Automated Order Processing
Automate your Order Processing to be more efficient
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Automated Order Processing: Automate your Order Processing to be more efficient
By Andrei Kossyrine
© Xpress Software Inc. - All Rights reserved
http://www.xssoftware.com
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Making manufacturing more profitable is not a "one size fits all" solution. This change in thinking and operations is also not accomplished in a single step or procedure change. The following is one of a series of topics designed to enhance the profitability of manufacturing in general.
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We now live in a world that works 24 hours a day, seven days a week. One reason for this is globalization. While this opens up the door for expanding your customer base it is not without inherent problems. Serving a worldwide clientele means meeting customers' needs when it is convenient for them. The most efficient way of utilizing the concept of Automated Order Processing is via the Internet. With the Internet always available, some of your customers from other time zones will want more than just information - they want full service as well.
Rising expectations and growing potential clients mean that your company may very well be at a crossroads - you can either work towards becoming 24/7, or you risk losing out to companies that are always open. This involves a business decision - do you want to commit your company to making this investment, not only in money, but also in management time and emotional energy? It can be a major challenge, but technology is increasingly able to help you meet that challenge.
Websites have grown from being simply on on-line brochure to offering the ability to buy and sell. Current growth is in buying and selling products, particularly commodities, on-line. An example of a company that has met this challenge head on and succeeded is the online retailer Amazon.com. At Amazon, orders are taken on-line all the time, with a very user-friendly system that allows for minimum errors and customer confidence. Orders are pulled in the warehouse by hand, but only after the pull tickets have been generated and shipping scheduled.
As with many decisions in business, implementing 24/7 involves a make-or-buy decision. You can build the information technology capability internally, you can outsource the work, or you can partner with a company that really knows what they are doing. A case in point of the "partnering" scenario involves the company mentioned above, Amazon.com, and the toy retailer Toys-R-Us. In this case, Toys-R-Us had the immense inventory and the resources to research which items were good sellers and which ones were not. Amazon had the online selling infrastructure, expertise, and huge customer database, but no inventory. Hence a win-win situation was born for both companies.
If you want to add a human customer-support interface, more challenges may appear. For example, you might need to maintain a call center with support staff that has been trained in the products and services you offer, and who can work with the computer system to produce results for your customers. Some of those customers will want support by phone, some by e-mail, and some by conversation-like "chat" via their computer screen.
The investment in this technology will be realized if and when you are able to minimize the level of human contact with sales orders. The goal is to get an order to go from being placed by the customer to being shipped to that customer, accurately and on-time. When this occurs, you and the customer both win.
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Since 1996 Xpress Software Inc. has provided
technical assistance in lean manufacturing methods,
computer systems and business process automation
to maximize manufacturing profits.
Visit its website www.xssoftware.com or contact
Andrei Kossyrine at andrei@xssoftware.com.
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