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A backpack's 14 days, six steps and many organisations
Opening question
Hook3 min
Where is the order most fragile?
D+0 payment authorised
D+1–3 pickup and export declaration
D+11 customs inspection in Accra
D+14 signature and settlement
Learning objectives
O1–O42 min
By the end, you can...
Place actors upstream, midstream and downstream.
Sequence the six steps and assign actors.
Explain the money-goods clock gap.
Trace a PESTEL change to a step.
Concept 1 · Three positions
O14 min
Upstream, midstream, downstream
Assets
Upstream: supplier
Capacity, materials, production.
Coordination
Midstream: platform
Matching, rules, information, funds.
Demand
Downstream: consumer
Orders, pays, reviews, returns.
Concept 1 · Ecosystem
O14 min
The order sits inside a service network
?Which actors does one order depend on, and what passes between them?Swipe horizontally to see the full figure
Takeaway
The buyer sees only the platform and the parcel. Payment, customs, finance and marketing sit behind them, and each failure shows up as a different symptom.
Concept diagram. It lists typical roles, not a specific company's org chart.
Concept onlyLesson 07 service-network concept; no market data
Concept 2 · Types of actor
O14 min
Core, supporting, peripheral
Core
Supplier, platform, consumer
Parties to the sale.
Supporting
Logistics, payment, customs, finance, marketing
Required for every order.
Peripheral
Advertising, translation
Improve reach; not always present.
Concept 3 · Six steps
O25 min
From payment to signature
1Order and payment
2Seller preparation
3Export declaration
4International transport
5Import clearance
6Last-mile and after-sales
Concept 3 · Three flows
O24 min
Goods forward, money backward, information both ways
?Which flow can fail without stopping the other two?Swipe horizontally to see the full figure
Takeaway
Payment can clear before goods move, and goods can arrive before the seller is paid. Information has to work in both directions for tracking and disputes.
Concept diagram: line style and labels carry the meaning, not colour alone.
Concept onlyLesson 07 three-flow concept; no transaction data
Concept 3 · Clocks
O33 min
The buyer pays before the seller is paid
B2C: immediate payment, settlement after a platform window. B2B: deposit plus balance, sometimes a letter of credit.
The gap is working capital.
Platform payout rules matter as much as commission.
Different clocks create trust problems.
Concept 3 · Domestic vs cross-border
O24 min
Two extra boundaries
Domestic order
One customs regime
One consumer-protection regime
Short, familiar transit
Cross-border order
Export and import clearance
Duties, standards, data rules
Long transit, cannot touch goods
Concept 4 · PESTEL (1/2)
O44 min
Political, economic, social
P
Trade policy
Tariffs and sanctions hit clearance and access.
E
Exchange rates
Currency moves hit pricing and margin.
S
Payment habits
Trust and COD hit checkout and returns.
Concept 4 · PESTEL (2/2)
O44 min
Technological, environmental, legal
T
Networks and algorithms
Coverage and feeds hit discovery and last mile.
E
Packaging rules
Materials and recycling hit cost and clearance.
L
Privacy and consumer law
Data and returns rules hit marketing and after-sales.
PESTEL in practice
O43 min
Trace the factor to a step
A lower de-minimis allowance first hits import clearance and the direct-mail cost model.
Factor: legal.
Step: import clearance.
Cost: duty per parcel.
Possible response: overseas warehouse.
Case · Teaching case
O1–O46 min
Ama's backpack: 14 days
Case: Ama's backpack, a 14-day journey (teaching case)
D+0 order and authorisation
D+1–3 packing, pickup, export declaration
D+4 flight; D+8 hub; D+11 inspection
D+13 courier; D+14 signature and settlement
Case analysis
O1–O44 min
Classify the steps
Core
Order and packing
Seller and platform act.
Logistics
Pickup, flight, courier
Forwarder and carrier move goods.
Customs
Export and import
Declarations and inspection.
Funds
Authorisation and settlement
Payment provider and platform.
Common misconceptions
O1–O43 min
Four claims to retire
The platform transports goods.
The seller is paid immediately.
A step and an actor are the same.
PESTEL is a list to memorise.
Classroom activity
O1–O412 min
Map the 14 days
4 minDraw six steps from D+0 to D+14.
4 minWrite the actor and record for each step.
2 minMark the handover most dependent on a document.
2 minAdd one PESTEL change and the step it hits first.
Materials on this slideExercise: 14-day order timeline
Self-check
O1–O42 min
Five questions
Q1 midstream · Q2 supporting services
Q3 inspection step · Q4 de-minimis
Q5 money and goods clocks
Summary
All2 min
What you can now do
Place actors in three positions.
Sequence six steps and assign actors and records.
Explain the settlement gap.
Trace a macro factor to a step.
Sources & next
1 min
Sources and preparation
Textbook §1.2.1–1.2.2 and §1.7; Chapter 2 §2.1, §2.2.4.
The 14-day flow is a teaching simulation, not a tracking record.
Next: cost, delivery and after-sales.
Slide 1 of 20
Lesson 07 · 50 min · 1 / 20
One cross-border order: parties and process
A backpack's 14 days, six steps and many organisations
Open with the timeline. Ask students how many organisations touch the parcel before it arrives.
Opening question · 2 / 20
Where is the order most fragile?
D+0 payment authorised
D+1–3 pickup and export declaration
D+11 customs inspection in Accra
D+14 signature and settlement
Take three guesses. Most students will choose customs or delivery; ask them to justify.
Learning objectives · 3 / 20
By the end, you can...
Place actors upstream, midstream and downstream.
Sequence the six steps and assign actors.
Explain the money-goods clock gap.
Trace a PESTEL change to a step.
O3 is tested by Q5; O4 by Q4.
Concept 1 · Three positions · 4 / 20
Upstream, midstream, downstream
A seller on a platform is downstream of the platform but upstream of the consumer. Position depends on the transaction.
Concept 1 · Ecosystem · 5 / 20
The order sits inside a service network
?Which actors does one order depend on, and what passes between them?Swipe horizontally to see the full figure
Takeaway
The buyer sees only the platform and the parcel. Payment, customs, finance and marketing sit behind them, and each failure shows up as a different symptom.
Concept diagram. It lists typical roles, not a specific company's org chart.
Concept onlyLesson 07 service-network concept; no market data
Ask which service the buyer never sees. Most are invisible until they fail.
Concept 2 · Types of actor · 6 / 20
Core, supporting, peripheral
The textbook distinguishes supporting services from peripheral actors; use the distinction when diagnosing a failure.
Concept 3 · Six steps · 7 / 20
From payment to signature
Reveal one step at a time and ask which actor controls it - not who is blamed.
Concept 3 · Three flows · 8 / 20
Goods forward, money backward, information both ways
?Which flow can fail without stopping the other two?Swipe horizontally to see the full figure
Takeaway
Payment can clear before goods move, and goods can arrive before the seller is paid. Information has to work in both directions for tracking and disputes.
Concept diagram: line style and labels carry the meaning, not colour alone.
Concept onlyLesson 07 three-flow concept; no transaction data
This slide explains why an order can be paid but not delivered, or delivered but not settled.
Concept 3 · Clocks · 9 / 20
The buyer pays before the seller is paid
The gap is working capital.
Platform payout rules matter as much as commission.
Different clocks create trust problems.
Ask why a seller might prefer a lower price with faster settlement.
Concept 3 · Domestic vs cross-border · 10 / 20
Two extra boundaries
Domestic order
One customs regime
One consumer-protection regime
Short, familiar transit
Cross-border order
Export and import clearance
Duties, standards, data rules
Long transit, cannot touch goods
Tie the right column to §1.7's challenges and to next lesson's cost structure.
Concept 4 · PESTEL (1/2) · 11 / 20
Political, economic, social
Do not let PESTEL stay abstract. Each card must end with a step and a cost.
Concept 4 · PESTEL (2/2) · 12 / 20
Technological, environmental, legal
Ask students to name one law in their country that changes a step of this order.
PESTEL in practice · 13 / 20
Trace the factor to a step
Factor: legal.
Step: import clearance.
Cost: duty per parcel.
Possible response: overseas warehouse.
This is the model answer for the activity's PESTEL requirement.
Case · Teaching case · 14 / 20
Ama's backpack: 14 days
D+0 order and authorisation
D+1–3 packing, pickup, export declaration
D+4 flight; D+8 hub; D+11 inspection
D+13 courier; D+14 signature and settlement
Case is fictional. Assign one step per group and ask for the record produced.
Case analysis · 15 / 20
Classify the steps
Ask which step has no physical capacity requirement - clearance is mostly documents.
Common misconceptions · 16 / 20
Four claims to retire
The platform transports goods.
The seller is paid immediately.
A step and an actor are the same.
PESTEL is a list to memorise.
Use the case to find a counter-example for each.
Classroom activity · 17 / 20
Map the 14 days
Reject "the platform" as the actor for every step. Ask who holds the parcel and who files the declaration.
Self-check · 18 / 20
Five questions
Q1 midstream · Q2 supporting services
Q3 inspection step · Q4 de-minimis
Q5 money and goods clocks
Q5 is the conceptual test; if missed, revisit the clocks slide.
Summary · 19 / 20
What you can now do
Place actors in three positions.
Sequence six steps and assign actors and records.
Explain the settlement gap.
Trace a macro factor to a step.
Return to the opening question: which step did the class think was most fragile, and why?
Sources & next · 20 / 20
Sources and preparation
Textbook §1.2.1–1.2.2 and §1.7; Chapter 2 §2.1, §2.2.4.
The 14-day flow is a teaching simulation, not a tracking record.
Next: cost, delivery and after-sales.
Remind students that the case is fictional and that real orders vary by market and channel.