Having a good order management system that can meet the delivery demands of today’s customers could mean the difference between winning a customer and losing one.

Competition is fierce in the modern retail market, and even the smallest advantages can help merchants win customers. One particular focus for retailers has been efficiency and speed of service – customers are impatient and are unwilling to wait to receive their purchases. Some of the most prominent sellers, such as Amazon, have made two-day delivery the standard, and if other merchants cannot keep up, they will find themselves losing ground in the market.

Perfecting order management is the first step toward improving turnaround and delivery times. If pickers and packers are not receiving orders for minutes or even hours after customers make their purchases, they obviously will not be able to process the order and prepare it for delivery in time. This can lead to missing deadlines and longer waiting times before customers receive their orders. Merchants cannot guarantee a two-day delivery window if they cannot deliver orders to fulfillment employees within seconds.

Making upgrades with the order management system

It should go without saying that retailers looking to improve the way they handle customer purchases should look at making upgrades to their order management systems. Because processing orders quickly and effectively is such a pivotal cornerstone in order fulfillment, it is critical that sellers get the most out of these solutions. Here are a couple things merchants should keep in mind as they investigate order management systems:

1. Scalability: In the ever-growing retail world, merchants always need to keep one eye on the horizon. It is quite conceivable that retail brands can grow significantly over even just a couple of months. If retailers get an order management system based solely on today’s needs, they may put themselves in a situation where it  cannot handle the load in just a year’s time. It’s often worth the investment to account for the future and invest in a solution with some degree of scalability. Cloud-based solutions often excel in this regard.

2. Integration: Few merchants sell only on their own channels. By utilizing third-party marketplaces and other sales avenues, retailers can reach an even broader audience. However, this also affects order management – retailers must anticipate how these channels process sales. Order management solutions must be able to incorporate third-party channels, such as Amazon and eBay, so retailers can optimize their performance and minimize downtime.

3. Automation: The less manual steps in the order management process, the more efficient it can be. Between deciding which location to send an order to, order checks and purchase identification, there are a lot of processes that can be automated to save time and expedite order management and fulfillment.

Order management needs to be a top concern

Order management bleeds into many different areas and, as such, can have a profound effect on the shopping experience. With the holidays only six months away, now is the time to look at order management tools and assess whether they need to be upgraded.