Every aspect of your e-commerce business is impacted by order management, which begins even before the buyer clicks the buy button. Order management, however, goes beyond simply tracking orders; it also covers inventory control, client feedback, selecting and packaging, and returns.
That’s why businesses are investing in order management systems. Here are some of the features to look for while picking order management system software.
Order tracking
When you first start out selling online, a consumer is more than satisfied with a straightforward email that includes a tracking number. But consider having to send 20 or more emails per day that include tracking information. This alone can require two hours each day!
Order tracking is useful for your customer service team as well as for your customers. Your customer service person needs to be able to know where the order is and what the ETA is in case a customer has a question regarding an order.
Some order management systems, including those that handle Amazon FBA orders, include order processing and tracking functionality. However, if you aren’t using a platform that has already been developed, you should pick an OMS that interacts with a logistics provider, like UPS or Yodel, so the consumer can receive updates on their purchase.
Manage Returns
Returns are an unavoidable aspect of doing business online, so you should optimize the process as much as you can. Customers come first, even though it’s crucial for your own systems so that you may update the inventory level.
In fact, a streamlined and simple returns process on your OMS can increase sales for your company. Although it seems strange, 85% of consumers research the return policy before making a purchase. Customers have come to trust brands like Amazon and ASOS because of their simple return policies.
Some favorable options for returns are coupons, vouchers, exchange products, partial returns, etc.
CRM integration
When attempting to expand your corporation, it is crucial to comprehend your customers’ purchasing patterns. You can begin to understand your clients’ behavior by linking your OMS with your marketing software.
Prior orders, location, and communications with customer support are a few crucial pieces of information to obtain.
By gathering information about orders in this way, you may offer them customized messaging, which enhances their experience.
Sending a lot of emails on your new men’s line, for instance, might not make sense if your customer has ordered a lot of women’s clothing.
Gathering data
Making ensuring your customers have a positive experience is critical, but it’s also crucial to know how your company is doing on a daily basis. Either complete reporting is included in a superb OMS, or it integrates with reporting software.
Your accounting software is the prime illustration of this. Ecommerce includes a lot of moving elements, and your bookkeeper may have to spend a lot of time manually entering all this data into Xero, Quickbooks commerce, or other accounting software. especially if you double as the bookkeeper.
Some software seamlessly connects with your accounting program to segment your sales and demonstrate profitability. You can utilize third-party software that interacts with your accounting software if you use a third-party platform like Etsy or Amazon.
Automation
An effective OMS will have the ability to automatically produce orders, notify customers, make picking orders, print packing slips and shipping labels, update inventory and arrange for dispatch. In order to provide you with comprehensive data on the state of your company, it will also store analytics on every aspect of the shipment.
So, these are some of the features that are required. There can be other features also that are necessary as per your requirements, but to start off, you can look for these aspects.