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18-Mar-2008
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ISSN 1094-8112 |
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Circ. 108,937
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Order Management Software Makes E-Commerce Easier
by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson
http://www.wilsonweb.com/ecommerce/wilson-order-management.htm
 If you process many e-commerce orders -- especially for tangible products -- you'll tear out your hair if you try to manage those orders without specialized software. Yes, some shopping carts contain rudimentary order management features, but not enough for a serious operation. You might be able to download and import your orders into QuickBooks, but QuickBooks isn't really designed for order management either.
Order management done right helps you ship efficiently and look up a myriad of details if you get a question, return, or lost order. By its very nature, order management must integrate with both online services (shopping cart, credit card processing, UPS, USPS, Stamps.com) and your company's other software and databases (accounting, customer management, e-mail lists, etc.).
More serious online merchants use order management software systems that include some or all of these kinds of functions:
- Downloading orders securely from your online store(s).
- Processing orders for approval, pick, pull, and pack, with features such as barcode, product shelf location, etc.
- Calculating shipping or postage costs (and noting any anomalies).
- Checking if sales tax is due (and noting any anomalies).
- Printing shipping labels, packing slips, etc.
- Integrating online with shipping services (UPS, FedEx, DHL, etc.).
- Integrating online with the postal service (USPS, Canada Post, Royal Post, etc.).
- Integrating with electronic postage meter services (Pitney Bowes, Stamps.com, Endicia).
- Integrating online with credit card processors.
- Handling or integrating with customer management software, list software, etc.
- Integrating with accounting software.
- Inventory, purchasing, receiving, and vendor management.
- Drop-shipping management.
- Communicating with fulfillment houses.
- Relaying shipping information and tracking codes to customers via e-mail.
- Handling incomplete orders, backorders, returns, refunds, etc.
- Order entry and point-of-sale functions are available in many packages.
If you've outgrown your cart's limited functionality, it's time to turn to search for order management software before you get frantic with the holiday rush. A word to the wise: don't shop by price alone; "cheap" isn't the best solution here. Decide which features you actually need and then look for systems that provide them.
In order to keep the e-mail version of this article shorter, you'll need to go to the website to see an annotated listing of order management software programs that cater to small to medium businesses, including: StoneEdge Order Manager, M.O.M., MailWare, OrderMotion, NetSuite, ShipWorks, TrueShip, AdvancePro, and Fishbowl Inventory. |
