Common operational pitfalls for e-commerce companies – and how to avoid them

A question that’s asked when customers don’t have enough information about their order’s status is: “Where is my order?” or WISMO. According to Chart Attack (November 2025), between 50% and 70% of customer service enquiries in e-commerce are related to order status.

Why does it matter?

Without post-purchase visibility, customers feel lost. This leads to uncertainty, repeated follow-ups with customer service, and a loss of trust.

How can you reduce it?

Through consistent order management, which means real-time stock updates, timely preparation and continuous communication at every stage.

What do you gain by reducing WISMO?

• Customers are 93% more likely to buy again after a great post-purchase experience
• 90% of customers value order tracking as much as the product itself: less uncertainty means more trust and greater loyalty (Source: Colombus Global Insights)

Your product goes viral! Great! But how do you successfully handle this?

Why does it matter?

When demand soars, if stock isn’t updated in real time, you can risk overselling, which means you’re promising more than you can deliver. It can lead to operational bottlenecks and delays… and friction with customers.

How can you meet viral demand?

1. Keep your inventory synchronised.
   When demand spikes and inventory isn’t updated in real time, brands end up selling more stock than they can actually fulfil.
2. Keep your operations capacity flexible.
   When you do have a viral success, if your operational capacity is flexible, you will be able to absorb this situation and manage customer orders successfully.
3. Ensure nobody’s asking ‘WISMO?’
   Inform your customers of the status of their orders to maintain brand loyalty and trust.

What do you gain by handling viral demand successfully?

Repeat customers! 85% of consumers would stop buying from a brand after late deliveries or poor delivery experiences (source: Ipsos).

Integration debt occurs when a company has incomplete, manual or poorly connected integrations between systems such as their ERP, e-commerce platform, inventory management system (IMS), warehouse management system (WMS), payment system and others.

Why does it matter?

1. Impact on efficiency: slow processes and rework.
2. Risk to customer experience: every failure affects timelines, inventory accuracy and service quality.
3. More growth can create more friction: as your operations scale, lack of integration becomes more evident.

How can you reduce it?

Assess your current and any new systems and determine how they can be integrated both in the immediate term, and with a longer-term view that aligns with your company’s strategic goals. A professional logistics partner will advise and assist you, ensuring the transition is smooth and avoids downtime.

What do you gain by reducing or eliminating integration debt?

In e-commerce operations, a well-integrated fulfilment network ensures that inventory, orders and deliveries flow seamlessly – without relying on patches or manual tasks.

You’re futureproofing your operations, creating a solid foundation on which you can continue to build.

Ask yourself these questions:

1. Do your customers know where their orders are – or do they ask “WISMO”?
2. Is viral demand driving sales – or is it causing stockouts and overselling?
3. Are your systems integrated – or are they a patchwork of platforms that don’t talk to each other?

To ensure your logistics are as healthy as possible, partner with a professional logistics provider who can transform your logistics operations.

DHL Fulfilment Network provides an array of services from warehousing, pick-and-pack, shipping and returns. But here’s the crucial part: this is all in a scalable model, meaning you just pay for the services you use, and can scale up and down to meet the demands of peak season, new product launches, volatile market conditions and more. Now viral demand becomes a celebration, not a headache!

We also provide advanced inventory insights, meaning you have access to information about your inventory levels, by location, in an intuitive dashboard that means you can make data-driven decisions. This gives you end-to-end visibility, helping you manage viral demand and keep customers updated.

And integration with DHL Fulfilment Network is straightforward. When onboarding with us, customers comment on how smoothly and quickly this happens with no disruption to everyday business. It’s plug and play!

Scaling up into new territories is also easy. Do you want to start selling your products in another country? Then look no further than DHL Fulfilment Network, as our global network of warehouses is waiting for you: store your stock in multiple locations close to your end consumers, to keep your last-mile costs, timelines and emissions down.

Are you ready to take the next step with DHL Fulfilment Network? If you’re shipping upwards of 1,500 orders a month, talk to your in-country expert today and give your e-commerce fulfilment the health boost it deserves!