Paperwork guides multiple facets of building supply and distribution, from audits to approvals. Many companies still rely on paper-heavy processes and print, scan, and email critical documents between departments.
This system is not only time-consuming, but it’s also not scalable. As your business grows, you may find yourself opening new locations and working with new vendors and partners in different countries. Each time you copy a document, the quality can degrade. Eventually, your team faces processing errors or wastes time requesting original copies of critical documents.
Enterprise content management systems and other technologies can integrate with your existing ERP system to speed up your operations.
Order Processing Bottlenecks
Your business thrives on orders. Processing them with handwritten forms, phone calls, or back-and-forth emails is less effective than using an integrated order tracking and management system. Each time someone has to manually enter data or copy and paste information from a form into the system, the risk of error increases.
It’s tempting to dismiss small inefficiencies, but they can add up over time. For example, if multiple employees are spending 10 extra minutes entering data from an order form into a new system, your company as a whole loses multiple work hours. Each delay also impacts the next step in the process.
Remove bottlenecks with these five strategies.
1. Digital Order Entry and Validation
Automated order processing is an easy fix. A digital solution with order tracking workflow capabilities captures incoming orders from your emails, electronic data interchange (EDI) system, or online portal.
The system assesses each order for complete, accurate information and routes it to the correct person in your organization. If the order is missing data, or if it’s inaccurate, the system will send it back for clarification. You don’t miss any orders, and your vendors can fix incorrect orders faster.
Choosing a system that integrates with your ERP platform or inventory management software also helps you keep tabs on your inventory levels.
2. Centralized Order Document Management
Every order in your system is likely routed through multiple departments, from sales to fulfillment to accounting. Keeping all order-related documents in a secure location lets everyone access a single file in real time. Every person working on the order knows they’re accessing the latest version with the most up-to-date information.
Your team doesn’t have to copy and distribute the same document multiple times, which reduces confusion. Enterprise content management systems are also searchable, which makes it easier to consolidate records for specific customers or prepare for audits.
3. Order Acknowledgment Automation
Automating the purchase order acknowledgment process improves your customer service. Since your team doesn’t need to spend time manually matching acknowledgments to orders and approvals, your fulfillment team can start processing orders faster.
Customers can identify and correct errors faster as well, which cuts down on costly returns and disappointed customers.
Making order acknowledgments available to your customers enhances your transparency. Your customers can start tracking their orders faster, which increases their satisfaction. This visibility also helps you build a trusting relationship with each customer.
4. RMA and Returns Workflow Automation
Return materials authorizations (RMAs) serve as an essential communication tool. Tracking RMAs also gives you valuable insights into your business. For example, you can determine whether specific building materials are consistently failing or track whether there's an uptick in returns if you change a product.
Processing RMAs can be time-consuming, though, as your team has to verify each request to determine whether the order is eligible. Automating your RMA workflows reduces the time between a return request and resolution. You can also better manage your inventory by tracking returns in real time.
Customer service is essential at every stage, even when a customer needs to make a return. A smooth and efficient return process can save a customer relationship.
5. Integrated Order Tracking and Status Updates
As a building materials supplier, your customers are often waiting on your products to complete large, complex projects. They want to track their orders to effectively plan their daily workflows.
Order tracking software that integrates with your other systems provides this visibility for both your customers and employees throughout your organization. Your sales and customer service teams have access to the latest information to contact customers with status updates. An automated order tracking system can also flag exceptions to help you prevent delays.
Automation as a Competitive Advantage
Swapping manual, paper-based order processing improves your ability to communicate with customers. Order processing automation increases your accuracy and enables your team to fulfill purchases faster.
Choosing a solution that integrates with the other systems you use further helps you manage your inventory. Your sales and customer service teams also have the most recent data available for resolving issues and making sales. You don’t risk a stock-out because your sales team was working with incorrect inventory data.
These small steps toward automation save you time and free up your team to work on other tasks. You get a more productive team and happier customers, which gives you a competitive advantage.
Explore WorldView’s order processing automation solutions and schedule a demo today.
