Wholesale Order Management and the Path to Innovation

wholesale order management As the wholesale market grows steadily, one thing never changes, businesses are always in need of watching costs and growing revenue.  Wholesale order management is one area to focus on and with the help of innovative software that simplifies and streamlines your wholesale ordering process, wholesalers can do both. Finding a feature-rich program that is compatible with your accounting software and also gives access to your customers and staff is one of the quickest ways to bring innovation to your company.

The Old

Think back before computers and the advanced technology integrated so heavily in business today. Paper notebooks, filing cabinets, ledgers, etc...

Even today, paper orders, phone calls and fax machines are still the main way many companies receive orders.  Processing orders can be a full time job.  Orders can get lost or bogged down with errors which takes time to fix.  Inventory that is not updated in real time can cause issues with customers not receiving the products that they’ve ordered.

The New

What does the industry look like today? How are wholesalers finding innovative ways to fulfill orders?

Today there are many options for simplifying the order process.  But the best way is by giving your customers access to their accounts and letting them place orders themselves in their own portal.

Growing Revenue

Increasing sales is always first on the to-do list and this is exactly what a customer portal is designed to do. With a customer portal added to your wholesale site, customers no longer have to wait to place orders with someone in your office or contact a sales person to ask about pricing or inventory availability.  Once they go online and find what they are looking for, they place their order, which automatically uploads to your accounting software like QuickBooks, and potentially your warehouse.

Here are some of the features the customer portal should have:

  • Seamless access from your website
  • Customizable order forms for each customer
  • Integration with current accounting software
  • Access to customer pricing and discounts
  • Real-time inventory
  • Shipping and tracking information

Wholesalers trying to make it easier for businesses to order, are going to succeed brilliantly with a customer portal. Give customers 24/7 access with an easy-to-use, feature rich, customizable interface. Think of the increased orders that will come, when customers have clarity of inventory, shipping, past orders, and enjoy the ordering experience.

Cost Savings

If customers are placing their own orders and answering their own questions from a web portal think of the time saved in the office.  There will no longer be someone trying to decipher an order or contacting the customer because what they ordered is out of stock.  No more mismanaged shipments.  No more endless calls or emails about pricing or shipping status.  They will be able to access all of this themselves.  With the orders going straight into QuickBooks, no one will need to rekey the order.   An order management system could keep you from having to hire an additional person in the office, saving many dollars.

Next Stop, Innovation

To get ahead, we have to move from the old ways of doing business, and finding a solution for wholesale order management is a great way to do it.

Not only will customers be happier and more willing to spend more with your company, but business processes around wholesale order management will become simple and stress-free. The added insight into the analytical data and organized systems alone, is enough to be worth the affordable price.

Customer orders are what keeps wholesalers in business and finding the right tools to automate the process is an easy way to innovate.  Businesses want to focus on building relationships, finding new business, and staying ahead of their competition.  Not worrying about keeping up with customer orders.

Order management software