The way you interact with your wholesale customers will determine whether you will get repeat business and referrals. Good customer service leads to customer satisfaction and loyalty. One way to provide that customer service is by having a customer order management solution in place. You can immediately take the following steps to improve your B22B customer order management services.
As your business evolves beyond the confines of manual data entry, embracing an order management system becomes essential. This innovative software streamlines order entry and processing, automating much of the manual workload. Many systems offer dedicated portals or online interfaces specifically for the sales department. Through a sales rep portal, sales representatives can effortlessly access customer accounts and inventory and place orders without the need to contact the office, enhancing their efficiency and productivity.
More business means more orders. More orders mean more invoices. That means more forms, more data entry, and more transferring of information between different departments. It's easy for a form or piece of information to get lost in the shuffle.
Accelerating the movement of merchandise offers significant advantages for everyone involved—end customers, retailers, and particularly wholesalers. You likely have already implemented many foundational improvements in your wholesale operations, such as intelligent warehousing, bar-coding, efficient racking systems, enhanced transportation options with same-day or overnight deliveries, and specialized software designed to expedite the delivery of merchandise to its destination.
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 continue using a manual order fulfillment system, it is time to reevaluate your decision. There are many reasons why a more automated order fulfillment system can be more effective for your business.
Customer retention is an important aspect of any business, including companies that sell B2B. Acquiring a new customer may cost more than keeping an existing one. On top of that, existing customers tend to spend more than new ones do. The math is easy. If it costs less to retain a customer who will spend more, then at least some resources should be spent on improving customer loyalty.
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. Sales Rep Portals and B2B Customer Portals that integrate with your back-room accounting software are an easy and affordable way to free up your inside and outside staff’s time and win customer loyalty.
The effort it takes to fulfill wholesale orders can be challenging and time-consuming. By employing the proper order fulfillment strategies, however, you can meet these challenges head-on, saving your company time and money.
If you are like most wholesalers and manufacturers, you know how important accuracy can be when it comes to order processing. One simple error can become a massive nightmare Regardless of how small. It is truly amazing how humans can cause problems with order processing. While nobody wants to end up with incorrect orders, inaccurate delivery instructions, short orders, or delivery delays, it used to be that an error here and there was just inevitable.
Increasing B2B sales is about more than just marketing. The world is changing as B2B buyers turn to online purchasing more than ever. This trend isn't limited to the world of prominent corporations, either. Many small and mid-sized manufacturing and distribution businesses now offer electronic order fulfillment options to accommodate these buyers.
