Chapter 15. Order Management Best Practices

In Chapter 15 of our order management guide, we’re giving you 15 order management best practices that can help you avoid tough situations and improve your efficiency.

Top 15 Order Management Best Practices

1. Automate Order Processing

We often repeat the importance of automation in this guide because it’s at the heart of an OMS ( Order Management System). Automation saves time and reduces errors. Whenever you find yourself working on something tedious and time-consuming, make it a habit to find out if there is a way to automate this task. Ask yourself, ‘How can I simplify this task to be easier, reduce mistakes, and take less time?’ Adopting an OMS is the best way to automate your order processing. However, do remember that they can vary depending on the functionality they offer.

2. Real-Time Inventory Management

You must always know where your inventory is if you want to reduce the chance of overselling or missing out on orders. Both are a real pain and lead to complaints. Don’t have real-time inventory management in your current OMS? Make it a priority to get it. You should also be sure that an OMS offers real real-time inventory management and not just marketed that way.

3. Centralize Order Data

Order management is most efficient when there is one source of truth. You need a reliable place with accurate info and P&L reports. You don’t want information to slip through the cracks in different channels, ecommerce solutions, and services. How will you know which is correct, especially when there is a problem? Whenever you encounter a situation where you might have more than one source of truth, find a way to combine them to avoid discrepancies.

4. Clear Order Statuses

Clear order statuses give you an accurate overview of where orders are, whether in the warehouse or en route to the customer. This helps enormously with customer communication. You should never be unsure where an order is, and you want to avoid situations where customer support gives customers inaccurate order status information.

5. Fraud Detection Software

People will try to defraud your business by claiming they didn’t receive orders or by sending back fake returns. Fraudulent orders mean a total loss of inventory, time, and profit. You want to make it impossible for fraudsters to make fraudulent returns. Bring fraud detection software into your ecommerce solution to stop fraudsters from the start.

6. Streamlined Returns Process

Quite simply, when returns are easy, customers are happier. They are more likely to buy from you again and give you higher ratings, which will help you remain profitable. If returns are difficult, customers can feel you have designed it that way and get frustrated. Furthermore, difficult returns can become a big affair if not handled properly. Make it easy for the customer to return an item; don’t give them too many hoops to jump through.

7. Optimize Shipping Options or Automate them

Many shipping options are available from different vendors; however, deciding which option is best shouldn’t take you more than a second. Faster shipping means less time wasted and more money saved on rates. So, optimizing and automating your shipping process is a must. Always look for ways to automate your shipping process to reduce mistakes and operate faster.

8. Maintain Accurate Product Information

A common scenario: a product’s information has changed, or you need to optimize the images or description. You should be able to do this all from one place. As you can imagine, mistakes can happen when copying and pasting information from one place to another. It’s also unnecessarily time-consuming, and removing these unnecessary steps is a form of automation. Update it once everywhere through the OMS. This way, there is less room for error, and time is saved.

9. Use Barcodes and Barcode Scanning Devices

Scanners don’t make mistakes when entering information. They can’t misread a SKU. Though technically, a warehouse management task utilizing barcodes and barcode scanning devices directly impacts order management. Ensure your warehouse staff use a WMS ( Warehouse Management System) with scanners. If your business is not using barcodes and scanners yet, make it a priority.

10. Set Clear Shipping Policies

Your shipping policies should clearly explain how long customers will likely need to wait for their shipment. This can prevent customer complaints and returns as they know what to expect.

11. Analyze Order Data

Regularly analyze order data to identify trends, optimize inventory levels, and improve order management processes. Make it a regular thing to do, and turn insights into actions. Never make decisions on hunches; always use data.

12. Ensure Compliance with Regulations

Marketplaces are very serious about their rules; if you break them, they will have no problem charging steep fees or removing your business altogether. You can end up blacklisting yourself from major marketplaces like Amazon and end up losing an enormous amount of access to customers. Ensure you understand the marketplace rules for every marketplace you sell on and keep updated with any changes.

13. Regularly Audit Order Processes

Conduct regular audits and cycle counts to avoid inventory inaccuracies. While this is technically inventory management, order management is no good if inventory is out of sync.

14. Enhance Packaging Efficiency

Optimizing your packaging process reduces material costs and saves time. You can enhance packaging efficiency by clearly defining packaging steps and properly training staff.

15. Coordinate with Suppliers

Supply and demand change regularly, so it is beneficial to communicate often with suppliers about their available stock. Knowing when inventory is available to order and when it will arrive will help you better prepare for discounts and sales.

Key Points From Chapter 15

Treasure these 15 best order management practices and remember these key points.

• Always strive to automate order processing, shipping options, and whatever else can be automated.
• Improving inventory management processes can directly bolster order management efficiency as the two are intrinsically linked.
• Maintain accurate product information for all your sales channels in one place to avoid manually changing information, which can be time-consuming and error-prone.
• Analyze order data and audit inventory regularly. Failure to do so can mean big problems go unnoticed for a long time.
• Follow marketplace rules and regulations and keep current to avoid getting banned.