Digital Ordering Without Marketplaces or Commissions
What is Digital Ordering?
Digital ordering enables businesses to accept and process customer orders online. Traditional approaches rely on marketplaces that take commissions and control customer relationships.
- •Marketplaces take commissions on every order
- •Customer relationships belong to the marketplace, not the business
- •Each business builds ordering systems from scratch
- •No reusable templates or flows for similar businesses
Owned Customer Relationships
Customer data and relationships belong to the business, not a marketplace. Direct communication, personalized experiences, and long-term relationships are possible.
No commission fees. Every order goes directly to the business, improving margins and enabling better pricing for customers.
Customer lifetime value increases. Direct relationships enable repeat purchases, upselling, and cross-selling without marketplace constraints.
Reusable Ordering Flows
Ordering flows are built once and reused across similar businesses. Instead of each business building from scratch, proven flows are adapted and deployed.
Flows are validated through collective execution. What works for one business is tested, refined, and made available to others.
Flows compound over time. Each improvement benefits all businesses using the flow, creating compounding value through shared execution.
Category-Level Templates
Templates are organized by category. Restaurants, retail, services — each category has proven ordering flows that can be adapted to specific businesses.
Templates include payment processing, inventory management, order fulfillment, and customer communication. All components are integrated and tested.
Templates are maintained collectively. Improvements from one business benefit all businesses in the category, creating compounding value.
Execution-First vs. Marketplaces
| Aspect | Marketplaces | Execution-First |
|---|---|---|
| Customer Relationships | Marketplace-owned, limited access | Business-owned, direct access |
| Commissions | Per-order fees, reduced margins | No commissions, full margins |
| Ordering Systems | Marketplace-controlled, limited customization | Reusable flows, category templates |
| Compounding | No compounding, repeated fees | Templates compound through reuse |
Execution Example
Instead of using a marketplace that takes commissions:
- Ten restaurants collectively build a digital ordering flow
- The flow includes payment, inventory, fulfillment, and customer communication
- The validated flow becomes a reusable template for all restaurants
- New restaurants adapt the template to their specific needs
- Improvements from one restaurant benefit all restaurants using the template
- No marketplace commissions, full customer ownership, compounding value
Ready to build digital ordering through execution?
Learn how execution-first frameworks solve business problems through collective action.
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