It is Cliche to say that processing orders quickly, accurately and efficiently is the
cornerstone upon which a successful business can be built. If your customers don’t get what they order, or don’t get it on time, or it
costs too much because your fulfillment costs result in your prices being too
high, you won’t build your business. You
have to give your customers what they want, when they want it, at a competitive
price.
Once
your company has received an order from a customer, it must be transmitted to
the warehouse to be picked, packed and shipped.
But, before that, your system must be able to verify that the inventory
is in stock and ready to be picked. Your
system must also offer the capability of confirming that payment has been
received, or that the customer’s credit is acceptable, prior to shipment. Items must be reordered when inventory is
shipped. This can be done automatically,
or manually, but if inventory reorders are made manually, the information must
be transmitted automatically and accurately to purchasing personnel. Transparency and automation is the key to an
efficient, accurate system. An optimal
system will allow you to increase accuracy, reduce processing time, ship more
efficiently and improve your customer’s experience.
There
are many aspects of your order processing system that must be considered. Your investment isn’t in software, or a
system. Your investment is really in the
team that you select to design, customize, implement and integrate your new
system. When you select a software provider
they should be able to give you excellent and compelling answers about the
following functional areas:
Communication
Orders
must be received with as little duplicate data entry as possible and
transmitted immediately and accurately to the warehouse. A sophisticated solution provider will
standardize the way that information / orders are received from your customers
so that their orders are automatically received by your system. This does not require that your B-to-B
customers conform to an inflexible protocol.
A sophisticated software provider can receive the customer’s information
in a variety of formats and transfer the information to a standard format in
your order management system. This
information is easy for the customer to input, making their purchase experience
simple and fast. The information is then
automatically and completely available to your customer service staff, so that
customer inquiries are answered with complete and up-to-date information,
including order and shipment status.
Database
simplicity
Regardless
of whether customers place orders through online marketplaces, your website,
via mobile devices, or to your telephone operators, your order management
system must be able to receive order information without problems from any
source. Then, all information in your
order management system must be immediately available to your entire team –
customer service, warehouse, accounting, etc.
It is imperative that your system be fully and functionally integrated –
data must be accessible and transferrable seamlessly between all company
systems. Order information must be
integrated with your accounting, warehouse activity, purchasing, customer
service, shipping, sales, and other systems.
Customers frequently encounter problems with the interface between
systems. These problems can be very
challenging for employees, suppliers and customers. When a customer service
representative has to scan through a variety of screens, rather than having access
to a single, detailed overview of the order, product, picking, shipping and
billing information, customers cannot enjoy the excellent customer experience
that we want them to enjoy. The
excellence of your order management system and the level of integration with
your other systems will make the difference and that difference will translate
into improved customer experiences and ultimately increased sales.
Inventory
control
One
thing you never want to hear is that you are out of stock on a popular
item. An excellent order management
system will alert you to item velocity relative to on-hand inventory quantities
and reorder / receipt of inventory timelines.
Inventory reorder processes can be automatic, or information can be
transmitted to purchasing staff to manually reorder inventory. A high level of customization will provide
your company with the optimal level of inventory control and cost management –
while simultaneously ensuring the highest level of customer satisfaction
resulting from consistent inventory availability, without holding so much
inventory that you risk accumulating non-saleable inventory.
Automation
The
maximum level of automation will help you reduce errors, speed order processing
and reduce cost. An excellent order
management system will provide the optimal level of automation, combined with
the flexibility to allow your customer to place complex orders without frustration.
To
accomplish all of these objectives, you need a sophisticated, experienced order
management system provider. There really
is only one choice – Avectous Integrated Software.
Take Control!
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