From speed to reliability, here are the keys to efficient order processing

Every year, e-commerce market figures reach record levels.

To keep pace with the explosion in online sales, companies have no choice but to adapt and optimize their organizational processes. And this, in order to satisfy customers accustomed to increasingly competitive delivery times.

What are the logistical challenges you face? What tools can you adopt to improve your efficiency? How can you ensure optimal management from production to product delivery? We tell you everything you need to know about order processing!

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What is order processing?

As the name suggests, order processing is the complete handling of a customer order.

Sometimes referred to as fulfillment, this complex logistical process integrates several successive key stages. In fact, between the customer placing the order and receiving it at home, the product may gravitate from one warehouse to another, traveling hundreds or even thousands of kilometers.

☝️ Order processing therefore poses a number of challenges for companies.

What are the challenges of order processing?

Optimizing your order processing strategy will help you meet the challenges that are crucial to your company's economic health. Good management of this process contributes to :

• increase customer satisfaction;
• increase sales volume;
• limit logistics costs.

Ensuring customer satisfaction

Online shopping has become an integral part of consumers' daily lives. And the various studies carried out on the subject won't say otherwise.

💡 Here are a few figures:

• around 39.4 million French people made at least one online order during 2023, with an average basket of 60 items per year (source: Fevad);
• 88% of those surveyed consider the impact of e-commerce on their daily lives to be positive (source: Fevad);
• 1 consumer in 2 values the free delivery option (source: Worldline);
• delivery is an important criterion for 88% of buyers (source: Uber direct).

Clearly, customer satisfaction is one of the key issues in order processing. In order to build customer loyalty, it is imperative to offer them a comfortable and reassuring experience, from the moment they place their order to the moment they receive their product.

This re-enchanted customer experience involves :

• using a secure payment method ;
• being able to track the progress of your order in real time (departure from the warehouse, product in transit, etc.);
• satisfactory delivery options (relay of choice, choice of delivery day, free delivery after a certain purchase amount, etc.);
• the shortest possible delivery times;
• to receive the parcel in good condition (undamaged packaging or product);
• to benefit from a professional delivery service (i.e. to avoid the unpleasant surprise of receiving a false delivery notice, even though you had taken the whole day off to receive your parcel, etc.);
• to be able to easily return the product to the sender and benefit from a responsive and competent after-sales service.

😀 So implementing an effective order processing strategy is akin to a virtuous circle. By intelligently managing your e-commerce site, inventory, warehouse and shipping processes, you mechanically contribute to increased sales volume through customer loyalty and reduced delivery times.

Rationalize and optimize costs

When it comes to order processing, errors and slowness are your worst enemies!

The longer it takes to process your orders, the more money you lose. As already mentioned, long delivery times often scare away customers in a hurry.

Likewise, slow order processing leads to additional costs. Merchandise that spends several days in the warehouse before being packed and dispatched costs the company money (storage costs, space not freed up for other products, etc.).

Good order management also means fewer errors, and by extension, lower costs. In fact, when all is said and done, order processing errors can add up to a hefty bill. Whether it's a failure to update stock levels, a delay in ordering products, delivery to the wrong address or damage to the parcel in transit, the costs involved in rectifying these mistakes add up and end up weighing on your finances!

The 6 stages of the order fulfillment process

Generally speaking, there are five main stages in a company's order processing process.

Let's find out. 👉

0 - Goods receipt

Receiving goods can be described as the first stage in the order fulfillment process.

If a company doesn't produce its own merchandise, it must initiate production with a service provider, transport it and then store it in its warehouse.

1 - Recording the customer order

Unsurprisingly, the placing of an order is the starting point of the processing chain.

The order is officially registered as soon as the consumer validates and pays for his or her purchase on the e-commerce site.

Simple on the surface, this stage of the order-taking process nevertheless requires us to receive and centralize the data essential for shipping and tracking the parcel with the customer.

💡 And in a market where distribution channels are multiplying, it's best to be able to rely on appropriate technological solutions. One example is VistaFlow, a software solution that is revolutionizing the processing of orders received by e-mail. How do you do this? By integrating them into your ERP system, and extracting the information contained in the purchase orders. Aimed at organizations receiving non-uniform purchase orders, VistaFlow is designed for continuous improvement, thanks to its automatic learning capabilities.

2 - Picking

Once the order has been registered, it is transferred to dedicated teams within the warehouse.

Depending on the system set up by the company, a human operator or a machine is responsible for picking and placing the products to be packed in the parcel on the packing table. This is known as the picking stage.

3 - Wrapping

To facilitate transport of the merchandise (and, above all, to avoid breakage during shipping!), it's time to go through the packaging stage.

The product must be properly protected and packaged.

4 - Shipping

Now that the parcel is properly packed, it's finally ready to take to the road to its future owner.

After being scanned and identified, it is received and loaded by the carrier for onward transportation.

The consumer receives notification that shipment has begun.

5 - Delivery and acceptance

This final stage in order processing is now in the hands of the company responsible for delivering the parcels received at the warehouse.

Both the consumer and your customer service department need to be able to identify the parcel's route and obtain an accurate estimate of its delivery date.

Of course, you need to ensure that the product is delivered in accordance with the instructions left by the customer (home delivery, point relais, etc.).

A final notification confirming receipt of the parcel concludes the order processing.

6 - Returns management

A subsidiary, but nonetheless very important step, returns management consists in ensuring a satisfactory customer experience when the package is returned to its sender.

With this in mind, it's important to define and apply a strictly defined returns policy to avoid abuse and additional costs.

How to optimize order processing: 4 best practices

To help you optimize your order processing, here are a few tips you can implement as part of your logistics strategy.

#1 Actively monitor inventory

For a customer, there's nothing worse than coming across an item that's out of stock!

So, to avoid having transactions pass you by, we strongly recommend that you automate real-time stock availability updates!

#2 Centralize and exploit collected data

More than just an issue of visibility, collecting data from order processing enables you to implement strategies that are relevant to your business.

Order volumes often vary from one year to the next, just as some products are subject to seasonal variations .

Detailed analysis of the data collected will enable you, for example, to manage your stocks with greater precision, or to reinforce your after-sales team during peak periods.

#3 Keep the customer informed

As a consumer, it's very unpleasant to suffer from a lack of transparency on the part of the company you've ordered from.

Where is my parcel?

Why haven't I been notified that it's on its way?

Will delivery take place on the requested date?

These are just some of the questions that, if left unanswered, can damage the customer experience.

#4 Automate as many tasks as possible

To minimize errors and save time at every stage of the order processing process, we recommend automating as many tasks as possible.

Whether you use order management software, install a picking station in your warehouse or set up an after-sales chatbot on your e-commerce platform, there are plenty of ways to streamline order processing.

Which tools can improve order processing?

Automation rhymes with simplification!

To improve order processing within your company, there are a number of highly relevant technological solutions. Unsurprisingly, we're thinking mainly of software specially designed to ensure proper order management.

👉 There are three main families of solutions:

• the Order Management System ( OMS): mainly used to centralize and synchronize all data collected from the various sales channels, and to gather transaction-related information;

• the Warehouse Management System (WMS): this enables efficient monitoring of stock levels (real-time updates, automatic ordering below a certain threshold, etc.), as well as the preparation and management of shipments;

• the Transport Management System ( TMS): this is designed to optimize the cost and organization of carrier management and parcel delivery (automated itineraries taking into account travel time to optimize rounds, etc.).

💡 Depending on your company's needs, you can opt for one of these specific solutions, or choose a complete software package, integrating all these functionalities.

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Order processing: what's important?

In short, order processing deserves your full attention. From the moment the customer purchases a product to the moment they receive their parcel, there is a succession of stages with decisive stakes.

Between the need to strive for the highest possible customer satisfaction with a view to building customer loyalty, and the imperative need to optimize the costs of storage, preparation, dispatch and delivery, there's a lot at stake. preparation, dispatch and delivery, order processing is a priority for any company whose business model is based on e-commerce.