Business owners do not want to think about returns and refunds, and for good reason. Not only can processing high numbers of product returns and refunds become extremely time-consuming, but it can also be very costly. In order to effectively reduce the number of returns and refunds your business experiences, efficient order management software is essential.
There are several ways that your company can use order management software to reduce returns and refunds.
Customer Portal
Order management software should offer a B2B customer portal that enables your customers to view your inventory in real time to be aware of your product's availability. This allows them to make more accurate choices about the amount of their purchases, reducing the chances of them needing to return overstocked items.
Additionally, your customers will have access to
- B2B online order forms that eliminate ordering errors
- Product images and details so they can carefully evaluate your products before their order is ever placed
- Be able to view their own order history so they can view products they have previously ordered to ensure compatibility with items they may be considering.
Once your customers' orders are placed, they can examine detailed information regarding their purchases to ensure accuracy and completeness.
Automated Warehouse Integration
With automated warehouse integration, your customers won't have to worry about human data entry errors or miscommunication. Since effective order management software submits order information directly to QuickBooks and your warehouse, every aspect of your customer's orders is streamlined, which helps ensure the accuracy of each shipment. Additionally, with warehouse integration, your customers and sales staff have real-time access to accurate product availability so that they never order more than what is available, decreasing the chances of partial shipments that might be returned.
Sales Rep Portal
An extensive and efficient sales rep portal is essential in reducing the returns and refunds your company encounters. Effective ordering software should have a portal that is specifically designed to help your sales reps assist your customers with their orders, product information, and any questions they might have. Since your sales staff will have access to customer order histories, real-time product availability, customer-specific pricing, and detailed order information, the risk of your customers placing orders for items that might later be returned is significantly reduced.
Better Communication
We all know that communication is key to customer satisfaction, and effective order management software is an excellent tool for ensuring clear communication between you and your customers. Since your management team, your sales staff, and your customers all have real-time access to your database regardless of where they are, you can rest assured that your customers' needs are met accurately and promptly. In addition, you can select settings within your software that ensure that a salesperson is notified in the event that an ordering error has been made or an incomplete order has been received.
If you are concerned about the number of returns and refunds your business is experiencing, try order management software to help ensure that your customers receive the products they want in the amounts they want and on time. In order for inventory software to be efficient, however, it is vital that your software integrates with QuickBooks. This will ensure that the entire ordering process is streamlined, from when your customers begin searching for the products they desire to when they receive their shipments.
