Order management is a big part of the wholesale business. It's often more complicated than it is for B2C companies thanks to the presence of different pricing tiers, multiple sales channels, and the need to keep track of pallets' worth of items instead of single quantities. Fortunately, there's an easy way to streamline the process of handling these needs: online order management.
Unify Order Formats
Companies using traditional order handling methods often have to deal with a wide variety of order formats. This is because they have developed different order-taking methods over time instead of starting with a single system. A company that has been in business long enough may have everything from handwritten orders to Excel spreadsheets all coming in at once. This is confusing and leads to errors and delays.
Moving order management online eliminates all of these different formats. Instead, everyone learns a single method for entering orders. This alone reduces confusion and cuts the amount of errors. Even better, an order that has been entered into an online system is immediately available to all of the right personnel. There are no papers to lose, no failed hand-offs between departments, and no unnecessary delays.
Allow Customers to Place Orders Online
Thanks to their interactions with B2C sites in their personal lives, wholesale customers are used to getting what they want within a few clicks. When they want to order a pallet or a truckload of an item, they want that same convenience. By integrating online order management software with your QuickBooks accounting system, you can provide that convenience.
Order management software can handle the unique e-commerce needs of the B2B wholesaler. It allows for customer-specific pricing, real time inventory availability, pictures and descriptions of your products, plus more. All of these features give customers the ability to place their own orders, no longer waiting for a salesperson to come when they want to place an order. With some customers, this can be the difference that gets them to choose to deal with you instead of your competition.
Allow Your Field Staff to Enter Orders Immediately
When field salespeople convince someone to place an order, that customer wants to see that the order is in progress - right away. With an online ordering system, it's easy to meet this desire. Since everything can be accessed via the internet, all the salesperson needs to do is log on from a laptop or other mobile device to place the order. The order will then be transferred right into the accounting software and sent to the warehouse for shipping. No longer needing to get these orders to the office saves a lot of time.
Allow Field Staff to Access Important Information on the Spot
If a customer asks about your inventory levels or for details about a particular product, it's important for salespeople to be able to answer those questions. With an online system, there's no need for them to call the office, or worse, guess about how much of an item is in stock. The same system that lets them instantly place orders will also hold important data like stock levels and product details. They'll be able to provide rock-solid answers that are completely up to date, and best of all, do so within seconds.
These are just some of the ways online order management helps all of your sales channels and even improves the sales process itself. To learn more about integrating an order management system with QuickBooks or for answers to any other questions you may have, just give us a call. We'll be glad to explain all of the benefits and help you get started!
