Running a Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) model is a great way to build stronger relationships with your customers. By cutting out middlemen from the product journey, you will have better control over customer data and experience, and consequently, the relationship you have with them.
In a DTC model, there will be several moving factors, but one of the most important things is order management. If you’ve been wondering how to nail it, here’s how:
1. Get an Order Management System
Order management goes beyond ‘just managing orders’. It’s more like a set of guidelines defining every step in a product’s ordering and fulfillment journey. If you have a small business with only a couple of infrequent orders, you may be able to make good without requiring an Order Management System (OMS).
With a larger business, however, keeping track of each order becomes a nightmare, thus trying to do it without an OMS would be an unnecessarily high risk. A good OMS enables you to track all the information and processes required to fulfill your orders successfully.
As the #1 order management system for eCommerce retailers, Deck Commerce goes beyond being a regular OMS. It’s a powerhouse that sets a foundation for customer loyalty, growing your revenue streams, and even saving money.
2. Optimize Your Warehouse Management
After accepting orders and processing them, you have to pick and pack the products, which can be grueling. If you didn’t know, warehouse workers spend anywhere between 10 and 12 hours every day just picking items off shelves. As time progresses and exhaustion kicks in, there will be an increased likelihood of errors.
When you optimize warehouse management by simplifying the pick and pack process, you save a lot of time, reduce the likelihood of errors, and enhance overall order management. A good way to go about this is to semi-automate or fully automate the pick-and-pack process with a reliable solution.
3. Enhance Order Visibility and Communication
Order visibility is crucial to both your customers and employees – especially the customer service team. An increased visibility into orders empowers your customer service team to handle customer queries with ease. For your customers, there is a thrill that comes with being able to follow the order’s journey from when one places it to when the delivery is made.
Failing to create fully automated tracking emails and pages for your customers means spending more time answering emails and phone calls from eager customers. This may result in a frustrated customer service department, and in extreme cases, a damaged brand reputation.
4. Make the Most of Analytics
If you have an order management system and other systems in place, you will have access to a lot of data and summaries. Data analytics are crucial for measuring user behavior, return on investment, performance trends, and more. By studying the collected data and converting it into high-value information, you can improve the parts of your order management process that aren’t up to snuff.
Additionally, data on particulars such as return trends can tell you stories about your business that may not be obvious. If, for example, some items are being sent back more than others, you can get to the bottom of the issue with ease and create a working solution.
5. Train Employees Thoroughly
You may have a perfect business with powerful management systems and a great supply chain & logistics setup. Still, if your employees don’t know how to use the systems that are vital to order management, you won’t reach your full potential. So, if you’re adopting a new order management system, make sure that your employees understand its benefits and they learn how to use it effectively.
It’s crucial to have a team that is enthusiastic about optimizing the order management process so that they can use all tools to their full potential.
There You Have It!
The above tips should make it easier to improve DTC order management so you can improve the performance of your business and keep customers happy. Where necessary, integrate your OMS with tools that enhance functionalities and optimize other areas of your business that connect to order management.
If you don’t know where to start, you can always seek expert assistance for the best results.
