Your order fulfillment system can be one of the most important aspects of your business, and when it is not up to date, your business suffers. If you are continuing to use a manual order fulfillment system, it is time you reevaluated your decision. There are a multitude of reasons that a more automated order fulfillment system can be more effective for your business.
If you use a 3PL to do your order fulfillment you are faced with the daily challenge of sending them your orders before the shipping deadline. Software that allows you to send your shipment requests to your 3PL in a batch without any data entry can be the key to speeding up the fulfillment process.
Does your 3PL (third party logistics providers, aka bonded warehouses or public warehouses) require you to perform order entry into their portal, or to create an order file that matches their specification, or worst of all, to email them individual pdf’s of packing lists?
A system that integrates your accounting software (such as QuickBooks) with your warehouse can save you time and money by speeding up the fulfillment process and by reducing re-ships and returns.
In order to keep things running smoothly in a product-based business it is essential that every aspect of order processing, from order entry to shipping to invoicing, happens quickly and efficiently. The order fulfillment process is much more involved and important than many small business owners and managers might realize.
Order processing is one of the most important functions of any business, and good order entry, processing, and fulfillment software can save you time and eliminate errors. If you give your customers and reps convenient 24/7 access to the information they need they will feel confident that their orders are being processed, delivered, and invoiced quickly and accurately. Rep and B2B Customer Portals that integrate with you back-room accounting software are an easy and affordable way to free up your inside and outside staff’s time and to win customer loyalty.
If you are like most business owners today, you know that the effort it takes to fulfill orders can be challenging and time consumingy. By employing the proper order fulfillment strategies, however, you can meet these challenges head on, saving yourself an abundance of both time and money.
A 2013 survey of 400 North American and European business-to-business (B2B) companies indicates that 97 percent of B2Bcompanies offer online ordering for at least some of their products or services. Most B2B respondents also indicated that they planned to increase their electronic offerings by an average of 34 percent in the next year. For many purchasers, it's simply a better way to buy.
Order entry software can take your business processes from ponderous and sluggish to streamlined and dynamic. For small and mid-size B2B operations, the change can be dramatic, and you’ll start seeing results quickly. You’ll wonder why you waited so long to adopt this valuable technology tool - especially considering how easy it is to implement and use.
The more time you spend answering routine customer service questions and doing data entry means less time you have to devote to the activities that generate revenue for your business. Given the fact that today’s business environment is more competitive than ever, streamlining business functions has become a top priority for companies that want to grow. An automated order management system can be the key to a smoother, more efficient process.
You may have some systems and processes that you've outgrown, but just haven't had the time or resources to address. If you're like a lot of fast-growing businesses, your order fulfillment process could be very high on that list.
When you first opened your doors, you may have been able to take orders, grab the inventory, and box up the product yourself. Today, you have more incoming orders than you and your team can handle. If you're still using the same process that you did back when you were a one-person operation, you may have a serious problem.
