Is your wholesale ordering process lagging behind the expectations of your customers? In today's fast-paced world, customers are accustomed to the convenience of instant ordering in their personal lives. They know that one-click ordering is possible, and they expect the same efficiency when purchasing in bulk for their businesses. It may be time for your B2B company to innovate and streamline your order process.
Here are some things you can do that customers will immediately appreciate:
Implementing integrated order entry software is one of the most effective ways to streamline your order processing routine. Your sales reps, customer service staff, and wholesale customers can place orders online, and those orders will be automatically created in QuickBooks without any additional data entry. Order entry software can also help streamline your entire fulfillment process. Here are three critical tasks that can be automated with software:
Many small business owners often find themselves without the time to fully embrace new technology. Who can spare the hours to master a new platform annually? Who has the bandwidth to explore and troubleshoot potential new technologies that could benefit their business? QuickBooks efficiently handles your needs, and your team is well-versed in its use. Currently, your employees manage orders via phone and email, and while this method isn't the quickest for entering data into QuickBooks, it gets the job done. However, as your business grows or if you're aiming to expand, relying on "at least it works" may no longer suffice, especially when most of your time is consumed by routine order processing.
Lean methodologies and streamlined business processes illustrate how businesses can simplify systems, boost sales, and ensure long-term sustainability. Often, innovation aligns perfectly with sound business strategy; for wholesalers, this translates to the necessity of upgrading their wholesale ordering systems. Here are three compelling reasons why an enhanced wholesale ordering system leads to increased sales.
You may have some systems and processes you've outgrown but haven't had the time or resources to address. If you're like a lot of fast-growing wholesale 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.
B2B eCommerce presents its own unique challenges—while it shares similarities with B2C eCommerce, the differences are profound.
In the beginning, you likely relied on Excel spreadsheets, phone calls, and emails to manage your wholesale orders. Like many smaller B2B enterprises, you probably had a pile of printed invoices ready to pass on to your warehouse team for order fulfillment.
Wholesale businesses understandably prefer to focus on growth rather than returns and refunds. Managing a high volume of returns can be both time-consuming and costly. To effectively minimize these challenges, implementing efficient inventory management software is crucial.
Long ago, retail stores and other B2B customers typically bought many items at once and then stored them in warehouses until they were almost out. Then, they'd restock with enough items to keep them in stock for months or even longer. This practice made it so that their wholesale suppliers didn't have to be too speedy when filling orders, and in some industries, it was typical for delivery to take several weeks.
Order management software is an innovative solution crafted to efficiently record and process orders. This adaptable tool seamlessly integrates into the unique environments and needs of all B2B product-based businesses. Embracing software for such a critical process as order management is a significant advancement. It is essential to comprehend the advantages of leveraging order management software before choosing one or implementing this cutting-edge technology.
