Unifying a tech stack on an international scale presents exciting opportunities and unique challenges. Success requires thoughtful planning, collaboration across borders, and a clear balance of global consistency with local differentiation. Here are the practical steps to consider when scaling commerce projects internationally.
Unified Ways of Working
The countries in which you are working to launch are likely all used to working independently. Take a look at investing heavily upfront in determining your business’s new ways of working as an international organization. Ask where things need to be flexible and where things should be standardized. For example, Canada, the US, and Mexico probably have their own IT and business teams. Identify the new business structure these organizations will follow, who will run which piece(s) of your new tech stack and how, and work consistently toward that goal in your project plan.
Launch in Low Risk Locals
Best practice when planning a first international implementation is pinpointing your lowest risk launch. “Lowest risk” may mean launching in a country that requires the least amount of iteration on your base market, has the lowest current revenue, is the most straightforward implementation, or whatever your business sets the bar to be. Once that is established, plan to add new capabilities such as Wish Lists and Subscriptions, or other features your base market offers. The goal is to use this first launch as a way to learn about future launches in other countries where the environment is higher risk.
Measure Twice, Build Once
Odds are, your base market is well-established by the time you’re looking at launching internationally. Build on that foundation rather than requiring developers to build, say, Ratings and Reviews, for each different country. Can your US branch quickly deploy Ratings and Reviews with some minor modifications for Mexico instead? Optimize the work so you’re not wasting it building things three or more times, and your speed to market and time to value will increase.
Identify Flexible Vendors
Overall, you want to be sure your vendors can support multi-cultural preferences, multiple languages, and multiple currencies. Two vendors you’ll want to consider specifically for these features are payment providers and content management systems (CMSs).
Payment options vary across countries; the payment options we use in the US are different from our neighboring country, Mexico. Keep in mind that some cultures are still quite cash-heavy and consider how that affects, for example, delivery and pickup amenities. Choosing a flexible payment provider that allows you all the options you require will better serve an international launch.
The same goes for the ability to generate content. Every culture celebrates a different set of holidays and has its own set of marketing strategies. A Fourth of July sale might entice US buyers, while customers in Canada would prefer to see their favorite items on sale for Boxing Day. A well-featured CMS will allow each country to shop for products in the way they prefer.
Composable Commerce Makes Launching Internationally Easier
As businesses expand across borders, composable’s inherent flexibility and scalability serve international launches well. It offers the agility to tailor experiences for each unique market while maintaining a unified tech stack foundation. Aries Solutions has experience scaling commerce projects internationally. Let us turn your global ambitions into measurable success!