What Is Orchestration Commerce? Connecting Products and Storefronts
Orchestration commerce connects makers' products with many storefronts and runs sales, payment and revenue sharing as one system. What it means and how to start.
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Orchestration commerce is a way of selling that connects makers' products with many businesses' storefronts, and runs everything from sales to payment and revenue sharing as one system. Businesses that own products and businesses that own storefronts and customers bring their strengths together to build a single distribution network. ECport is the platform that powers orchestration commerce — the orchestration commerce OS.
This guide explains what orchestration commerce means, how it differs from your own online store, marketplaces and consignment sales, and how to get started.
What is orchestration commerce?
"Orchestration" comes from the way a conductor brings many instruments together into one performance. In IT, it means combining multiple systems or tasks so they run as one flow.
In orchestration commerce, what you combine is not systems but businesses:
- Makers with great products but not enough storefronts or customers
- Inns, media and shops with customers and places, but not enough products to sell
- Local governments, regional trading companies and enterprises that want to bring local or industry businesses together
These businesses bring their products, storefronts, customers and introductions, and sell together on one platform. Instead of one company doing everything — making products, building storefronts, attracting customers and shipping overseas — each business takes the role it is best at.
Three roles
ECport divides the businesses that take part in orchestration commerce into three roles. One business can take more than one role.
| Role | What they have | What they do | What they receive |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supplier | Products | List products and ship orders | Product sales |
| Builder | Storefronts and customers | Feature approved products on their own store, select shop or marketplace | A share of each sale |
| Connector | Relationships | Introduce businesses to each other | A referral reward |
For example, a craft maker (supplier) can sell through an online shop run by an inn (builder), and the local supporter who introduced them (connector) also receives a reward.
How it differs from other ways of selling
| Model | Inventory and shipping | Storefronts | How revenue is shared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your own online store | You | Your site only | You keep everything |
| Marketplace | You | Your page inside the marketplace | You pay listing and sales fees |
| Consignment | Often held by the store | The store you consign to | The store collects and settles later |
| Dropshipping | The supplier | The reseller's site | The reseller buys and resells for a margin |
| Orchestration commerce | The business that owns the product (supplier) | Your site plus many connected storefronts | Each business's share is split automatically on every order |
There are three key differences:
- No consigned inventory: the business that owns the products keeps managing inventory and shipping, while the products appear in many storefronts.
- Not limited to one storefront: alongside your own site, the same product information can be listed in partner storefronts that suit it.
- The money flow is set from the start: on every order, sales and fees are split among the businesses under the agreed terms, with no manual settlement afterwards.
In ECport's partner sales, the sale is made between the business that provides the product (supplier) and the buyer, while the business running the storefront (builder) builds the storefront and promotes the products. This is different from consignment, where inventory is handed over, and from dropshipping, where the reseller buys and resells. See How partner sales work for details.
How it differs from payment orchestration and composable commerce
- Payment orchestration manages multiple payment providers and routes each transaction to the best one. It is about payment systems.
- Composable commerce builds an e-commerce system from components such as cart, inventory and search. It is about how systems are built.
- Orchestration commerce combines businesses that own products with businesses that own storefronts and customers, so they can sell together. It is about the relationships between businesses and the money flow between them.
What you can do with orchestration commerce
- Makers can add storefronts beyond their own: keep selling on your own site while also appearing in an inn's shop, a select shop or a media outlet's store.
- Open a storefront without inventory: hotels, inns, media and creators can gather makers' products and run a select shop or marketplace.
- Build a regional or industry marketplace: local governments, regional trading companies and enterprises can open a marketplace that brings local businesses together.
- Reach overseas customers: show your store in multiple languages and sell to customers abroad as well as in Japan.
Four building blocks
- Prepare product information once: register names, descriptions, images and prices once and use them in every storefront.
- Request and approve partnerships: storefront operators request to list products, and only products the owner approves are shown. Products never appear in another store without permission.
- Automate payment and revenue sharing: each business's share and the fees are calculated automatically on every order and paid to each account.
- Ship from the product owner: wherever a product sells, the order goes to the business that owns it, which ships it to the buyer.
How to start with ECport
- Sign up for ECport for free (plans start at 0 yen per month)
- Prepare for your role
- To sell products: list your products and set up the account that receives your sales
- To build a storefront: create your store, find products you want to feature and send partnership requests
- Confirm the partnership terms (sales commission and shipping, for example) and start selling approved products (the business that owns the product sets the price, and it is the same on every storefront)
- Track orders and sales from your own site and partner storefronts in one dashboard
FAQ
Is orchestration commerce the same as consignment?
No. In consignment, you usually hand your products over to a store that sells them for you. In orchestration commerce, you do not hand over inventory: the product owner keeps managing inventory and shipping while the products appear in many storefronts, and sales and fees are split automatically on every order.
Can small businesses use it?
Yes. Even makers with only a few products can reach customers they could not reach alone by appearing in other businesses' storefronts. Storefront operators can also expand their range without holding inventory.
How much does it cost?
ECport has a plan that starts at 0 yen per month. See the pricing page for partner sales fees and paid plans.
Can I sell overseas?
Yes. Your store can be shown in multiple languages, and ECport supports selling to customers abroad. See Overseas sales for details.
Summary
- Orchestration commerce connects businesses that own products with businesses that own storefronts, and runs sales, payment and revenue sharing as one system.
- Inventory is not consigned, products can appear in many storefronts, and the money is split automatically on every order.
- Instead of one company doing everything, businesses share the roles they are best at and grow distribution together.
ECport is the OS for orchestration commerce. Start your own online store, run a select shop or marketplace, sell with partners, and reach overseas customers — all on one platform.