E-commerce · Delivery leadership
When does an e-commerce company need a fractional head of delivery?
Short answer
When parcels, carriers and returns have become a real cost and customer-experience issue across several markets, but the business isn't ready for a full-time senior hire. A fractional head of delivery owns carrier strategy, contracts, performance, returns and new-market setup part time, and connects operations, finance, product and customer service around them.
It works best when someone internal handles the daily operation and the fractional lead owns the decisions and the results.
Signs you need one
- Shipping costs have grown faster than revenue, and nobody can say exactly why.
- You ship to several European countries with several carriers, and nobody owns the overall picture.
- Carrier contracts renew automatically because no one has time to tender or renegotiate.
- Delivery problems surface through customer service, not through data.
- Returns are slow and expensive, especially from non-EU markets.
- You're entering new markets and decisions about carriers, services and customs are being made ad hoc.
- Your operations lead is excellent at the warehouse but doesn't have carrier-network experience.
What a fractional head of delivery does
| Area | Responsibilities |
|---|---|
| Strategy | Delivery proposition per market, carrier mix, returns model, new-market plans |
| Carriers | Tenders, negotiation, contracts, quarterly business reviews, escalation |
| Performance | Monthly KPIs: cost per order, delivery quality, delivery rate, returns cycle time |
| Customer experience | Checkout options, delivery promise, notifications, returns experience |
| Integration | Requirements for carrier and 3PL integrations; working with product and tech |
| Cross-functional | Finance (cost, invoices), operations (warehouse handover), product, customer service |
Fractional vs full-time vs project
- Full-time hire: right when delivery is complex enough to fill a senior role every day, and you can attract and afford one. Hiring takes months.
- Fractional: senior ownership for part of the week, available now, with experience from many networks. Right for growing multi-market businesses.
- Project: a defined piece of work, such as a network review, tender or market launch. Right when you need a decision or a launch, not ongoing ownership.
Many companies start with a project, such as a network review, and continue fractionally to implement it.
How the engagement works
- First 30 days: audit carriers, contracts, costs, quality and returns; agree KPIs; deliver a plan with expected impact.
- Months 2–3: renegotiations, quick wins on cost and quality, process fixes with the 3PL or warehouse.
- Ongoing: monthly performance reviews, carrier management, new markets, escalations, executive updates.
A three-month initial engagement is usually needed for meaningful results; after that it runs monthly.
What the first 30 days usually find
Most first audits find a mix of quick wins and structural issues. Quick wins: surcharges caused by packaging, services used by default that customers don't need, billing errors, and carriers that haven't been held to their SLAs. Structural issues: a carrier setup that no longer fits the markets you sell in, no returns model for non-EU countries, delivery options at checkout that don't match local habits, and integrations that make every carrier change a project.
The plan at the end of the first month separates the two, with expected impact on cost and customer experience, owners and dates. Quick wins usually pay for the engagement; structural changes are where the long-term value is.
From then on the role is about rhythm: a monthly performance review with the same KPIs every month, quarterly reviews with each carrier, and a clear escalation path when something goes wrong in peak season.
Who this is for, and who it isn't
A good fit
- Growing e-commerce brands shipping to several European markets
- Brands with high COD, returns or cross-border complexity
- Companies between "founder handles it" and "we have a logistics director"
Not a good fit
- You need day-to-day shipping coordination or a customer-service agent
- You need warehouse management or staffing
- Very small volumes where a shipping platform covers everything
How I help
The Fractional Head of European Delivery & Returns starts from €2,250/month. If you want to start with a defined piece of work, the Network Review (from €1,750) is the usual first step.
I led a seven-person international product team at Hermes as an external consultant, coordinating IT, operations and business intelligence on tracking, warehouse, customs and carrier integrations, after years building European parcel products there and running cross-border operations at BorderGuru. I'm used to owning outcomes across functions, not just advising.
Questions
How many days a month is fractional?
It depends on scope and complexity. It's priced as ongoing ownership and availability, not as a bundle of hours.
Do you replace our operations manager?
No. I work with them: they run the daily operation, I own carrier strategy, contracts, performance and the cross-functional decisions.
Can we stop at any time?
After the initial period, the engagement runs monthly. Notice terms are in the agreement.
Free discovery call
Need someone to own delivery? Let's see if fractional fits
30 minutes, no cost. Bring your lanes, volumes and questions; you leave with a clear next step, whether or not we work together.