A Complete Guide On Sales Order Automation

If you own a business or are part of one, you will know how important sales order automation (SOA) is. If orders are not processed on time, it will lead to low customer satisfaction levels and eventually you may risk losing out on the client in the long run.

When you offer services to a client, it is very important to deliver on time. Sometimes manual processing of sales orders can get tedious and there may be mistakes in processing or other pitfalls, all of which may prove to be detrimental to your reputation as a business.

Therefore, it is very important to look for innovative methods to handle sales and eventually improve the quality of services offered to customers. This is where automation comes into the picture.

Through SOA, a company will be able to bring down up to 80% of the manual effort required to process an order. Not just this, sales order automation will help create some order and cut out confusion. Basically, you will be streamlining the entire system concerning order processing.

What is sales order automation?

It is simply the automated processing of sales orders in an effort to increase the efficiency of operations in an organisation. The following are the major highlights of SOA:

  1. Record and capture data: Sales-related data is automatically extracted from all sources. The manual process of data entry is completely eliminated.
  2. Streamlining processes: Automation and management of order recording and other such functions.
  3. Optimise for performance: All types of roadblocks are addressed and better processes are put in place for timely delivery.

Disadvantages of manual order processing:

  • Longer processing duration
  • Chance of errors
  • High cost of processing
  • Challenges in tracking orders
  • Misunderstanding or trouble managing bulk orders
  • Customer mistrust

The above mentioned problems can be easily solved using sales automation in all the major business sectors.

Why is SOA important?

  • It will help the company save time
  • It will lead to better utilization of resources

In today’s market conditions, it is very important to be on top of things and embrace developments in technology. If not, your organization will still be using outdated order processing technologies, while your competitors, who have taken to technology, will be able to have a upper hand when it comes to sales order processing. 

Benefits of SOA

  1. Increase in customer satisfaction: The number one focus for any business is customer satisfaction. But delays in delivery and order processing will definitely attract flak. Clients will get frustrated and this could eventually lead to lack of interest from the client side and eventually, the client may not want to do business with you.
  • Customers will be pleased with efficient and timely delivery of orders
  • Overall customer relationship management will improve
  • AI and bot technology can be used to interact with clients and solve customer queries
  • Sales representatives will have more time to connect with customers on a one-on-one level
  • If a customer has placed a wrong order or has wrongly quoted a number, it can be rectified in a matter of minutes
  1. Optimization of resources: With automation, not only does manual labour get eliminated but it also brings down the number of resources needed. This means that you will need less hands to work on one order. So, this essentially means that these hands can be used for other priority tasks. But make sure that you choose the right tool like this to optimize your resources.
  • There will be no need for manual data entry
  • No paperwork
  • Orders will be entered automatically into the system
  • Less scope of manual errors
  • Helps employees save time and use the saved time for more productive tasks
  • Managers need not manually check data
  • Management can track sales teams more effectively
  1. Faster processing: If manual processing of an order takes 3 weeks, automatic processing could easily be done in less than 1 week, at least in most cases. This means that orders can be delivered faster to the warehouses.
  • Teams will be able to track each stage of the process – where the order is, if it has been shipped, if it has reached the warehouse or if it has reached the respective client
  • Less time taken in the pre-production process due to the added benefit of sales order automation
  • You can see, when the order was made, which department it falls under and which stage of the production process it is in
  1. Less stress: Generally, the level of stress is much much lower for staffers when automation comes into the picture. Employees will be less swamped with paperwork and other manual processes and will instead focus on providing quality delivery.
  • Team members will have less amount of things to keep a track of
  • Any information about an order can be obtained – units requested, quote prices, deadlines, updates made, etc
  • Teams can also easily modify existing orders without having to wait for manual changes to be made
  • There will be no need to repeatedly contact customers for order details since all information is already electronically recorded
  1. Bulk order processing: A high volume of orders can be placed and processed in no time. This is probably one of the biggest advantages that automation can offer – the benefit of large scale order processing.
  • More easier to deal with a high volume of orders
  • Bottlenecks such as ‘ an extremely high volume of orders’ can be easily eliminated
  • No compromise on quality
  • Manage thousands of orders simultaneously
  • Easily deal with a sudden surge in client numbers and orders
  • Maximize profit with minimal effort
  1. No scope for errors: Quite obviously, with automation, the number of errors will be nil. Not only does the process lend more efficiency but also tracks progress. Manual errors or human errors can be avoided to the maximum possible extent with automation technologies.

Automation is the way of the future and any business will have to embrace this technology to pave the way for success in the long run. For a business, time is money and if you are not able to deliver on time, it will surely cost you and your business. Not just this, delivering the wrong order will also prove to be a costly loss! So, say yes to success with sales order automation.