Maps That Merchandising and Support Can Share
A journey board only works when merchandising, store ops, and support can stand in front of the same drawing.
Digital commerce teams often produce separate maps for marketing, merchandising, and support. Each map feels accurate inside its silo and useless in a joint meeting.
Shared maps need a shared vocabulary. We label stages by shopper intent — discover, consider, purchase, receive, return — rather than by department ownership. Ownership can sit in a legend, not in the stage titles.
Support leaders care about the receive and return segments. Merchandising cares about consider and purchase. When both groups see their segments on one board, handoffs become discussable instead of abstract.
In Thailand, include the communication channels shoppers actually use after purchase. Many paths move into messaging apps for delivery questions. Leaving that out makes the post-purchase lane look artificially short.
Before printing boards for the office wall, run a thirty-minute reading with one person from each function. If someone cannot find their work on the map within a minute, revise the labels before the wider readout.