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Beyond operational improvements — strategic decision-making support for your EC business
"Channel-level revenue is growing, but the business as a whole isn't profitable." "We don't know how to structure our EC division." "We want to reduce marketplace dependency, but can't commit to investing in our own EC platform." — Once an EC business reaches a certain scale, management challenges emerge that operational improvements alone cannot resolve. Traditional management consulting firms lack e-commerce operational expertise. EC consulting firms excel at operational optimization but rarely engage with strategic business decisions. Meets Consulting is led by a certified SME management consultant (Chusho Kigyo Shindanshi) and former top Amazon consultant, making us uniquely positioned to confront the strategic challenges of EC businesses head-on. With over 200 EC engagements, hands-on EC storefront operations through our group companies, and our designation as a Certified Support Organization equipped to develop business plans and secure government grants, we deliver comprehensive executive-level support.
EC revenue is growing, but the profit contribution to the overall business remains unclear
Unable to determine optimal investment allocation across Amazon, Rakuten, and proprietary EC channels
Uncertain whether the EC division's organizational structure (staffing, hiring, outsourcing balance) is optimal
High marketplace dependency with desire to shift toward proprietary EC or D2C, but unable to commit
Need to develop a mid-term plan (3-5 years) for the EC business, but lack internal expertise
Monthly revenue has plateaued between JPY 10M and 30M
Seeking an objective assessment of whether to exit, downsize, or divest the EC business
Want to use government subsidies for EC investments, but unsure which programs apply
Lack a framework for presenting EC business performance to the executive board
If any of these resonate, let's talk.
Get Free ConsultationWhen you consult a traditional management consulting firm, their lack of EC operational knowledge often results in surface-level recommendations such as "the market is growing, so invest in EC" or "D2C is trending, so build your own platform." Conversely, EC consulting firms focus on operational improvements — "optimize your RPP bids" or "improve product page CVR" — without addressing investment decisions or organizational design.
The CEO of Meets Consulting is a certified SME management consultant and former top Amazon consultant. Having supported over 200 EC businesses and directly operating EC storefronts through our group companies, we combine rigorous business analysis with hands-on operational expertise. The ability to project "how much to invest in a given channel, and when and how much return to expect" based on actual operational data — this is only possible because we understand both business strategy and EC operations.
In many organizations, the EC division is treated as a revenue generator that is simultaneously perceived as a cost center. Advertising costs, logistics costs, labor costs, tool subscriptions — when the cost structure of the EC business isn't properly communicated to executive leadership, the question "Is our EC business actually profitable?" lingers unanswered, and investment decisions are perpetually deferred.
Meets Consulting provides a framework to fully visualize EC business costs and clearly quantify the EC division's contribution within the company's overall P&L. We design KPI dashboards for board meetings, conduct quantitative ROI analysis, and perform comparative analysis against other channels (retail stores, wholesale).
The most critical challenge in management consulting is "an impressive strategy deck that never gets implemented." Bridging the gap between strategy and execution requires the team that develops the strategy to also execute it.
Beneath our strategic consulting team, Meets Consulting houses specialist teams in advertising, page design, CRM, logistics optimization, and AI integration. Strategy formulation, tactical planning, execution, performance measurement, and strategy refinement — this entire cycle is completed within a single organization.
EC consulting typically operates under the assumption that the goal is revenue growth. However, not every EC business should scale. Channel consolidation, market withdrawal, business divestiture (M&A), integration with other entities — Meets Consulting provides objective evaluation and advisory for "exit" decisions in EC business management, free of conflicts of interest.
"Should we scale, or should we exit?" — delivering this honest assessment requires deep trust with the client. With the judgment honed through 200+ engagements and the integrity of being EC operators ourselves, we support executive decision-making with candor.
The CEO of Meets Consulting holds the national certification as a Chusho Kigyo Shindanshi (SME Management Consultant), and the firm is designated as a Certified Support Organization (Keiei Kakushin-to Shien Kikan). We support business plan development, loan application assistance for financial institutions, and government grant application support.
Numerous government grants are available for EC business investment, including the Business Restructuring Grant, IT Introduction Grant, Manufacturing Grant, and Small Business Sustainability Grant. However, the majority of these applications require certification from a Certified Support Organization. By working with Meets Consulting, EC business growth strategy formulation, subsidy-backed investment planning, and execution support are all available through a single point of contact. The ability to solve the challenge of "we have a strategy but lack investment capital" through government grant utilization is a distinctive advantage of being a Certified Support Organization.
We provide comprehensive support for EC business management challenges, from strategy formulation to organizational design and investment decisions.
We conduct a multi-dimensional analysis of your EC business and develop a mid-term (3-5 year) growth strategy. Incorporating market conditions, competitive landscape, and your company's strengths and weaknesses, we clearly define "which channels, which products, which target segments, and how to sell."
Amazon, Rakuten, Yahoo!, proprietary EC, cross-border EC, physical retail — for EC businesses operating across multiple channels, "how to allocate resources across channels" is the most critical strategic decision. We analyze profit contribution by channel and design an optimized mix that prevents cannibalization while maximizing overall performance.
"How much should we spend on advertising?" "How much should we invest in building our own EC platform?" "Should we adopt this new tool?" — We support EC business investment decisions through quantitative simulation-based analysis. Furthermore, as a Certified Support Organization, we combine government grant utilization to lower the investment threshold and enable growth with reduced risk.
The optimal organizational structure for an EC division changes with the business phase. In the launch phase, outsourcing is predominant; during growth, a hybrid of in-house and outsourced resources; at maturity, full in-house operations. We design the right organizational structure for your current business phase and define the talent requirements you need.
We design KPI dashboards that accurately communicate EC business performance to executive leadership. Beyond revenue, we build reporting frameworks that provide at-a-glance visibility into the profit margin, LTV, advertising ROI, inventory turnover rate, and channel-level contribution — the key vital signs of your EC business.
Withdrawal, downsizing, divestiture, consolidation — these "exit" decisions are a critical domain of business strategy consulting. We conduct EC business asset valuation (revenue, customer base, brand equity, institutional knowledge) and provide objective advisory on whether to exit, divest, or consolidate.
Through direct dialogue with business owners and division heads, we assess the current state and strategic challenges of your EC business. Whether you know the problem but lack the solution, or you're uncertain about the root cause, we invite you to share your situation candidly.
We conduct a comprehensive analysis of your EC business: revenue and profit data, channel-level performance, organizational structure, and competitive landscape. As an "EC business health check," we deliver a diagnostic report that visualizes strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and risks.
Based on diagnostic findings, we develop a growth strategy and execution roadmap for your EC business. We present both short-term (3-6 month) improvement initiatives and mid-term (1-3 year) growth scenarios, supported by multiple options and quantitative simulations.
During the execution phase, Meets Consulting's specialist teams (advertising, page design, CRM, logistics, AI) provide hands-on support. Monthly executive reviews track strategic progress and enable course corrections as needed.
Once your EC business has developed the capability to operate independently, we gradually reduce the scope of engagement. Thereafter, we offer an advisory retainer for quarterly executive reviews and ad-hoc strategic consultations on critical decisions.
Business strategy consulting fees are customized based on your specific situation and requirements. We begin with a complimentary hearing to understand your current state and provide a detailed proposal.
| Engagement Type | Ideal For | Scope Overview |
|---|---|---|
| Spot Consultation | Focused, single-topic executive advisory (1-3 sessions) | "We need expert input on our channel strategy" or "We need guidance on an investment decision" |
| EC Business Diagnostic | Current-state analysis + diagnostic report + strategic recommendations | "We want an objective assessment of our EC business performance" |
| Monthly Strategy Consulting | Monthly executive reviews + strategy development + execution support | "We want to transform our EC business at the executive level" |
| Full Strategy + Execution | Strategy consulting + operations management + integrated specialist teams | "We want end-to-end support from strategy through execution" |
* We offer flexible fee structures including fixed-fee, performance-based, and hybrid models.
Complimentary Consultation Available
In our initial consultation, we conduct a complimentary hearing on your EC business challenges.
We identify both "issues requiring immediate attention" and "mid- to long-term strategic priorities" for your business.
There is absolutely no sales pressure. We welcome you to reach out at your convenience.
We visualized all EC business costs and developed channel-by-channel and product-category P&L statements. We recommended concentrated investment in high-profit-contribution product lines and scaling back low-margin channels. Simultaneously, we built an executive KPI dashboard for board meetings.
Result
Operating margin: 2.3% → 8.7%
Result
JPY 800M → 720M (10% revenue decline, 278% profit increase)
We developed a 3-year business plan for the Rakuten-to-proprietary EC transition. We modeled investment requirements, payback timelines, and necessary acquisition channels (SEO, social media, LINE CRM, Google Ads). We designed and executed a phased transition roadmap that maintained Rakuten presence while building the proprietary EC platform.
Result
Proprietary EC: JPY 0 → JPY 12M/month
Result
Rakuten: JPY 30M → 22M/month (controlled reduction)
We developed a comprehensive EC business plan informed by market research and competitive analysis. We designed channel selection aligned with product characteristics (Amazon + proprietary EC), initial investment planning, first-year P&L projections, and talent acquisition requirements. As a Certified Support Organization, we supported the application for a Business Restructuring Grant, partially offsetting EC launch costs with government funding. Post-launch, our operations team managed day-to-day execution with a phased transition to internal capability.
Result
Business Restructuring Grant: Approved (approx. JPY 15M)
Result
Amazon storefront launched within 4 months
EC consulting focuses on operational improvements such as advertising management, page design, and SEO. Business strategy consulting supports executive-level decision-making including channel strategy, investment decisions, organizational design, and business planning. Meets Consulting delivers both, enabling us to first establish executive-level strategy and then implement operational improvements — the ideal sequence for sustainable growth.
In fact, SME e-commerce operations benefit the most from executive-level support. While large enterprises have dedicated corporate planning functions within their EC divisions, SME owners often bear both strategic and operational responsibilities, causing critical business decisions to be deprioritized amid day-to-day operations. Meets Consulting specializes in providing executive-level support to SME e-commerce businesses.
Yes. The greatest strength of Meets Consulting is that the same team that develops the strategy can execute it. With in-house specialist teams covering advertising, page design, CRM, logistics optimization, and AI integration, the common problem of "having a strategy document but no one to implement it" simply does not arise.
Absolutely. Growing an EC business is not always the right objective. When market conditions and internal resources suggest that withdrawal, downsizing, or divestiture is the rational decision, we present these options with full objectivity. Our scope includes EC business asset valuation and M&A advisory services.
The initial session is a 60- to 120-minute online hearing and discussion via Zoom or similar platform. By engaging directly with business owners and division heads, we uncover executive-level challenges that operational staff may not surface. Ongoing monthly engagements combine regularly scheduled executive review meetings with ad-hoc advisory support.
Yes. As a Certified Support Organization, Meets Consulting provides end-to-end support from assessing eligibility for various government grants to preparing application documents. A wide range of grants are applicable to EC business investments, including launching new EC operations, building proprietary EC platforms, implementing systems, and expanding into cross-border e-commerce. Delivering "EC business growth strategy + subsidy-backed investment planning + execution support" through a single provider is a capability unique to Meets Consulting as both a Certified Support Organization and EC specialists.
Duration varies by scope, but spot consultations typically involve 1-3 sessions, business diagnostics take 1-2 months, and strategy development through execution support generally spans 6-18 months. Most clients transition to quarterly advisory retainers once their teams have developed self-sufficient capabilities, while maintaining monthly executive reviews during the active engagement.
We offer a complimentary initial consultation on your EC business strategy challenges. Whether you have identified the problem but lack a solution, or you're navigating a general sense of uncertainty, we welcome you to share your perspective openly.
Initial Consultation: Complimentary, 60-120 minutes (Online available)
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