Choosing the right partner can make or break your company’s logistics, customer service, and repeat purchases. Using a fulfillment center like Shipfusion frees you from navigating the fulfillment landscape with zero stress. Below are some insights on how Shipfusion can take your business to the next level.
If you are looking to grow your eCommerce business, there are a lot of factors that can determine the success or failure of your company. Many companies overlook the type of order processing system they use. Order processing systems should be designed to maximize efficiency and help you scale with ease. This article will provide an overview of automated order processing and help advance your eCommerce company.
What Is Automated Order Processing?
The way this type of order processing system works is by automating the entire buy-to-ship process. The more automated your business becomes, the more efficient it will be. Automated order processing can help you grow your company because it enables you to meet customer needs efficiently and on time with minimal human error. This includes tasks like updating inventory records, printing shipping labels, and tracking your orders. Using an automated order processing system can help your business deliver faster because it enables you to make fulfillment processes more streamlined. When the right systems are in place to automate essential components of your company’s workflow, you will be able to meet customer demand quickly with minimal human intervention.
How Does Automated Order Processing Work?
In an automated order processing system, the customer orders from your eCommerce website, and the software processes it. The software will then determine if the item is in stock or not. If the product is in stock, the software will update inventory records for that particular product and then send a shipping label to a printer.
If the product is out of stock, then the software will notify your customer service department, and they will re-purchase that item for you. The order processing system will also update inventory records. When the item comes back into stock, it should mark it as such in the inventory records, and printing labels should resume again.
If you sell multiple products, then your eCommerce platform (like Shopify or Magento) should be able to handle multi-variation inventory tracking. This basically means that for each product, there can be different options (size, color, etc.), and the system will track which variations are in stock at all times.
The automated order processing system will then pick the product off the shelf and pack it with everything else that was ordered. After picking, your order processing system can generate a shipping label to send the package directly to your customer’s doorstep.
We also handle returns at Shipfusion. If a customer returns their order, then the system will update your inventory records to show that an item was returned and may or may not be re-purchasable at this time.
The process of returning an item is usually as simple as clicking a button on your website so it can be easily automated, too.
What Are The Benefits of Implementing Automated Order Processing?
There are many benefits to implementing automated order processing for your eCommerce business with a fulfillment center. Some of these benefits include:
Improved customer service
Efficient order processing means the increased speed of delivery, which results in satisfied customers. This will naturally lead to increased customer satisfaction, which can create loyalty and referrals for your business.
In addition, an automated order processing system will provide you with real-time information on inventory and products that need to be replenished. This means less time your team spends checking inventory and more time they spend delighting customers instead.
Ability To Scale Quickly And Efficiently
Order processing systems that are automated can help your order management process become more efficient, which means you can scale quickly with ease. Automated systems also allow it to be present in multiple channels (e.g., online, mobile, call center), all with the same simple process flow.
When you scale quickly and sometimes unexpectedly, it can mean managing many different orders in different places at once. Possibly worldwide!
An automated order processing system will help you keep up with all this new volume since it takes end-to-end care of the entire process. This includes tasks like inventory management, picking products off shelves, generating shipping labels, and more – basically everything that happens once an order is placed.
Higher Profit Margins
Having an automated order processing system in place means that you will spend less on order management fees (e.g., shipping labels), resulting in higher profit margins for your company. Taken all together, automated order processing can help you run a more efficient and profitable operation – which means more money for your bottom line.
Reduction of Human Error
Perhaps one of the most powerful benefits of implementing an automated order processing system is reducing human error.
Human error is one of the most common pitfalls for any eCommerce business. If your fulfillment team is spending large amounts of time picking and shipping products, then they are making more opportunities to make mistakes.
With an automated order processing system in place, all this work will be done automatically by software, so there’s no chance for human error.
Enhance Customer Satisfaction
More overall customer satisfaction means your brand will shine on the market. This can be accomplished through improved order processing, which includes offering better shipping options, more accurate inventory levels, and order tracking tools on your site.
This translates into positive online reviews, increased customer referrals and loyalty, and a long-term improvement in the success of your business.
In general, automated order processing can help you offer better service to customers from beginning to end, from checkout through returns – which is a good thing for everyone involved!
How To Choose A Fulfillment Center?
There are many fulfillment services that you can choose from, but finding the right one to fit your specific needs is essential.
If you use a different eCommerce platform, it would be wise to look for an order processing system that integrates seamlessly with your current technology stack. Otherwise, you will need to undergo expensive integrations while you wait for other operations to match up.
What Are You Waiting For?
Automated order processing can be a game-changer for your business. It can provide you with an increased level of overall customer satisfaction, which will help your brand grow – and that’s never a bad thing.
Shipfusion sets your business on autopilot and combines flexible, reliable fulfillment with powerful, real-time technology. Shipfusion has multiple fulfillment centers across the US and Canada– making it easy to manage your eCommerce business. For more information on how to set your business on autopilot, contact one of our fulfillment specialists today.