Johannes Montag on the e-commerce department at PICARD: "A company within a company"

To be successful in e-commerce, companies need a department that takes care of this sales channel with all its tasks and processes. That's why we're interested in how the e-commerce department is structured at well-known companies. How does the work within the department function? And what might the development of the department look like? Johannes Montag, Head of E-Commerce at PICARD, reveals in an interview how things work at the well-known leather goods manufacturer and has some exciting tips for other e-commerce managers.

Sarah: How is your e-commerce department structured? How many employees does it have, and what roles or job positions are represented?

Johannes: There is a Head of E-Commerce who is also responsible for digital marketing and reports directly to the CEO. So far, there are no other hierarchical structures within the department. The team includes two people for marketing, one person for CRM/email, a content manager, one person for the online shop, two people for marketplaces, as well as working students and trainees.

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Sarah: What are the criteria for selecting new employees? What skills do they need to have?

Johannes: It depends on the position. For junior positions, I really only require soft skills. People need to be personable, fit into the team, and have good self-learning skills. We'll teach them the technical stuff. For more senior positions, a certain level of technical expertise naturally plays a greater role.

Sarah: What are the main tasks of the e-commerce department and what challenges do you face in your day-to-day work?

Johannes: For us, it's a business within a business. It starts with setting up interfaces, continues with merchandise planning for marketplaces and online shops, and digital marketing, and extends to customer service. Since we work with our own online capsule collections, we are even involved in product management.

Sarah: What are the criteria for selecting new employees? What skills do they need to have?

Johannes: It depends on the position. For junior positions, I really only require soft skills. People need to be personable, fit into the team, and have good self-learning skills. We'll teach them the technical stuff. For more senior positions, a certain level of technical expertise naturally plays a greater role.

Sarah: Which other departments within the company does the e-commerce department mainly interact with? Where are the interfaces?

Johannes: In principle, with everyone. This is due to the aforementioned "company within a company." We have connections everywhere. The most intensive exchange is probably with the other sales departments to coordinate B2B and B2C.

Sarah: How has your e-commerce department developed over the years? What changes have there been, for example, and what important insights have you gained from them?

Johannes: The department has only been around for two years, so there is hardly any historical background. However, it can be said that we are operating at a pace that is significantly above average, which naturally leads to occasional friction in internal processes. This is only possible because we are willing to take on tasks that are not traditionally associated with a sales department. However, this willingness must be present if one wants to operate as the much-cited "speedboat."

What has definitely changed with the addition of marketplaces (especially international ones) is that merchandise planning now takes up significantly more space. If you use marketplace fulfillment (which is always beneficial for sales) and are listed on Zalando, Amazon, AboutYou, and others, for example, you quickly have to stock six to seven warehouses. This is very difficult for people without much logistics experience.

Sarah: In your opinion, what is the most important thing for building and developing a successful e-commerce department? What are the factors for success? And what is perhaps the biggest challenge?

Johannes: The same as in all other departments: empathetic leadership that strikes a good balance between performance-oriented thinking and humanity. In e-commerce, everything is measurable, so you should do that and develop yourself as a result. However, this should not put the team under pressure. If you give the team enough space and freedom to make decisions, this will translate into good outcomes.

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The biggest difficulty in recent years has been finding good people for the digital sector. However, this is becoming less of an issue due to the massive layoffs. In long-established traditional companies, the biggest challenge remains initiating or maintaining change in the minds of people and the board. In retail in particular, digital advances made during the coronavirus pandemic are increasingly being reversed, and digital projects for the future are being scrapped because brick-and-mortar stores are back. We must not let up here, even if year-over-year sales are now stagnating after the boom years.

Sarah: Finally, do you have any ultimate tips regarding e-commerce departments that you would like to share with other e-commerce managers?

Johannes: Don't get too hung up on only hiring people with in-depth expertise. E-commerce hasn't been around for very long, and by definition, almost all of us are career changers. I would also advise companies to look into hiring trainees as e-commerce specialists as soon as possible. It's an important investment in the future.

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