ISO 37301
If you work in e-commerce, you have probably heard of, or maybe even have experience with, warnings, product bans and fines. The legal requirements for e-commerce sellers are getting more and more complex: Data protection, product safety, labeling obligations, CE conformity, the Packaging Regulation, geo-blocking, and the list goes on.
This is where compliance comes in. Compliance really just means “behaving in line with the rules”. While it is the norm in large corporations, compliance management is mostly unheard-of in e-commerce. However, even small sellers need a minimum of structure to work in a legally compliant manner and avoid risks.
ISO 37301, an international standard for compliance management systems (CMS), provides a good benchmark. It may sound like a lot of red tape, but the truth is, it provides a customizable modular system.
What is ISO 37301?
ISO 37301 is the international standard for compliance management systems. It was published in 2021, replacing ISO 19600.
Key points:
- It is certifiable, i.e., you can get audited by a certification body.
- But you can also use it without certification, as an in-house framework for your processes.
- It focuses on compliance, transparency, and risk mitigation.
- It is based on the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) principle, i.e., on continuous improvement.
The good thing is, ISO 37301 is not industry-specific. You can use it for your e-commerce business just like any SME may use it for their manufacturing business.
Benefits for e-commerce sellers
Why should you, a small-scale Amazon seller or shop operator, establish a compliance system?
- Clear obligations
You can keep track of all your statutory obligations, from CE to the German Packaging Act and the right of revocation. - Avoid common mistakes
Warnings are often the result of trivial mistakes (legal notice, privacy policy, labeling). A CMS protects you from making such mistakes. - Customers’ and platforms’ trust
If your workflows are well structured and your processes are clearly documented, you can strengthen the trust of your customers as well as service providers and platforms such as Amazon, eBay, or Shopify. - Competitive edge
While others continue to improvise, you can prove that your shop is compliant, minimizing your risk and enhancing your professional image.
Key elements of a lean CMS
You don’t need to hire a compliance officer right away. A lean system can consist of just a few, clearly defined components.
- Define responsibilities
Who is responsible for legal issues? You? An employee? Or an external consultant? Specify a “Compliance Officer”. - Risk assessment
List all the legal areas that affect your shop: product safety, labeling, privacy, taxes, export control. Assess which risk is the greatest. - Documentation
Keep records of the most important documents: CE Declarations of Conformity, safety data sheets, data protection concepts, supplier contracts. File everything in an organized manner, in digital form, in a file folder. - Communication
Check your GTC, information about the right of revocation, legal notice, and privacy policy on a regular basis. Establish a clear process for customer inquiries and complaints. - Monitoring
Keep an eye on any complaints, platform warnings and feedback. Record incidents so as to enable you to recognize patterns and take countermeasures.
Implementation with limited resources
An efficient compliance system can be established even with a low budget. Here is how:
Use existing tools
Many shop systems and marketplaces already provide modules for legal texts, cookie banners, and returns management. Use them!
Check lists & templates
Use standard check lists, e.g., for product compliance (REACH, Packaging Act), privacy, or amendments of your GTC. This saves time.
Train employees or freelancers
Train your team, no matter how small it is. A brief guideline is usually sufficient to avoid common mistakes.
Bring in consultants as needed
You don’t have to retain a lawyer full time. It is enough to involve a specialized lawyer or consultant for specific tasks, e.g., for GTC or product labeling issues.
Best Practices
- Compliance culture
Don’t view compliance as a burden, but as part of your corporate culture. Transparent and clean processes make you look more professional and will also be more profitable in the long run. - Regular reviews & updates
Every three to six months, check: whether your texts are up to date; whether there are new regulations; whether you have listed new products that are subject to different requirements - Automation of routine processes
Automate where possible:
- automatic updates of legal texts (e.g., using Händlerbund or IT-Recht Kanzlei [German only])
- automatic document management
- tools to manage returns, revocations and complaints
Practical tip:
If you use ISO 37301 as basis for a checklist, you can track your progress. Every time you check an item on the list, you improve your legal compliance.
Conclusion: Bring order to chaos
ISO 37301 is not a bureaucratic monstrosity. It provides protection, structure and security without the need to establish a complicated system.
If you focus on the key issues, i.e., responsibilities, risk assessment, documentation, communication and monitoring, you have already done most of the work.
You can achieve great effects with relatively little effort: lower risks, greater trust, clearer processes. In addition, you can prove that your shop is compliant at any time, to platforms, authorities, or partners.
In short:
- Compliance is worth the effort, even for small sellers.
- ISO 37301 is flexible and realistic.
- A lean CMS provides a safety net in e-commerce.
Who wrote this article?
As an author, Christina fills the blog section of our website with exciting and informative articles, so that our readers can always take care of product compliance in their company in the most well-informed way.
