SLA and KPI examples

Area	KPI	Note
Customer service	First response time, resolution time, CSAT	Set per channel
Orders	Order-to-ship time, cancellation rate	Aligned with carrier cut-offs
Returns	Refund closure time	Within legal and marketplace deadlines
Catalog	Listing accuracy, time to list new products	Measured on samples
Marketplaces	Seller performance scores	Per marketplace definitions
Content	Assets delivered on time, revision rounds	Per asset type

Targets are agreed after a baseline period on your own data; we do not promise numbers before we have seen your processes.

Pricing factors

We do not publish standard prices. A quote is prepared after a discovery call, usually as a monthly fee per dedicated team member, an output-based fee, a hybrid model or a project fee. These factors drive it:

Factor	Effect
Number of functions	Single function vs. multifunction team
Channels and countries	Each marketplace or country adds rules and workload
Volume	Orders, messages and SKUs per month
Service hours	Business hours, extended hours or 7/24
Languages	English, Arabic, German and other languages
Work location	Remote, on-site or hybrid

Comparison: in-house, freelancer, outsourcing

Criterion	Your own staff	Freelancer	Outsourcing (360 Soft)
Time to start	Weeks to months of recruiting	Fast, availability varies	Typically 1–2 weeks
Scaling	Slow, fixed headcount	Possible, uneven quality	From 1 to 200+ people within one structure
Continuity	Depends on retention	Single point of failure	Replacement process included
Process documentation	Often informal	Rarely	SOPs and playbooks are part of the service
Management effort	All yours	High coordination effort	Team lead and reporting included
Data protection and control	Your own controls	Hard to enforce	NDA, DPA, access controls, audit trail

Risks and mitigations

Risk	Mitigation
Account suspension	Policy checklists, daily alert monitoring, escalation
Oversell and cancellations	Stock sync routines and checks
Inconsistent customer answers	Macros, tone guide, QA sampling
Peak overload	Capacity planned before campaigns
Data leakage	Individual accounts, least privilege, managed devices
Knowledge loss	Playbooks, backups, replacement process

Security, GDPR/KVKK, NDA and intellectual property

Customer and order data are personal data. Access is individual, role-based and logged, with MFA wherever platforms allow. The team uses company-managed devices, customer lists are not downloaded to local drives, and access is removed on the day someone leaves the account. All content, templates and reports created for you are assigned to you.

Vendor selection checklist

Can the vendor cover all your functions under one team lead?
Is there experience with your platforms and marketplaces?
Are individual accounts and role permissions used?
Is a GDPR DPA with SCCs (or UK IDTA) offered, and is KVKK covered?
Is IP for content and designs assigned to you?
Is peak-season capacity agreed in writing?
Are SLAs measurable in your own tools?
Is there a replacement process and an exit clause?

Illustrative scenario: a brand selling on three marketplaces

Illustrative scenario – not a client case. A cosmetics brand sells on its own web shop and three marketplaces in two countries. Marketing is handled in-house, but customer messages, listings and returns are falling behind. A possible setup: two marketplace specialists split the channels, a catalog specialist harmonises product data, three multilingual customer service agents cover extended hours, and a designer produces campaign banners. A team lead reports weekly on response times, cancellations and return reasons, and extra agents are added for the holiday season.

Frequently asked questions

Which e-commerce tasks can be outsourced?

Marketplace management, catalog management, order and returns operations, customer service, product content and design, digital marketing support and reporting.

Can we combine several functions under one contract?

Yes. Many clients combine functions under one service agreement with one team lead and one report.

Can you staff a team for peak seasons only?

Yes, seasonal capacity is possible, ideally added to a core team so that playbooks and quality stay consistent.

Do you provide customer service in English and Arabic?

Yes, we build teams for English, Arabic, German and other languages depending on your markets.

Do you manage our advertising budget?

We support campaign set-up and reporting under your strategy. Budget and strategic decisions stay with you.

Which platforms do you work with?

Common web shop platforms such as Shopify, WooCommerce and Magento, and marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Noon, Trendyol and Hepsiburada.

Which consumer rules does the team follow?

The rules of each country you sell to plus marketplace policies, confirmed with you during onboarding. Our internal baseline reflects Turkish e-commerce law.

How quickly can we start?

A typical start is 1–2 weeks after the scope is agreed.

What if a team member leaves?

Our replacement process provides a new trained person, and documented playbooks keep the work running.

How is pricing determined?

By functions, channels, volume, hours, languages and location. We quote after a discovery call.

Plan your e-commerce team with us

Tell us your channels, countries and volumes and we will propose functions, roles, SLAs and a pricing model. Call or WhatsApp us on +90 850 335 10 87, write to info@360-soft.com, message us directly on WhatsApp, or use the form on our contact page. 360 Soft Marketing Yazılım ve Danışmanlık Ltd. Şti., Nidakule Ataşehir Batı, Barbaros Mah. Begonya Sk. No:1 D:2, 34746 Ataşehir/İstanbul.

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