UK Shopify Support & Maintenance + Initial Data Fixing Project

# Request for Proposal (RFP) There are two Tasks listed below. Both are required by the successful bidder **Task 1** is an ongoing Shopify maintenance service **Task 2** is an initial project to fix the Shopify records of approximately 2000 products. ## Task 1: Ongoing Service: Shopify Ecommerce Support, Maintenance and Product Management Services ### 1. Introduction A UK eCommerce business invites proposals from suitably qualified service providers to provide ongoing support, maintenance, and operational assistance for our UK-based Shopify ecommerce store specialising in plumbing and heating supplies. The objective is to establish a long-term partnership with a service provider capable of supporting the growth of the business while offering a commercially viable service model during the store's current low-volume trading phase. ### 2. Background - Platform: Shopify - Market: Plumbing and heating supplies - Customer Base: UK only. In store pickup only in first phase (existing shop trade counter) - Status: The shop is internally live and 95% complete. DNS records have not yet been enabled - Product Catalogue: Approximately 2,000 products are live on the shop - Status: Product and Collection data require fixes - see separate note - Product Catalogue: Data exists for an additional 100,000 products that are not needed right now - Current Trading Volume: Low to moderate - Expected Growth: Gradual increase in product range, transactions, and operational requirements over time - Stock: Is held locally in the physical shop (trade counter) - Stock & price is currently managed by the local manager The successful bidder will work alongside our internal shop management team to maintain and improve the operation of the ecommerce platform. ### 3. Contract Objectives The selected provider will: - Provide day-to-day operational support for the Shopify store. - Assist with product and catalogue management. - Support internal staff in the use of Shopify tools and functionality. - Assist with promotions and merchandising activities. - Provide reporting assistance and minor reporting enhancements. - Act as a reliable long-term support partner as the business grows. ### 4. Scope of Services ### 4.1 Product Management The provider shall: - With the shop manager, add new products to the Shopify catalogue. - Update and maintain product specifications and attributes. - Manage product categorisation and collections. - Upload and maintain product images and supporting documentation where supplied. - Monitor catalogue consistency and identify data quality issues. - Assist with bulk product updates. ### 4.2 Pricing and Inventory Support The provider shall: - Assist the onsite shop manager with occasional bulk price changes. - Assist with bulk stock level updates from good received from suppliers. - Support imports and exports using Shopify tools and approved applications. - Advise on efficient methods for managing large-scale catalogue changes. ### 4.3 Shopify Administration Support The provider shall: - Provide guidance and assistance to shop managers using Shopify. - Support the use of Shopify admin functions and workflows. - Answer operational questions and provide best-practice recommendations. - Assist with troubleshooting routine store management issues. ### 4.4 Merchandising and Promotions The provider shall: - Assist with updating featured products. - Assist with creating and maintaining collections. - Support the setup of small-scale promotional campaigns. - Configure discount codes and promotional pricing when required. - Assist with homepage merchandising activities. ### 4.5 Reporting The provider shall: - Assist with the creation of new reports. - Modify existing reports. - Provide recommendations for useful management reporting. - Support data extraction and analysis where required. ### 4.6 Technical Support and Maintenance The provider shall: - Monitor store performance and identify issues. - Assist with Shopify configuration changes. - Support app configuration and maintenance. - Troubleshoot operational issues affecting the store. - Provide advice regarding Shopify updates and new functionality. The scope excludes major redesign projects, custom application development, ERP integrations, or significant platform migrations unless separately agreed. ### 5. Service Requirements ### 5.1 Single Point of Contact Preference will be given to bidders able to provide: - A dedicated account manager or primary contact. - Consistent personnel familiar with the business. - Clear escalation procedures. ### 5.2 Communication The provider must: - Demonstrate excellent written and spoken English. - Be capable of communicating effectively with non-technical staff. - Participate in scheduled review meetings as required. ### 5.3 Service Levels Bidders should propose: - Standard business hours coverage. - Response times for support requests. - Escalation procedures. - Availability for urgent operational issues. ### 6. Commercial Requirements ### 6.1 Pricing Model The business is currently in an early growth phase with relatively low transaction volumes. Bidders are requested to propose pricing structures that recognise the current scale of operations while allowing support levels to increase as the business grows. Preferred commercial models may include: - Fixed monthly retainer with defined hours. - Pay-as-you-go support. - Tiered support packages based on monthly effort. - Hybrid models combining retained and ad-hoc support. Proposals should clearly identify: - Monthly fees. - Hourly rates. - Minimum commitments. - Charges for work outside agreed service levels. - Any onboarding or setup costs. ### 6.2 Scalability Bidders should explain how their services and pricing can scale as: - Product volumes increase. - Order volumes increase. - Additional Shopify functionality is adopted. - Reporting requirements become more complex. ### 7. Bidder Qualifications Bidders should demonstrate: - Proven Shopify support experience. - Experience managing ecommerce product catalogues. - Experience supporting retail or trade supply businesses. - Familiarity with bulk product management processes. - Knowledge of Shopify reporting and analytics. - Strong customer service capabilities. The following are desirable: - Experience within plumbing, heating, building supplies, or trade distribution sectors. - Experience supporting Shopify stores with 1,000+ products. - Experience with Shopify Plus (if applicable). ### 8. Proposal Submission Requirements Proposals should include: ### Company Information - Company overview. - Years in business. - Number of Shopify specialists employed. - Relevant certifications and partnerships. ### Relevant Experience - Description of similar Shopify support engagements. - Examples of ecommerce stores supported. - References from existing clients. ### Service Delivery Model - Proposed support approach. - Team structure. - Named account manager (if applicable). - Escalation procedures. ### Pricing - Detailed pricing schedule. - Assumptions and exclusions. - Optional service packages. ### Implementation - Onboarding approach. - Knowledge transfer process. - Estimated transition timeline. ### 9. Contract Term The anticipated contract term is: - Initial term: 12 months - Renewable annually by mutual agreement The intention is to establish a long-term relationship with a trusted support partner. ### ## Task 2: Initial Product Catalogue Rationalisation and Data Cleansing Project In addition to the ongoing support and maintenance services described in this RFP, the business requires an initial one-off project to review, cleanse and rationalise the existing Shopify product catalogue. ### Current Environment The business currently operates: - Shopify as the ecommerce platform. - EPOS Now as the primary point-of-sale (POS) system used within the physical store. - Approximately 2,000 corresponding products maintained within EPOS Now. - The same 2,000 active products synchronised and published to Shopify through a Shopify plug-in. EPOS Now currently acts as the master source for: - SKU - Product Title - Selling Price - Stock Levels All in-store sales are processed through EPOS Now and these core data elements are maintained by the shop management team. The business's long-term objective is to migrate fully from EPOS Now to Shopify, with Shopify becoming the primary platform for both online and in-store trading. ### Existing Synchronisation Process A third-party integration (Wrightway Digital) is currently used to synchronise data between EPOS Now and Shopify. The intended design is that products are matched using SKU values, with stock levels and pricing synchronised from EPOS Now into Shopify. However, historical data quality issues within EPOS Now have resulted in a significant number of products having missing, incomplete or inconsistent SKU values. As a consequence, the synchronisation process has in many cases created new Shopify product records instead of updating existing products, resulting in duplicate and, in some cases, multiple Shopify records representing the same product. ### Required Initial Project The successful bidder will be required to undertake a detailed review of the existing Shopify catalogue and propose a methodology for correcting the product data. This is expected to include: - Reviewing approximately 2,000 live Shopify products. - Identifying duplicate product records. - Identifying products that should be merged into a single master product record. - Consolidating product information where data is distributed across multiple Shopify records. - Correcting SKU inconsistencies. - Correcting product categorisation and collection assignments. - Reviewing product titles, descriptions and specifications for consistency. - Ensuring products are correctly configured for future synchronisation. - Identifying obsolete or redundant records for removal or archiving. - Producing a documented approach and progress reporting throughout the exercise. In some cases, the information required to create a complete product record may be spread across two or three separate Shopify products and will need to be consolidated into a single accurate product record. ### Future Synchronisation Requirements Following completion of the catalogue rationalisation project, the business intends that: - Shopify will become the master repository for product content and ecommerce information. - EPOS Now will continue to manage stock levels and pricing until a future migration is completed. - Synchronisation (by SKU) from EPOS Now should be limited to: - Stock Levels - Selling Prices The successful bidder may be asked to review and recommend improvements to the existing integration configuration to support this objective. ### Proposal Requirements Bidders should provide: - A proposed methodology for completing the catalogue review and remediation exercise. - Estimated effort, assumptions and timescales. - Any tools or processes they would use to identify and resolve duplicate products. - Examples of similar catalogue cleansing or migration projects completed previously. - Recommended approach for maintaining data integrity between Shopify and EPOS Now during and after the remediation project. Further technical information and sample data can be provided to shortlisted suppliers during the procurement process.