The Benefits of Automating Order Processing and Fulfillment

In the fast-paced world of eCommerce and retail, efficient order management is not just a competitive advantage—it's a necessity. The demand for fast, accurate order processing and fulfillment has never been higher as consumers and businesses alike develop higher expectations. In this landscape, the ability to manage orders swiftly and accurately can significantly impact customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.

Integrating automated systems into order management represents a transformative shift in how businesses handle their operations. By leveraging technology and SaaS tools, automation streamlines every aspect of the order cycle—from capturing orders to delivering products. This approach minimizes manual tasks, reduces human error, and maximizes throughput efficiency.

For IT professionals who are responsible for ensuring that business systems run smoothly, order management system optimization through automation can make the leap toward success.

Reducing Human Error

Human errors are both common and can be costly in order management. Manual order entry, processing, and fulfillment involve numerous steps where mistakes can easily occur. Entering incorrect item numbers or quantities can lead to shipping the wrong products. Miscommunications between departments can result in delays, missed orders, or duplicate shipments. These errors not only disrupt operations but also affect customer satisfaction and company reputation.

How Automation Minimizes Errors

Order processing automation –also known as order orchestration– addresses these challenges by significantly reducing the potential for human error. By eliminating manual data entry, automation ensures that orders are captured accurately from various sources, whether they are emails, websites, or electronic data interchange (EDI) systems. 

Automated verification processes further enhance accuracy by checking for inconsistencies or missing information before the order is processed. This streamlined approach minimizes miscommunications and ensures that orders are processed and fulfilled correctly and promptly.

Real-World Success Story

A global footwear retailer needed an order management system (OMS) to automate time-consuming manual processes like determining efficient order processing, managing inventory, and ensuring accurate data flow across systems. After exploring various solutions and attempting to build their own, they recognized the importance of a comprehensive and extensible OMS developed by direct-to-consumer experts.

The retailer implemented Deck Commerce OMS to optimize order management for their websites in North America, Europe, and APAC. This included setting up smart fulfillment routing, capturing payments for custom items, and integrating transaction information with other systems. 

As a result, Deck Commerce automated 98% of their orders, significantly reducing errors and saving over 1,000 hours. This automation allowed the retailer to enhance customer experiences and handle increased eCommerce volumes seamlessly.

“Even with increased eCommerce volume in 2020, this past holiday was one of the quietest holidays technology-wise thanks to Deck Commerce.”

-Sr. Manager Enterprise Applications

Global Footwear Brand

Enabling Omnichannel Fulfillment

Offering flexible fulfillment options is key to meeting customer expectations and driving sales. Omnichannel fulfillment strategies such as Buy Online, Pick Up In-Store (BOPIS), Reserve Online, Pick Up In-Store (ROPIS), Buy Online, Return In-Store (BORIS), and Buy Online, Pick Up at Curbside (BOPAC) are becoming increasingly popular.

• BOPIS allows customers to shop online and collect their purchases in-store, blending the convenience of online shopping with the immediacy of in-person pickup.
• ROPIS enables customers to reserve items online and then decide whether to purchase them when they visit the store, offering a low-commitment way to browse.
• BORIS simplifies returns by allowing online shoppers to return items in physical stores, improving customer satisfaction and streamlining the returns process. (They might even pick up some new items as they visit the store).
• BOPAC offers a contactless, drive-up option where customers can pick up their online orders without leaving their car, enhancing convenience and safety.

These omnichannel fulfillment options are powered by advanced order management systems (OMS) that synchronize inventory, manage order routing, and ensure a seamless experience across all touchpoints. By integrating these strategies, retailers can offer a versatile shopping experience that meets modern consumer demands.

Enhancing Order Management Speed

Automation doesn’t only reduce human error to the minimum, it also helps to speed up operations in the very competitive order fulfillment industry. Manual order management issues include delays from slow processing times and errors in data entry and inventory management. These problems often lead to late shipments and overall customer dissatisfaction. 

Additionally, the return process in manual systems can be cumbersome, involving tedious manual tracking and coordination to process returns (which have notoriously increased after 2020) and issue refunds. Miscommunication between departments further complicates the fulfillment process, making it difficult to maintain a seamless and efficient workflow.

Benefits of Automated Processing & Fulfillment

Order fulfillment automation addresses these challenges and enhances both speed and accuracy. Real-time synchronization of inventory data ensures:

• Accurate stock levels.
• Preventing issues like overselling and stockouts. 

An OMS can use prebuilt workflows to automatically route orders to the best fulfillment location, set capacity levels at fulfillment locations to not overwhelm the warehouse and get orders out the door faster. It also helps display estimated delivery dates on the storefront before placing orders, which gives a whole new level of security for potential buyers. 

An OMS also brings forth different transaction processing benefits: 

• Capturing different payment methods (deferred payment, gift cards, split payments, etc.)
• Automated refunds, credits, or chargebacks.
• Triggering loyalty points.

The automation of the return process is particularly beneficial; it enables self-initiated returns, simplifies the tracking of returned items, accelerates the processing of refunds or exchanges, and integrates smoothly with inventory management to update stock levels promptly. 

Informed Customers = Happy Customers

Real-time tracking further enhances fulfillment by providing customers with up-to-date information about their orders at every stage of the process. An advanced Order Management System (OMS) automatically sends customer communications—such as order confirmations, shipping notifications, and delivery updates—ensuring that customers are informed and reassured throughout their entire journey. 

Whether it's a shipping delay or a successful delivery, the OMS keeps customers in the loop, reducing uncertainty and boosting overall satisfaction. Even during returns, the system updates customers on the status, making the entire experience seamless and transparent.

A robust OMS also helps to provide visibility across departments, becoming a powerful tool for internal teams to boost efficiency throughout operations. No wonder industry experts recommend brands implement a comprehensive OMS solution. 

Statistical Evidence

Consider the case of Native Shoes. In an industry with a 30% return rate, this footwear company manually processed up to 50,000 returns per year prior to 2021. After adopting automation, the brand saw a dramatic improvement. The time to process returns was slashed from minutes to seconds, saving the company 1700 hours a year.

This not only boosted customer satisfaction but also allowed the company to reallocate resources to other critical areas of the business. The order management system's ability to handle high volumes of return orders with precision enabled the brand to scale and enhance overall operational efficiency.

By leveraging automation, businesses can enhance the accuracy, speed, and reliability of the entire order fulfillment process.

Cost Reduction and ROI

Manual order processing is not only time-consuming but also costly. Labor expenses are one of the most significant costs associated with manual processes, as they require a dedicated workforce to handle tasks like data entry, order verification, and inventory management. 

Additionally, errors that occur during manual processing—whether from miscommunication or simple mistakes—can lead to costly corrections: processing returns, issuing refunds, or dealing with customer complaints. These errors can result in lost revenue if orders are delayed or mishandled, leading to dissatisfied customers and potential loss of business.

Automating order processing directly addresses cost concerns by reducing the need for manual labor, thus cutting labor costs significantly. With automation, tasks that previously required human oversight, such as order routing, inventory updates, and payment processing, are handled by software systems, freeing up staff to focus on more strategic activities. 

Automation also minimizes the risk of costly errors, as automated systems are designed to process orders consistently and accurately. Furthermore, by optimizing inventory management through real-time tracking, automation helps businesses avoid the financial pitfalls of overstocking or stockouts, ensuring that capital is not tied up in excess inventory or lost due to missed sales opportunities. 

The cumulative effect of these savings leads to a stronger bottom line and a more efficient operation.

How to Calculate ROI when Implementing Automation

By now, you’re probably ready to implement automation throughout your processes. But we all know it comes to one thing: budget approval. That’s why it’s key to build a strong case for this initiative using numbers.

To calculate the return on investment (ROI) for automation initiatives, businesses can start by identifying the specific costs and savings associated with implementing automation. Key factors to consider include the upfront costs of purchasing and integrating automation software, training expenses, and ongoing maintenance fees. 

On the savings side, businesses should account for reductions in labor costs, decreased error-related expenses, and improved inventory management that frees up capital. 

A simple ROI calculation involves subtracting the total costs from the total savings, then dividing by the total costs, and multiplying by 100 to get a percentage. 

For example, if a company spends $100,000 on automation and saves $200,000 in labor and error-related costs over a year, the ROI would be 100%.

It's also important to consider the time frame over which the ROI is measured—automation may yield higher returns over longer periods as the initial investment is offset by ongoing savings. Additionally, businesses should model different scenarios, such as best-case and worst-case outcomes, to understand the potential range of ROI and make informed decisions about their automation investments.

Why Choose Deck Commerce OMS to Automate Your Systems?

• Reduce Human Error: Automate order entry, validation, and fulfillment processes to minimize costly mistakes.
• Accelerate Order Fulfillment: Leverage advanced order routing and distributed order management (DOM) to ensure fast, accurate deliveries.
• Lower Operational Costs: Streamline processes and optimize inventory management to reduce labor costs and prevent stock-outs/overstocks.
• Simplify Returns: Coordinate and automate the return process to decrease cycle times and handling costs, enhancing customer satisfaction.
• Enhance Customer Experience: Provide real-time order status updates and support omnichannel strategies, leading to higher customer loyalty and retention.
• Seamless Integration: Utilize 60+ prebuilt integrations with leading eCommerce tools to create efficient, end-to-end customer experiences.

If you want to learn more about how Deck Commerce can help automate your order management, contact us today! We’ll give you a precise ROI calculation so you’ll be sure it’s the right fit for your company.