Company Context

NovaCart is a mid-sized e-commerce software company that helps merchants sell online through storefront, checkout, and fulfillment tools. It serves 18,000 merchants across Southeast Asia and generated $42M in revenue last year, with most business coming from domestic transactions. The company is considering launching a new cross-border e-commerce product that would help merchants sell from Singapore into Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand through localized pricing, payments, shipping, and customs support.

Strategic Situation

The CEO has asked the strategy team to define what research is required before committing product and go-to-market investment. The decision is time-sensitive because two regional competitors have recently announced cross-border seller tools, and NovaCart has budgeted only one major platform expansion this year. Management wants to know whether the opportunity is attractive, which corridors and merchant segments to prioritize, and what risks could undermine adoption.

Data Points

Additional operating assumptions:

• Average take rate on payment + software + logistics services could range from 1.8% to 3.2% of GMV.
• Early merchant interviews suggest shipping cost, customs complexity, FX pricing, and local payment acceptance are the top four pain points.
• NovaCart estimates it can launch in two countries first, not all four, due to engineering and compliance limits.
• Competitor A serves enterprise brands with custom integrations; Competitor B focuses on SMB sellers with lower pricing but limited logistics support.

Your Task

You are the Head of Strategy at NovaCart. Prepare a recommendation on how the company should structure its research and what conclusions management should aim to reach.

1. Define the key research areas required to evaluate a cross-border e-commerce product.
2. Size the opportunity and identify the most attractive initial market corridors and merchant segments.
3. Assess the competitive landscape and NovaCart's likely right-to-win.
4. Recommend a go-to-market approach, including sequencing, partnerships, and pricing logic.
5. Identify the biggest risks, unknowns, and what evidence would be needed before launch.

Constraints

• Total year-1 budget is capped at $6M.
• NovaCart can support only two launch corridors in the first 9 months.
• Legal, tax, and compliance resources are limited to a small in-house team plus external counsel.
• Leadership expects a go/no-go recommendation within 8 weeks and a pilot launch within 6 months if approved.