From the perspective of a customer, making a purchase from an ecommerce business should always be a smooth, simple process. The shopper visits a site and finds an item he or she wants, adds it to a cart, checks out and waits for a package to arrive at the door. Of course, anyone involved in an ecommerce organization understands the high level of complexity that’s actually involved in processing and fulfilling that order.
Completing all these tasks as efficiently as possible while meeting high standards for customer service calls for powerful, data-driven strategies and resources. Ecommerce organizations rely on technology solutions to accept payments, manage inventory and ship out products in a timely fashion. By working with a partner who provides an order management system with integrated tools for fulfillment, a business is primed to thrive and continue growing.
Key features for order management and fulfillment
“A robust system for order processing is essential for an ecommerce business.”
A robust system for order processing is essential for an ecommerce business to function at its best, making it possible to manage a large volume of sales while keeping private information safe. Encrypted real-time order inflow allows the organization to sort through purchases and address the needs of customers. With payment processing through a Payment Card Industry Security Standard-compliant Level 1 service provider, a company has a user-friendly way to accept cards without ever having sensitive data on its own server.
Ecommerce order fulfillment also becomes more challenging and resource intensive as businesses expand, with major demands often placed on warehousing, operations and personnel. A partner who has established facilities connections with shippers is an important asset for managing the time and labor involved in keeping tabs on inventory, packing products and shipping them out to customers. Tested knowledge and processes are especially crucial when it comes to complicated undertakings like reverse logistics.
The power of integration
Organizations gain an advantage by streamlining and integrating the processes that go into online sales and fulfillment. An OMS that gathers vital data and making it visible to the right stakeholders can transform the way a company manages its inventory and shipping. A system that ties every phase together enables more productive communication within an organization and keeps customers updated on the progress of their order via email.
A fully featured OMS strengthens fulfillment operations, starting from checking product availability, calculating shipping costs and standardizing customers’ addresses. The system generates pick tickets, locates items within a warehouse and updates inventory records as they go out. Through their order management and fulfillment partner, businesses can take advantage of speedy mail clearance and volume-based discounts.
Most importantly, an ecommerce company can form stronger connections with its customers. Developing a relational database that offers a 360-degree view of shoppers puts a business in a position to continue improving its communications and service. When users can count on an organization to ship out orders fast and provide visibility, they want to keep coming back.
SFG’s FlexOMS brings ecommerce companies an integrated solution for order management and fulfillment. With a fresh perspective on every order and customer, an organization has the business intelligence and operational agility it needs to continue scaling up.
