Everything you need to know about e-commerce order management

With the present-day supply chain rapidly transforming due to the ever-changing customers’ preferences, e-commerce order management has become the cornerstone of successful online business ventures. Hence, it is no longer about having an attractive website or offering competitive prices. It is about building effective order processing strategies that have turned out to be the backbone of modern-day’s digital storefronts and applying them in processes.

Due to these requirements, retailers have to be ready to meet the increasing demand for products or services with efficient order processing. Hence, it becomes imperative for companies to implement e-commerce order management as quickly as possible so that the customers receive timely deliveries. To help alleviate this problem and gain more understanding, let us walk through all the critical topics of effective e-commerce order management.

Challenges with traditional order management

Conventional order management problems can impair businesses, leading to decreased customer satisfaction and revenue losses. This further dents the seamless flow of order follow-ups that result in incorrect shipping of orders, late deliveries, or incomplete orders that need to be averted effectively. Customers also experience difficulty tracking their orders, leading to frustration and a lack of trust in the business’s services.

Communication between customer-facing teams and back-office employees can lead to numerous issues besides incorrect orders. These issues can be compounded by inaccurate data entry or a lack of visibility into the order management process. Finally, manual processes can slow down the order fulfillment process, leading to delays in delivery and customer dissatisfaction.

To mitigate these risks, businesses must implement robust order management processes to ensure accuracy and efficiency. This is where automation becomes key for streamlining the order management process and providing clear visibility into the current status of each order.

A shift toward e-commerce order management

E-commerce order management is a game-changer for businesses looking to streamline operations and improve customer satisfaction. By leveraging the power of order management solutions, companies can automate, track, and optimize all orders, payment processing, shipping, and delivery activities.

Unlike manual order management processes, which require manual entry of orders and delays in updating system statuses due to manual steps, e-commerce order management enables high-speed automation that drastically reduces time spent manually entering information or waiting for approvals.

According to EdgeVerve, eCommerce order management systems can reduce manual order touches by 80%. This boosts salesforce productivity by over 10% and improves sales growth in return.

Thus, this shift from traditional order management processes to an e-commerce platform gives organizations unprecedented control over their supply chain and enhanced visibility into every aspect of their sales funnel.

Overview of traditional order management

Traditional order management identifies customer orders from start to finish, including order taking, scheduling and fulfillment, payment processing, invoicing, and delivery. It is a critical part of any business that sells products or services as it helps ensure a smooth customer experience. With efficient order management, companies can better manage their inventory levels, optimize pricing strategies, and improve customer satisfaction.

Order management allows companies to track orders across all channels (online, brick-and-mortar, etc.), manage customer relationships, and monitor inventory and pricing levels. By automating mundane tasks, order management saves time and money, enabling employees to focus on more important activities like sales development. Additionally, it can provide insights that help businesses identify trends they can use to improve their operations.

Order Management System (OMS) or e-commerce order management

An Order Management System (OMS) is a software platform that manages the entire order life-cycle, from order intake through fulfillment. It enables businesses to process orders efficiently, track delivery status, and streamline workflow processes between different departments. An OMS can also provide real-time insights into customer interactions and enable businesses to customize their services based on customer preferences.

An OMS allows companies to connect with customers quickly and easily by providing automated email confirmations and notifications of delivery updates. This helps them improve customer satisfaction while reducing costs associated with manual order processing. Ultimately, an OMS provides businesses with all the necessary tools to handle their sales operations successfully.

An OMS can help businesses operate more efficiently and effectively by taking advantage of advanced automation capabilities and data analytics. With greater insight into customer needs and preferences, supply chain firms can make better decisions that drive long-term growth and increase profitability.

Some key pain points of OMS

Order Management Systems are vital to any e-commerce business order management, but they can often be cumbersome and challenging to navigate. Here are some of the most common pain points associated with OMS that businesses may experience:

Lack of flexibility: Many businesses find that their existing OMS solutions need more flexibility to customize and adapt to changing needs. With this ability, it is easier for a company to stay competitive in an ever-changing marketplace.

High costs: An effective OMS solution can be expensive, so businesses may spend more money than anticipated on implementation costs or monthly fees. This can strain resources, making it difficult to scale or grow effectively.

Poor customer experience: OMS solutions that lack an intuitive design or do not offer a good user interface can result in poor customer experiences. This can lead to frustration, confusion, and potentially lost sales if customers need help navigating the system.

Limited integration capabilities: If your OMS needs to integrate with other systems or services, it may limit your business’s growth and innovation potential. On the other hand, with the ability to link up with other applications, companies can effectively manage their operations and customer relationships.

Data security issues: An OMS platform is built around a robust security infrastructure that protects sensitive information from being compromised or misused. Without these safeguards, businesses risk exposing themselves to data breaches and other security risks.

How to improve an e-commerce order management system?

Primary steps of the e-commerce order management process

Once the order is placed, it goes through an order processing system. This ensures that all details are correctly entered and verified before the order can be shipped. The system also provides tracking information so customers can monitor the progress of their charges.

The primary steps in the e-commerce order management process include the following:

Benefits of e-commerce order management

Reduced costs: By automating the ordering process, companies can save on overhead costs such as staff wages and physical store space. Companies can also reduce their inventory costs by better managing stock levels.

Improved customer satisfaction: Automating the ordering process allows companies to process orders quickly and efficiently without errors, resulting in improved customer satisfaction, as customers know they can rely on their orders being delivered quickly and accurately.

Increased scalability: An e-commerce order management system allows businesses to expand as demand increases without worrying about manual scaling issues. Instead, the system can be easily scaled to meet new customer demands, meaning businesses have the flexibility to grow at their own pace.

Automated customer support: E-commerce order management systems also allow automated customer service inquiries and responses, thus enabling customers to quickly receive answers to any questions about their orders. This way, businesses can save time and money on customer service inquiries.

Improved data analysis: E-commerce order management systems allow businesses to capture valuable customer data, which can then be used for detailed reports and analytics. This helps companies better understand their customers’ needs so that they can tailor their products and services accordingly.

Conclusion

As businesses evolve, their need for better systems to manage orders and customer relationships becomes more important. Order Management Systems today incorporate Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies such as predictive analytics to provide advanced insights into customer behavior and improve decision-making.

Additionally, advances in cloud computing technology will enable Order Management Systems to be more accessible and provide greater scalability, allowing businesses to easily manage larger volumes of orders.  Furthermore, Machine Learning (ML) algorithms could identify patterns in customer data and optimize the order management process for a better customer experience. With the continued advancement of technology, the future potential for Order Management Systems is limitless.