Order processing software is key to business scale, improving customer satisfaction and profit margins. It is a strategic tool for any B2B company that handles large volumes of sales orders. Brand manufacturers and wholesalers can benefit greatly from such solutions by automating otherwise time-consuming administrative work and greatly reducing the number of costly errors.
But what exactly is order processing software? What specific advantages does it offer? And how can it help your organization grow?
An introduction to order management software
Order taking software does what it says on the tin. It automates the processes performed by field sales reps in handling sales orders of physical goods. This ensures that customers are served in the most efficient manner possible - each order is taken and processed quickly and accurately, streamlining the order-to-cash cycle and improving customer satisfaction.
With sales order management software , you’ll have access to a single, consolidated view of your sales orders, from all your sales channels: in-person (field sales reps) and online (B2B e-Commerce). It allows you to approve your sales orders in accordance with your order approval workflows, and enables you to ‘slice and dice’ the data, to identify top and worst selling items, and to monitor sales trends by season, customer type, product line, and sales reps. Your automated sales platform should also be able to handle returns, refunds, quotes and more.
Ideally, your order management software will be integrated with your ERP (enterprise resource planning) system, to efficiently manage delivery, invoicing, and collections against your sales orders.
How order processing software helps your team
Order processing software makes life considerably easier for nearly every member of your sales and operations teams. Sales reps, for example, can easily enter sales orders on the road, while also having instant access to all pertinent customer and product information. Sales order software can also help you to increase the average order value by introducing special offers and cross-sell campaigns, further bolstering sales.
Real-time ERP integration ensures that every submitted sales order can be fulfilled by your warehouse staff with available inventory, that it meets your discount rules, minimum order value, and other validations important to your business. Because every order is validated against and integrated directly into your ERP, there’s no chance of customer orders falling through the cracks and customers being disappointed.
Order processing software can also allow your customers to track their orders online, which provides them peace of mind and also reduces the strain on your customer service team.
Your accounting staff also benefits as invoices can be automatically and accurately generated when the sales software is integrated with your accounts receivables system. It’s even possible to integrate your order management system directly with a payment system so payments can be taken in the field. As each new order is captured, all order-related data, including CoGS (Cost of Goods Sold) information, is readily accessible, making financial reporting easier and more accurate.
The end result: improved customer satisfaction and greater ROI
Nearly every aspect of your sales order process can be improved via the right order processing solution, resulting in greater customer satisfaction and profits. Customers are kept happy thanks to better offers and deals, timely delivery, fewer errors and the ability to track their orders online. This in turn means more repeat business and better reviews. At the same time, you’ve reduced the workload for your sales team, accounting department, customer service reps, and warehouse staff, while being able to make smarter inventory and resource allocation decisions. This means you benefit from improved employee productivity, fewer costly mistakes, and greater profit margins.
Perhaps most importantly, it means you’ll have the right infrastructure for scaling up your business and taking on even more orders as you grow.
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