Developer Guide

Building Sanko

A Complete E-commerce Platform Guide for Developers

🌍 Premium African Fashion Marketplace 💼 Multi-Vendor Platform 🚀 Full-Stack Architecture

01

The Sanko Business Model

What is Sanko?

A premium digital platform showcasing the finest African fashion designers - from luxury apparel to contemporary streetwear and accessories.

👔

For Sellers

Curated retail space
Access to global buyers
List products & set prices
Fulfil orders directly

🛍️

For Buyers

Seamless secure purchases
Escrow protection
21-day money hold
£150 minimum order

20%

Commission Rate

£200+

Target Average Order Value(AOV)

21 Days

Escrow Period

02

Your Tech Stack Overview

Think of building Sanko like assembling LEGO blocks - each service handles one job really well:

🏪

Shopify

Your store foundation - product listings, checkout, basic payments

💳

Stripe Connect

Handles split payments and holds money in escrow

📦

Shippo / EasyPost

Package tracking integration

📧

Resend.com

Email notifications

🔗

Webhooks

The "messenger" that tells services when things happen

🗄️

PostgreSQL

Database for orders, users, and transactions

03

Part 1: Setting Up Shopify

Basic Setup Steps

1 Go to shopify.com and sign up

2 Choose Shopify Grow plan

3 Set up your domain (pjmsanko.com)

4 Pick a theme (e.g "Dawn" - free & clean)

Key Configurations

Store currency: USD
Taxes: Auto-calculate
Shipping: International zones

⚠️ Multi-Vendor Challenge

Shopify isn't built for marketplaces by default. You need to make it work like one!

Solution: Install "Marketplace Kit" or "Multi Vendor Marketplace" app

04

Part 2: The Money Flow (Escrow + Commission)

How Money Moves in Sanko

💰

Customer Pays £200

→

🏦

Money → Your Stripe Account

→

⏳

Held for 21 Days

→

📦

After Delivery Confirmation

£40

You Keep (20%)

£160

Designer Gets (80%)

05

Setting Up Stripe Connect

What is Stripe Connect?

Stripe's tool for platforms that pay out to multiple sellers (like Uber pays drivers, Airbnb pays hosts)

Setup Steps

1 Create account at stripe.com

2 Enable "Stripe Connect" in dashboard

3 Choose "Express" type (easier onboarding)

Onboarding Designers

const account = await stripe.accounts.create({
  type: 'express',
  country: 'GH',
  email: 'designer@example.com',
  capabilities: {
    transfers: {requested: true},
  },
});

// Generate onboarding link
const accountLink = await stripe.accountLinks.create({
  account: account.id,
  type: 'account_onboarding',
});

06

Holding Funds (Escrow Logic)

Capturing Payment

// Capture payment to Sanko's account (not designer's yet)
const paymentIntent = await stripe.paymentIntents.create({
  amount: 20000, // £200 in cents
  currency: 'usd',
  metadata: {
    designer_id: 'designer_123',
    order_id: 'order_456',
  },
});

⚠️

Important

Money sits in Sanko's Stripe account. You control when it transfers to designers.

This gives us the ability to implement the 21-day escrow period.

07

Releasing Funds After 21 Days

Daily Automated Check

// Check for orders ready to pay out
const ordersToPayOut = await database.getOrders({
  delivered: true,
  deliveredDate: { olderThan: '21 days ago' },
  payoutSent: false,
});

for (let order of ordersToPayOut) {
  const totalAmount = order.amount; // £200
  const commission = totalAmount * 0.20; // £40
  const designerPayout = totalAmount - commission; // £160
  
  // Transfer to designer
  await stripe.transfers.create({
    amount: designerPayout * 100,
    currency: 'usd',
    destination: order.designer_stripe_account_id,
  });
  
  await database.updateOrder(order.id, { payoutSent: true });
}

💡 Pro Tip: Run this code daily using a cron job (scheduled task)

08

Part 3: Package Tracking with Shippo

What is Shippo?

Connects to shipping carriers (DHL, FedEx, UPS) and provides real-time tracking info

Implementation

const Shippo = require('shippo')('your_api_key');

// Get tracking status
const tracking = await Shippo.track.get_tracking_update(
  'dhl',
  'DHL123456789'
);

console.log(tracking.tracking_status.status); 
// "TRANSIT", "DELIVERED", etc.

Webhook for Real-Time Updates

Shippo automatically notifies your server when package status changes - no need to keep checking!

09

Part 4: Email Notifications

👤 For Customers

Order confirmed
Order shipped (with tracking)
Order delivered
Payment processed

👔 For Designers

New order received
Payment released (after 21 days)

Using Resend

const resendMail = require('@resend/mail');

const msg = {
  to: order.customer_email,
  from: 'orders@pjmsanko.com',
  subject: 'Order Confirmed - Sanko',
  html: `Thanks for your order!
         Order #${order.id}`
};

await resendMail.send(msg);

10

Part 5: Enforcing $150 Minimum

Frontend Approach (Shopify Theme)

{% if cart.total_price < 15000 %}
  
    Minimum order: $150
    Add ${{ 150 | minus: cart.total_price | 
              divided_by: 100 }} more
  
  
{% else %}
  
{% endif %}

Backend Approach (Shopify Scripts)

MINIMUM_ORDER = 150

if cart.subtotal_price < MINIMUM_ORDER * 100
  # Block checkout
end

11

Part 6: Complete Order Flow

1

Customer browses Sanko

2

Adds items to cart (must hit £150)

3

Checks out → Payment goes to Sanko's Stripe

4

Shopify webhook → Our server receives order

5

Server emails: designer & customer

6

Designer ships & enters tracking number from DHL, UPS etc

7

Shippo tracks package

8

Package delivered → Shippo notifies Sanko platform (our server)

9

Server marks order as delivered in the database

10

21 days later → Cron(scheduler) job runs

11

Stripe transfers £160 to designer

12

Email designer: "Payment sent!"

12

Part 7: Your Backend Server

Tech Architecture

Shopify Theme (Frontend)

↓

Node.js Server (Backend)

↓

PostgreSQL Database

↓

Stripe

Shippo

Resend.com

Basic Server Structure

const express = require('express');
const app = express();

// Webhook from Shopify
app.post('/webhooks/shopify/order-created', async (req, res) => {
  await database.createOrder(req.body);
  await sendNotifications(req.body);
  res.sendStatus(200);
});

// Daily payout check
cron.schedule('0 0 * * *', processPayouts);

13

Part 8: Development Roadmap

Phase 1 Week 1-3

MVP

Set up Shopify store
Install marketplace app
Configure Stripe Connect
Build designer onboarding
Implement £150 minimum
Basic email notifications

Phase 2 Week 4-6

Automation

Integrate Shippo tracking
Build webhook handlers
Create payout cron job
Add customer tracking page

Phase 3 Week 6-8

Polish

Custom designer(seller) dashboard
Advanced analytics

14

Key Concepts & Costs

Key Concepts

Webhooks:

Apps telling each other "something happened"

Escrow:

Holding money temporarily

API:

Way for software to communicate

Cron job:

Scheduled automated task

Cost Breakdown

Shopify £29-299/mo

Stripe 2.9% + 30¢

Shippo Free

Resend.com Free