Many small and medium enterprises can identify issues in their order management processes, but not all can effectively solve them. How can your company be one who does?
Overcoming your order management challenges can unlock capabilities in your business to exceed customer expectations and increase your order processing efficiency.
We discussed the Top 5 Order Management Challenges facing SMEs, now let’s explore how to overcome them.
How to speed up lead times
From our post discussing order management challenges faced by SMEs*, we know that quicker lead times is an important feature of today’s order processing.
So how can you speed up your lead times? One way is to review your supplier lead times. Share delivery date goals with your suppliers, if they fail to meet them, consider changing to more efficient suppliers. This can be an easy way to cut extra time out of your order management process.
Another way to reduce lead times is using a system to organise your orders with ease and efficiency. Workhorse helped the UK’s leading quality furniture brand, Bisley save over 100k and improve their productivity.
“Every team member was now able to follow one order fulfilment and project management process through from initial enquiry, to quoting, purchasing, delivery, and finally billing”.
“It’s exciting how quickly the software can be adapted and it’s impressive with the amount of editing/change that can be done in house”
Read more about how Workhorse Bisley here.
How to effectively organise incoming orders
To avoid orders getting lost or processed incorrectly, it is important that your company can align all departments on the status of incoming orders. Implementing an online inventory management system that allows all your departments to share updates on orders will allow you to operate efficiently and effectively. Having this system in place will help reduce confusion and increase correct order rates.
How to smoothly implement order management software
The easiest way to ensure a smooth transition to new order management software is to choose one that is customisable to your business needs. Streamlining your systems to include only what you need will help employees to adopt the system quickly and easily. Workhorse allow you start by solving your basic requirements and then add extensions to your software to suit your adapting order management requirements.
How to manage a complicated supply chain
Using effective order management software will allow you to keep track of complex supply chains. This can help track stock coming from different locations and different brands all in one easy-to-use place.
It could also be useful to consider reducing the number of suppliers you work with for easier supply chain management and the chance to build stronger relationships with fewer suppliers.
How to increase workforce productivity
We mentioned in our blog identifying common order management challenges faced by SMEs, that workforce productivity can be easily increased through effective goal setting. Setting measurable and timed goals for your workforce can lead to better motivation and performance. Another method of increasing productivity is to ensure effective delegation. Working on delegating the right tasks to the right people can improve capability and productivity among your workforce.
Using these methods to overcome your challenges in order management can contribute to helping your business to both ensure order correctness and streamline your inventory management processes. Workhorse offer a customisable service for easy implementation into your business. Sign up to improve your workflows and begin integrating your order management processes for maximum efficiency.