Are Concerns Over E-Commerce Order Management Hindering Your Success?

More than half of all B2B companies still lack a digital presence despite the numerous advantages of e-commerce order management for sellers and buyers, an article by Randy Kohl on The Future of Commerce website explains. Kohl cites a 2012 Hybris survey that states “88 percent of B2B respondents indicated that they would prefer to buy online, yet 71 percent said they still conduct business with a company that has no online ordering capabilities.”

It’s obvious that 88 percent is more than enough demand for an e-commerce order management option. And it’s not only the increasing customer desire and expectation for an online option. “The productivity, efficiency, and long-term cost savings gains [of an e-commerce channel] can be tremendous,” writes Kohl, a senior content strategist for an e-commerce design and development firm. So what’s keeping so many companies from joining the 21st century?

One of the reasons companies may be hesitant to use the e-commerce channel is that they fear the removal of the human element, which has been vital to success and fruitful relationships with customers. This just isn’t so, Kohl reassures us. Customer interaction will always be necessary. In fact, the article goes on to say that “a properly implemented e-commerce channel can only improve these personal interactions.”

The truth is that a robust e-commerce order management system will give greater visibility to sales reps that need to see real-time inventory information and customer price-levels when creating orders. An efficient e-commerce tool will increase customer satisfaction by allowing reps to easily communicate valuable and correct information to the customer. Further, proper integration with ERP and CRM systems make success metrics like sales goals and conversion reports easily accessible to both sales reps and managers.

Allowing customers to order online will also give them reliable visibility into the lifecycle of their orders. Equipped with customer logins, buyers can place, edit and view orders easily. This transparency is good for them, but it’s also good for you as a distributor. It allows you to market relevant information to each individual buyer by tracking preferences and order history from within the e-commerce application.

“Customers can be targeted with specific product catalogs and pricing, as mentioned, but they can also be presented with tailored content, allowing them to cut through the noise and get at the information that really matters to them,” Kohl writes.

Perhaps most importantly, a well-integrated e-commerce order management system will make the process easier on operations as a whole. When an e-commerce system is integrated with ERP and CRM systems, duplication of data entry is a thing of the past.

Particularly with cloud systems like NetSuite that integrate e-commerce web stores with back-end ERP and CRM systems, there is one system which any employee or customer can log in to and use to view order and customer information at any stage of the lifecycle. “This,” Kohl says, “leads to direct cost savings, which can be reinvested in the e-commerce system to continually evolve the channel along with business needs.”

Source: The Future of Commerce, August 2013