Order management is essential for businesses purchasing, selling, or fulfilling products and services. It involves various processes and activities that ensure orders are accurately received, processed, and fulfilled promptly and efficiently.
If you want to improve your order management system and increase the efficiency and profitability of your business, consider investing in high-quality order management software. I-Fulfilment software can automate many manual tasks associated with order management, help you avoid errors, and provide valuable insights and analytics.
Why is Proper Order Management So Important?
The list of departments involved in proper order management means there are many opportunities for errors. If one aspect of the process is not handled correctly or documented, it can lead to problems with order fulfillment and customer satisfaction.
Poor order management can result in the inability to fulfill orders, delays in shipping or delivery, and payment issues. It is estimated that 63% of customers will not use a business again after just one negative experience.
Keeping good order management practices is essential for maintaining customer loyalty and ensuring the success of your business. Investing in a reliable and efficient order management system is a smart move for businesses that want to thrive in today’s competitive marketplace.
Importance of Order Management
Implementing an order management system can be time-consuming and may seem like an added effort. However, the benefits of having a robust and efficient order management system can be significant.
The following are some of the reasons why you should consider implementing an order management system in your organisation:
- Track overstocking and understocking
- Fewer mistakes in fulfilling orders
- Saves time
Track Overstocking and Understocking
Having too much or too little inventory can be detrimental to your business. Overstocking can tie up your cash and leave you with excess inventory that may not sell, while understocking can lead to delays in fulfilling customer orders, which can damage your brand reputation.
An Order Management System (OMS) can help you avoid these problems by tracking customer purchase history and providing insights into seasonal sales trends. This can help you manage your inventory levels and avoid overstocking or understocking, which can save you money and improve customer satisfaction.
Fewer mistakes in fulfilling orders
Manually managing several orders is normal, but as your business grows and you receive more orders, the risk of errors increases. Mistakes such as delivering the wrong orders, shipping to the incorrect address, and delays in fulfillment can damage your reputation and harm your business.
An order management system can help you avoid these problems by streamlining the order processing and fulfillment process and reducing the chances of human error. A good order management system can help you reduce mistakes, save time, and improve customer satisfaction by automating many of the manual tasks associated with order management.
Saves time
As an e-commerce entrepreneur, you have a vision for your business and likely don’t want to spend your time and resources on tedious order fulfillment tasks. Hiring a professional third-party logistics (3PL) company to handle your order management can be expensive, but investing in an order management system is a more affordable solution.
An order management system is a next-generation, automated solution that can help businesses save time and money by automating many of the manual tasks associated with order management. By implementing an effective order management system, you can free up your valuable resources and focus on growing your business.
What is Order Lead Time?
Order lead time is the time that elapses between placing an order and delivering the products or services being ordered. This time frame includes processing the order, preparing the items for shipment, and shipping the order to the customer.
Importance of Order Lead Time
The order lead time is an important measure of a business’s performance, as it can impact customer satisfaction and the overall efficiency of the order fulfillment process. Companies can improve their operations and provide a better customer experience by understanding and optimising their order lead time.
Importance of Decreasing Order Lead Time
To keep customers satisfied, reducing order lead times and providing quick and accurate fulfillment on every order is important. Here are five ways to achieve this:
Flexibility during seasonal peak sales
Reducing order lead times can provide the option to use idle assets and pre-position them for use during rapid shifts in demand. This can help manufacturers to reduce their safety stocks and increase their market flexibility. As a result, manufacturers can improve their cash flow and create a more agile environment for continuous improvement initiatives. Overall, this can lead to improved efficiency and a more effective manufacturing operation.
The more efficient output than your competitors
Using advanced, dynamic, and automated packaging equipment and machines can help decrease lead time to market at a minimal cost. These customisable and flexible solutions allow companies to save money while still meeting their production goals.
Timely inventory checks for overstocking and understocking
Improving supply chain planning, inventory management, and logistics can help companies get their products to consumers faster and improve reliability. These improvements can also help to avoid stock-outs and lost sales. By making refinements to these processes, companies can reduce their order lead times and improve their ability to meet customer demand.
Meeting deadlines consistently
The advantages of getting work done are enormous. They contributed to the company’s objectives, met deadlines, and improved quality and production. These are just some of the ways it can help any business.
Faster order fulfillment increases cash flows
Implementing a comprehensive process to decrease the time it takes to get a product from suppliers to clients can increase cash flow. By streamlining this process and reducing lead times, companies can more quickly receive payment for their products and services, improving their financial health and stability.
Key Metrics for Order Management
Improving order management can help companies better serve their customers and maintain a competitive edge. One effective way to achieve this is by tracking a set of order management key performance indicators (KPIs). Using KPIs allows businesses to monitor the performance of their order management process and make improvements as needed.
Many companies use OMS to track these critical metrics. By using an OMS, businesses can gain valuable insights into their order management process and take steps to improve it.
Rate of return
Understanding the rate at which a company receives returns from customers is critical for gaining insights into the problems the customers are experiencing with the product. Learning this helpful information will allow you to improve product quality and thus reduce the rate of returns.
Picking accuracy
Picking accuracy is a critical metric for measuring the performance of a fulfillment center. A low picking accuracy rate may indicate that the fulfillment center uses manual picking methods or that its order management processes are ineffective.
On the other hand, a high picking accuracy rate indicates that the fulfillment center has high-quality control standards, uses a combination of automation and manual procedures, has well-trained employees, and has effective systems in place to ensure that orders are picked and shipped correctly.
Order lead time
Another indicator of an appropriate order fulfilment process is order lead time. A good lead time has a significant impact on customer satisfaction, making it the most important factor for any eCommerce retailer. The time it takes for an eCommerce retailer to pick, pack, and deliver the ordered item to the customer is referred to as order lead time.
Purchase frequency
The frequency with which a customer orders products from an eCommerce retailer is another factor in determining order fulfilment success. This assisted in evaluating the orders received throughout the month or year. Allowing you to determine which products sell out quickly and are in high demand, letting you stock them in sufficient quantities.
How Can You Make Order Management Better for Your Business?
Customer satisfaction and repeat business will increase margins and brand loyalty. Those advantages alone are reason enough to consider using an OMS. As an eCommerce retailer, staying competitive means providing the fast, personalised, and error-free order fulfillment experience that customers expect. An order management system is an advanced strategy in the eCommerce world, offering the best solution for meeting these demands.
Today’s order management solutions are designed to help you deliver unmatched customer satisfaction and stay ahead of the competition. If you want to improve your eCommerce business and provide the best possible experience for your customers, consider the BladePRO order fulfilment system, our market-leading fulfilment software.
Our order management system seamlessly integrates with all major eCommerce platforms, providing real-time data and availability 24/7. This ensures that you have access to the information you need to make smart decisions and fulfill orders accurately and efficiently without interruptions. With our system, you can manage your orders and inventory in one place, streamlining your operations and improving your overall business performance.
Contact I-Fulfilment to learn more about how we can help.