5 must-have features for your next sales order management software

Some of the biggest challenges facing wholesale businesses today include errors inherent in manual order taking, delays after orders are submitted and rising competition in sales. B2B sales order management software can help solve these challenges.

But what elements does your sales order management software really need to have?

1. Software that puts you in control

Look for software that gives you a single view of sales orders across all your B2B channels. You will need to have the functionality to sort this data and search and filter it according to your needs.

Ensure the sales orders can be easily viewed, edited, and monitored across the entire sales cycle. Your back-office order processing team must be able to approve sales orders according to pre-defined workflows. To ensure a smooth and streamlined order processing system your sales order management software must be integrated with your ERP system effectively creating one system that does it all

Your sales order management software should be fully configurable to how your company works and how you process your orders.

2. Easily adaptable sales order management software

Can you set up, assign and easily maintain your customer price lists, even in different currencies? Perhaps you will need to import them via your ERP system. So, make sure the system you choose has this capability.

It’s important to be able to define and change discount thresholds by customer and promote specific products through up-sell and cross-sell campaigns. The more customizable the software you choose is the more you will be able to control all aspects of your sales cycle. You should be able to configure without resorting to expensive coding instead using rules and workflows that are user-friendly and non-technical.

Ensure you can capture and manage all your sales reps’ in-store transactions in real-time and provide them with all the information they might need in the field.

3. Bring Your Own Device (‘BYOD’)

The easiest sales order management solution is one that will work on your sales rep’s favorite device which they’re already using.  Just ensure the software is multi-platform for the ultimate mobile CRM solution.

4. Improve how you run your business with enhanced order-to-cash insights

The right sales order management software will allow you to discover new insights into order fulfilment issues, such as which of your products are performing the best, customer buying patterns, and more.

You will be able to analyze and assess which of your sales channels are the most effective and how your customers use each one, enabling you to build on your customer relationships by knowing more about them and having that information at your fingertips.

Make informed decisions and devise campaigns to promote certain inventory items, based on the addition of your software providing sell-through visibility at your retail stores.

Ensure that reporting features are customizable, so you can assess your order-to-cash operations on a continual basis.  Any sales order management system you select should integrate with your order-to-cash data, giving you a complete picture of your business on one dashboard.

5. Omnichannel

Sales order management software can effectively manage all sales orders from all your B2B channels on one platform.  This means information including inventory levels is always up to date and accessible by all departments in your company, whether they are sales reps in the field, customer service staff, warehouse workers picking orders or top management.

Additional articles on sales order management software you might find interesting:

9 Critical Capabilities Sales Order Management Software Should Offer You

Where Wholesale ERP and Sales Order Management are Headed in the Next Five Years