Outsourced e-commerce back office in Madagascar: orders, customer service, disputes and returns for Shopify and PrestaShop merchants

Processing an e-commerce order is not a single task. It is a sequence of micro-actions that, if poorly executed or forgotten, create cascading errors: parcel sent to the wrong address, duplicate order, status not updated, customer contacting customer service to find out where their delivery is. Here is how to structure this sequence for a dedicated offshore agent.

Every order entering Shopify or PrestaShop goes through a control check before processing. The dedicated agent verifies five points: match between the delivery address and the billing address, consistency of the payment method (fraud signal on orders with divergent addresses), actual stock availability in the WMS or ERP, presence of customer notes (specific delivery request, gift, personalised message), and compliance of the invoiced amount with current promotions. On Shopify, this check relies on the order detail page and automatic tags configured via Shopify Flow. On PrestaShop, the agent uses the native back office with stock management modules. Suspicious orders are flagged and escalated to the merchant via a dedicated channel on Slack or Teams. The agent never validates a doubtful order alone. This point is non-negotiable in the workflow. Average time per validated order: between 90 seconds and 3 minutes depending on complexity. To organise these control routines without micro-management, ce guide de pilotage d'équipe offshore details the relevant indicators.

Once the order is validated, the agent generates the delivery note. On Shopify, this involves creating the fulfillment and printing the label via the carrier application (Colissimo, Mondial Relay, Chronopost, or a connector such as Sendcloud or ShipStation). On PrestaShop, the process uses the configured carrier module and export to the logistics provider. The dedicated agent does not simply click "Ship". They verify that the correct product is associated with the correct parcel, that the declared weight is consistent, and that the delivery method chosen by the customer is the one being applied. In the case of multi-parcel orders, they create separate delivery notes and ensure that each tracking number is correctly linked to the right order line. For merchants working with an external logistics provider (3PL), the agent transmits the prepared order via API or exchange file (CSV, EDI). They then follow up on the confirmation of receipt. No order remains "pending" without an identified reason. Each evening, a report of unshipped orders is sent. This level of rigour is what differentiates an executing agent from an integrated team member.

The customer expects three things after placing an order: a confirmation, a tracking number, and an estimated delivery date. If any of these three pieces of information arrives late or not at all, they contact customer service. Every avoidable customer service contact is a direct cost. The dedicated agent updates the order status in Shopify or PrestaShop as soon as the information is available: transition from "Being prepared" to "Shipped", addition of the tracking number, automatic notification triggered. On Shopify, notifications are managed via native email templates or a tool such as Klaviyo. On PrestaShop, the order tracking module handles the dispatch. The agent also verifies that the tracking is active on the carrier's side before notifying the customer. Sending a tracking number that returns no results for 48 hours generates more frustration than sending nothing at all. This is an operational detail that only a team member trained in your specific workflow can handle correctly. This mastery of tools is built during the first weeks of ramp-up: la méthode de structuration du démarrage explains how to avoid classic mistakes during this phase.

E-commerce customer service is not a cost centre. It is the point of contact that determines whether a customer buys again or leaves a negative review. Outsourcing customer service to a dedicated agent does not mean lowering quality. It means structuring responses, framing decision levels, and giving the agent the tools to resolve 80% of cases without escalation.

Not all customer service requests are equal. A "Where is my parcel?" is not handled the same way as "The product is broken, I want a refund". The dedicated agent works with a decision tree that categorises each incoming request and provides the course of action to follow. Typical categories for a Shopify or PrestaShop e-commerce store: delivery tracking (immediate response via tracking), order modification (possible before shipment, refused after), defective product (photo required, exchange or refund according to policy), preparation error (wrong product sent, return at the merchant's expense), payment dispute (card contestation, PayPal, Stripe). Each category has a defined SLA: first response time (target: less than 4 hours on a business day), resolution time, and escalation threshold. The agent resolves level 1 requests alone (tracking, modification, product information). Levels 2 and 3 (refund above a certain amount, legal dispute, dissatisfied VIP customer) are escalated to the merchant with full context. For further guidance on structuring escalation levels, cet article sur les niveaux 1-2-3 en offshore sets out the framework.

A dedicated agent does not read a script word for word like a shared call centre. They use response templates adapted to each channel (email, Shopify chat, marketplace messaging) that they personalise with the customer's context. Templates cover recurring scenarios: acknowledgement of receipt of the request, tracking information, replacement or refund proposal, photo request for defective product, ticket closure with satisfaction survey. Each template is written in the merchant's brand tone. This is an initial calibration exercise that takes between 2 and 5 days during the agent's onboarding. On Shopify, the agent uses Gorgias, Zendesk or Re:amaze depending on the tool already in place. On PrestaShop, they work via the native customer service module or a connected third-party tool. The key point: the agent is trained on your tool, not on a generic one. They know the macros, the tags, the automation rules. They are not discovering the interface on the day a dissatisfied customer is waiting for a response. This linguistic quality and integration with customer tools are detailed in l'article sur le customer care francophone offshore.

Returns represent between 20 and 40% of orders in fashion e-commerce, and between 5 and 15% in other categories. Every poorly managed return costs twice: the refund itself and the time spent processing it. Structuring the returns workflow with a dedicated agent reduces the unit processing cost and accelerates refunds to avoid disputes.

The customer requests a return. The dedicated agent first checks eligibility: withdrawal period respected (14 days in France), product eligible for return according to the merchant's policy (excluding personalisation, hygiene, etc.), order identified in the system. If the return is validated, the agent generates the return label. On Shopify, this goes through the returns app (Loop Returns, ReturnGO, or the native module). On PrestaShop, the returns module handles the creation of the return slip and the prepaid label if the merchant's policy provides for it. The agent sends the customer: confirmation of the return request, the label to print, packaging instructions, and the estimated refund timeframe. All of this in a single email, not across three exchanges. The customer knows exactly what they need to do. The agent updates the order status in the back office: "Return in progress". Each return request is tracked in a dedicated table with: order number, reason for return, date of request, date the return parcel was sent, date of receipt, and refund status.

The return parcel arrives. If the merchant manages their own stock, the agent coordinates with the logistics team to obtain confirmation of receipt and the result of the quality control. If a 3PL manages the stock, the agent monitors the status in the WMS and follows up if the return has not been processed within 48 business hours. The quality control determines the next step: product in resalable condition (returned to stock, full refund), product damaged by the customer (partial refund or refused according to policy), confirmed defective product (full refund, product removed from stock). The agent updates the stock in Shopify or PrestaShop as soon as the product is returned to sale. This point is often overlooked and creates phantom stock discrepancies: the product is physically in the warehouse but not available for sale online. On a catalogue of 500+ references, these discrepancies accumulate and generate artificial stockouts. An agent trained in your workflow knows that the stock update is the final step of the return process, not an optional detail. To understand how structurer l'externalisation selon votre CMS e-commerce, the dedicated article compares the specificities of Shopify, PrestaShop and Webflow.

The refund is the moment of truth. A fast refund (within 48 hours of receiving the return) reduces disputes and negative reviews. A refund that drags on for 10 days generates a customer service contact, then a PayPal or card contestation. The dedicated agent initiates the refund in Shopify (Refund button on the order, with choice of amount: full, partial, excluding shipping costs) or in PrestaShop (refund module with automatic store credit generation). They verify that the refund appears correctly on the payment gateway side (Stripe, PayPal, Mollie) and confirm to the customer by email. For merchants who prefer to offer store credit rather than a refund, the agent creates the promo code or gift card in the system and sends it to the customer with the expiry date. At the end of the month, the agent produces a returns report: number of returns, return rate by product category, main reasons (size, defect, does not match description), total amount refunded, and average processing time. This report feeds the merchant's product decisions: if 30% of returns on a given reference are linked to a defect, the problem is the product, not the customer service. To measure the overall return on investment of this outsourcing arrangement, la méthodologie TCO sur 12 mois provides the complete calculation framework.