How to Boost Your B2B Efficiency Using Order Management Software

A B2B (business-to-business) order management system streamlines the process of receiving, tracking, and fulfilling orders between businesses. You can use it to help automate and optimise every stage in the order process, from order initiation through to processing returns. It offers full visibility into each step, allowing you to optimise the process and automate previously time-consuming manual tasks such as data entry.

Manual Processing Vs Order Management System  

Manual processing can be slow, time-consuming, and fall vulnerable to the mistakes that come with employees handling these essential processes. In comparison, an order management system will automatically manage and track the entire lifecycle of an order. It saves you time, reduces expensive mistakes through automation, gives you insights into your order management processes, highlighting areas you could optimise with real-time data, and gives you full visibility into your stock, helping you avoid inventory waste. 

The Difference Between OMS & ERP 

There are several differences between an OMS and an ERP. An ERP is an integrated software solution designed to support a range of business functions including manufacturing, procurement, project management, and human resources. In essence, an ERP is about breadth, working to support several business processes and integrate and centralise your data between your core business systems. 

In comparison, an OMS is about depth; it’s a dedicated, specialist piece of software built primarily to help you manage the lifecycle of a B2B customer order, from order capture to supporting product returns. An OMS can provide several advanced capabilities for order management, from helping you manage huge order volumes to facilitating complex fulfillment requirements. 

There are several ways a B2B order management system can help streamline your order management processes. Let’s review these in more detail. 

Increase Process Speed While Reducing Errors

One of the main ways a B2B order management system can improve your order management process is by speeding up the process and reducing manual mistakes. An automated system can quickly and efficiently undertake the key aspects of order management, it does not require manual intervention, freeing up employees to focus on other tasks. 

Manual order management processing is often undermined in both speed and efficiency because human workers naturally make mistakes. Research shows that automated systems can reduce errors by as much as 90%.  

A Mintsoft user, Haul + Store confirmed that the order management system assists them processing large trade orders by utilising barcode scanning. It enables them to verify the right stock is being picked, while also reducing the number of staff members needed, as they’re no longer manually re-counting or verifying the picked items.

Supply Chain Visibility

One of the best things about B2B order management software is that it offers full supply chain visibility. You can see where your materials and products are at every stage in the supply chain from a single, centralised platform. This offers a number of benefits. For example, you can manage your inventory more effectively and avoid overstocking. You can also track order delays and help source missing items, and even support any product recalls through batch and serial numbers.

Supply chain visibility can also help you improve your communication with customers, you can see exactly where an item is and communicate accurate arrival times, you can also proactively communicate any delays, reducing customer frustration and improving satisfaction and loyalty. 

Scalability 

As your business grows, it can become more and more stressful and difficult to manage your orders manually. Furthermore, scaling your fulfillment is often not possible using manual processes and basic technology alone. 

By automating the order management process, from tasks like arranging shipment to routing stock to their fulfillment locations, a B2B OMS can process many of the tasks slowed down by manual labor and mistakes quickly and efficiently. This gives you the ability to process a far higher number of orders. In addition, an OMS provides visibility into dwindling stock and can automatically order more, allowing you to meet customer needs during levels of high demand and avoid stockouts, supporting you to continue to grow during the busiest periods. 

An OMS also centralises your order data and integrates it with your main sales and business systems, including your e-commerce platforms and other main systems such as your accounting, CRM and manufacturing software. This centralisation and integration reduces silos, leading to the most accurate reflection of your sales, inventory, and orders ensuring efficiency and reducing mistakes as your order volume increases. 

One of our clients, Bray Solutions, has experienced impressive growth since using Mintsoft to help fulfill their client’s orders, Steve Mills, Senior Commercial Manager shares: “Since working with Mintsoft, our customer numbers have grown by 33%.”

Connecting OMS with warehouse management systems 

Connecting an Order Management System (OMS) with Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) is key for streamlining your supply chain operations and centralising all your order data in one place. Each system supports the other, with the WMS providing the OMS with real-time data on your stock levels, helping you to avoid stockouts. While the WMS can be used to automate and improve the efficiency of order processes such as picking and packing. 

An Application Programming Interface (API) is the most common way that businesses' sync their data between the two systems. An API is ideal for securely and seamlessly sharing data between the OMS and WMS.

In some instances, such as with Mintsoft, the OMS is built with connecting all of this data and your processes in mind, handling all of your stock, warehouse and order management within a single platform.

B2B order management software can help improve customer loyalty by helping to make sure your orders are shipped without as many errors or delays. 69% of people say they are either less likely or much less likely to come back to a business in the future if an item is not delivered within two days of the scheduled delivery date. Manual order processing typically takes far longer than automated order processing, with an automated system capable of reducing order processing time from days to hours, or in some instances, even minutes. 

As we noted above, an OMS provides real-time visibility into both your orders and products. You’ll be aware of how much stock you have and when, and can ensure you can fulfill orders as they come in. This can help safeguard customer satisfaction as you won’t have to wait for additional inventory to come in before you can fulfill an order, guaranteeing you do not frustrate your customers. 

90% of customers want the ability to track their delivery orders. In the B2B space, fast delivery is essential for supporting continued operations, with delays potentially halting the customers sales. As such, real-time tracking can be a real advantage, reducing anxiety, and allowing customers to trade more accurately. An OMS can provide instant, real-time updates on deliveries, improving customer confidence and satisfaction and building trust between you and your customers.

When choosing the right B2B order management software for your business, it's essential to find a tool that can integrate with all your main channels; including your ecommerce marketplaces, CRM, and shipping partners. In addition, the right tool will provide full-scale automation, saving you time and helping you to avoid manual mistakes at every stage in the order management process. 

Mintsoft does just that with over 150 pre-built integrations, from Magento to a range of couriers. It also offers seamless data and process centralisation, supporting inventory, warehouse and order management within the same platform. The tool also boasts extensive automation capabilities, delivering on automated order routing, shipping label creation, and real-time inventory visibility and updates on every channel. Find out more about how to choose the right OMS for you here. 

If you’d like to see Mintsoft for yourself, please book a call with one of product experts to discuss further.