Scaling a DTC homewares brand from £2.4m to £8.6m
Rebuilt fulfilment, replaced 3PL, restructured inventory planning, launched Amazon FBA.
+258%Revenue growth
−31%Fulfilment cost / order
Fractional COO · UK & international
Senior operational leadership for £1m to £20m ecommerce and product businesses.
We embed inside the business to scale fulfilment, supply chain, marketplaces and international expansion, without the cost of a full-time hire.
Operating across
Ecommerce & DTC
Amazon & marketplaces
Multi-channel retail
Import / export & distribution
The problem
Founder-led businesses hit an operational wall between £1m and £20m.
The systems that got you to £1m won't get you to £3m. The ones that got you to £3m won't get you to £15m. Each stage rebuilds the operation, and most founders don't need another marketing agency or a new strategy. They need a senior operator inside the business.
01
Operations outrun by growth
Fulfilment errors rising, stock-outs frequent, customer service overwhelmed. The team is firefighting, not building.
02
Reporting blindspots
Sales numbers exist; true margin per channel, per SKU, per region doesn't. Decisions are gut, not data.
03
Channel complexity
Shopify, Amazon, eBay, wholesale, international, each pulling in different directions with no operational spine connecting them.
04
No-one below the founder
The founder is still the bottleneck on operational decisions. Hiring a £120k Ops Director is risky; doing nothing is worse.
The services
Six operational levers, applied where they move the business most.
Engagements start with a diagnostic. Most clients then use 2 to 4 of the modules below, sequenced over 6 to 18 months.
Fractional COO
The full engagement. Embedded operational leadership across the business, 1 to 3 days per week.
Read moreEcommerce Operations
Tech stack, fulfilment, ops processes for DTC and Shopify-led businesses.
Read moreAmazon & Marketplace Growth
Operational scale on Amazon, eBay, TikTok Shop and international marketplaces.
Read moreInternational Expansion
EU, US, Australia and MENA entry planning, infrastructure setup, and cross-border operations.
Read moreSupply Chain & Logistics
Sourcing, freight, 3PL selection, inventory planning and compliance.
Read moreOperations Transformation
Fixed-scope projects: ERP/WMS implementation, restructure, M&A integration.
Read moreHow we work
Embedded operator, not external advisor.
Engagements follow a deliberate sequence: understand the business, fix the reporting, then scale the operation.
Discovery
A 30-minute call to understand the business, current operational pain, and where leadership capacity is short.
Operational diagnostic
A two-week deep audit across the six operational areas. Output: a prioritised plan with quantified opportunities.
Embedded engagement
1 to 3 days per week inside the business. Sits in leadership meetings, owns operational KPIs, executes the plan.
Handover
Engagement closes when permanent capacity is in place: hired, promoted, or trained. We design ourselves out.
Case studies
Operational outcomes, quantified.
EU marketplace expansion for an FMCG brand
Pan-EU FBA setup, VAT registration in 5 countries, listing translation, brand registry.
5 mktsLaunched in 9 months
£1.8mNew marketplace revenue
Operations transformation for a £14m product business
ERP replacement, warehouse relocation, 18-person operations team restructure.
+11ptGross margin
−40%Stock-out incidents
"James walked into a business that was firefighting and turned it into one that was operating. Within six months we had visibility, accountability, and a fulfilment operation that could take the growth we'd been chasing for two years."
Anonymised, Founder
£6m DTC homewares brand
About
Operator-led. Not a consultancy, not an advisor.
James Wakely spent nine years as Operations Director of a £20m SME, leading a 75-person team across operations, supply chain, commercial, finance and systems. He then moved into a Chief Operating Officer role in the automotive aftermarket sector, leading product category expansion and growing the business from £8.9m to approximately £15m before transitioning into Managing Director.
The work is hands-on. James has run sourcing trips in China, negotiated 3PL contracts, designed replenishment models for 15,000+ SKUs, and built reporting systems that exposed the true economics of the business. A finance foundation (AAT-qualified) sits underneath the operator instinct and shapes a relentless focus on margin and unit economics. The advice on this site is operational because the experience behind it is operational.
- 9 yrs as Operations Director, £20m SME, 75-person team
- COO in automotive aftermarket: £8.9m → £15m revenue growth
- Progressed to Managing Director role
- 15,000+ SKUs operational exposure
- UK, EU, US, Australia and China supply chain experience
- Finance foundation: AAT-qualified
Start with a 30-minute operations call.
You'll leave with two or three things you can action this month, whether you engage further or not. No pitch deck, no follow-up sequence.
FAQ
Common questions, answered straight.
What is a Fractional COO?
A Fractional COO is a senior operations director retained on a part-time basis, typically 1 to 3 days per week, embedded inside the business to lead operational strategy and execution. Unlike a consultant, a Fractional COO is part of the leadership team and accountable for outcomes, not just recommendations.
Who is JW Consulting for?
Founder-led product and ecommerce businesses turning over £1m to £20m, typically running across a website, Amazon, other marketplaces, wholesale, or international markets. We work best with businesses that have outgrown their operational capacity and need senior leadership without a full-time executive salary.
How is this different from hiring a consultant?
Consultants advise, produce slide decks, and leave. A Fractional COO is embedded in the team, sits in leadership meetings, owns operational P&L lines, and stays long enough to implement what they recommend. The engagement is measured in quarters and years, not weeks.
What does an engagement typically cost?
Engagements are usually structured as a fixed monthly retainer covering a defined number of days. As a benchmark, a Fractional COO retainer costs 40 to 60% less than the loaded cost of a full-time Operations Director at the same level of seniority. We share full pricing on the discovery call once we understand the scope.
Do you only work with UK businesses?
We are UK-based but most clients have international operations, typically EU, US, or MENA. International expansion and cross-border supply chain are core service areas. We work remotely with on-site visits as the engagement requires.