10 benefits to omnichannel order management

If you’re a business owner searching for advice online, you have likely come across this term — leverage.

Leverage is all about your business getting exposure across different sales channels and platforms. If you read about how to build a successful brand experience, leverage will be thrown around in that article. But, if the left-hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing, leveraging your sales will be an uphill battle.

We’re here to tell you that you can diversify your sales channels while maintaining cohesion between them.

Introducing omnichannel order management.

What is omnichannel order management?

Omnichannel order management is a modern solution for managing inventory and orders by seamlessly integrating all of your sales channels.

You can provide a consistent, convenient experience for your customers no matter how they choose to shop. With an omnichannel system in place, you can easily keep track of inventory levels and ensure that omnichannel fulfillment is done promptly and correctly, even if a customer engages with multiple channels. This can help to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty, as well as boost your bottom line.

If you’re considering implementing an omnichannel strategy for your business, an omnichannel solution may be right for you.

How does omnichannel order management work?

Omnichannel order management is a strategy that allows manufacturers or retailers to manage customer orders across all sales channels. For example, this could be:

• In-store such as brick and mortar
• Website
• Shopping app
• Social media
• Email
• Mobile
• Call center

To implement an omnichannel order management system, manufacturers need to have a single view of the customer and their order history and inventory levels across all channels.

This information can ensure that customers can always get the products they want, when and where they want them. Omnichannel retailer order management can be a challenge for manufacturers, but it is essential for providing customers with the best possible shopping experience. With the right omnichannel strategy in place, manufacturers can provide their customers with the convenience and customer-centric experiences they crave.

Benefits of omnichannel order management

Consumer expectations show that they want a seamless experience regardless of how they choose to shop along their buying journey.

This has created challenges for manufacturers and omnichannel retailers alike, now managing inventory and orders across all channels. Adopting an omnichannel order management system will improve your reputation with customers. Additionally, omnichannel order management can help manufacturers improve operational efficiency and reduce costs.

Here are 10 key benefits of omnichannel order management for your business:

1. Improved customer experience

Omnichannel order management can help manufacturers provide a seamless shopping experience for their customers by managing inventory and orders across all sales channels.

There are many reasons why improved customer experience is important. Satisfied customers are more likely to buy from a company again and recommend it to others. Good customer service can also result in lower acquisition costs, as happy customers are less likely to take their business elsewhere.

Finally, improved customer experience can simply make your customers feel good — and that’s always worth striving for.

2. Improved operational efficiency

Omnichannel order management can help manufacturers improve operational efficiency by reducing the need to reconcile inventory and orders across multiple channels manually.

Operational efficiency is important for any business because it directly impacts the bottom line. When a company can streamline its operations and reduce waste, it can save money and increase profits. In addition, improved operational efficiency can help a company compete more effectively in the marketplace by reducing costs and increasing productivity.

Ultimately, operational efficiency is essential for any business that wants to succeed.

3. Reduced costs

Firstly, if you want to break into a new market, you don’t have to open up a new store at a location — you can just make a website and sell from your current premises, allowing you to break into new markets from the comfort of your own home.

Then comes the less tangible forms of reduced costs. By implementing an omnichannel selling strategy, you will be eliminating go-betweens or third-party services by keeping everything in-house. The other savings come with improved customer retention and having all your customers’ data centralized.

4. Increased sales

By providing a better customer experience and improving operational efficiency, omnichannel order management can help manufacturers increase sales.

Sales are the lifeblood of any business. Without sales, a business simply cannot survive. This is why increased sales are so important to businesses of all sizes.

First and foremost, increased sales mean increased revenue.

This is vital for any business, as it allows them to reinvest in their business, expand their operations, and hire new staff. Increased sales can also lead to improved brand experience recognition and awareness. When customers see that a business is selling more products or services, they are more likely to view the business favorably and recommend it to others.

Ultimately, increased sales represent growth for a business.

And growth is essential for any business that wants to succeed in the long term. By increasing their sales, businesses can ensure their continued success and longevity. If you’re looking to increase sales for your business, there are a number of things you can do:

• Create a strong marketing strategy for your business — this will ensure that potential customers are aware of your products or services and what makes them unique
• Focus on providing excellent customer service — when customers have a positive experience with your business, they are much more likely to return in the future and recommend you to others
• Always be looking for new ways to reach potential customers

Whether it’s through online marketing or traditional methods like print ads or word-of-mouth, make sure you’re doing everything you can to get your business in front of as many people as possible.

5. Improved customer retention

By providing a better customer experience, omnichannel order management can help manufacturers improve customer retention.

When customers stick around, they tend to spend more money over time. In addition, satisfied customers are also more likely to refer others to your business, which can help you attract new customers. Happy customers also tend to be more loyal and less likely to switch to a competitor.

So, improved customer retention can lead to more sales and profits, but it can also help you build a stronger, more loyal customer base.

There are many ways to improve customer retention, but some of the most effective include providing exceptional customer service, offering competitive pricing, and regularly communicating with customers. By taking steps to improve customer retention, you can boost your bottom line and build a stronger, more loyal customer base.

6. Improved supply chain management

Omnichannel order management can help manufacturers improve supply chain management by providing visibility into inventory and orders across all channels.

Supply chain management (SCM) is critical to businesses today. An efficient and effective SCM system can help organizations improve their overall performance and competitiveness.

7. Increased visibility

An omnichannel order management strategy can help manufacturers make better decisions about safety stock levels and promotions by providing visibility into inventory and orders across all channels.

When businesses use multiple channels to sell their products or services, they are more likely to be seen by potential customers. By being presented on various channels, companies can increase their chances of being found by customers looking for what they have to offer.

8. Improved data quality

By providing visibility into inventory and orders across all channels, omnichannel order management can help manufacturers improve data quality. This improved data quality can lead to better decision-making about stock levels and promotions.

There are several reasons why improved data quality is important:

• Accurate and reliable data is essential for making sound business decisions
• High-quality data can help organizations improve their operational efficiency and performance
• Good data can help companies develop more effective marketing strategies and target their advertising efforts better

Ultimately, improving data quality can benefit businesses of all sizes.

9. Reduced risk

An omnichannel order management strategy can help manufacturers reduce risk by improving data quality and real-time inventory visibility.

One of the biggest risks associated with selling online is the potential for fraud. By using an omnichannel approach, businesses can mitigate this risk by having multiple contact points with their customers. This way, if there are any suspicious activities, they can be quickly identified and addressed.

Another risk associated with selling online is the possibility of losing customer data.

When customers purchase products or services online, they typically input their personal information, such as their name, address, and credit card number. If this information is not properly secured, it could be accessed by unauthorized individuals. However, if businesses use an omnichannel approach, they can store inventory data in multiple locations, making it more difficult to steal or lose.

10. Better decision making

A key omnichannel order management benefit is improved data quality and visibility, which helps manufacturers make better decisions about stock levels and promotions.

Decision-making is an important part of any business, and the ability to make better decisions can mean the difference between success and failure. Several factors go into making a good decision, and understanding these factors can help you make better choices in your own business.

Is omnichannel something your business needs for success?

There’s no doubt that customers today are more connected than ever before.

They move seamlessly between online and offline channels, often using multiple devices to research and purchase products or services. As a result, businesses need to adopt an omnichannel approach to marketing to keep up.

Omnichannel marketing aims to provide a seamless experience for customers, no matter how they choose to engage with your brand. This means creating consistent messaging and branding across all channels and making it easy for customers to move between them.

However, it’s important to note that not all businesses will need to adopt an omnichannel approach. In some cases, a single-channel approach may be sufficient.

If you’re not sure whether omnichannel marketing is right for your manufacturing business, consider the following factors:

Your customers

Do your customers move freely between online and offline channels? If so, then an omnichannel approach is likely necessary in order to reach them effectively.

Your products or services

Are your products or services complex, requiring extensive research before purchase? If so, then an omnichannel selling approach will be helpful in providing customers informtion.

Your competitors

Are your competitors using an omnichannel approach? If so, you may need to as well to stay competitive.

Ultimately, only you can decide whether an omnichannel approach is right for your business. However, if you’re looking to reach more customers and provide a better experience, it’s worth considering.

Should retailers use an omnichannel order management system?

Omnichannel retailer management is not a new concept, but it has become more important in recent years as shoppers have become more comfortable shopping online and using mobile devices.

To compete with pure-play online retailers, brick-and-mortar need as stress-free store fulfillment as their online counterparts.

The benefit of an omnichannel strategy is evident for both retail businesses and shoppers. For retailers, it can help to increase sales, inventory visibility, and customer loyalty. For shoppers, it provides a more convenient and seamless shopping experience.

However, retailers’ order management for the omnichannel approach is not without its challenges.

It can be difficult and expensive for retailers to implement, and it requires a high level of coordination between various departments within the company.

Despite the challenges, omnichannel retail is something that many retailers are striving for. To stay competitive in today’s market, brick-and-mortar stores need to find ways to offer a similar level of convenience and customer service as their online counterparts.

But, if you decide to take this sales approach, you’re going to need an omnichannel order management system to help you manage your business.

Katana omnichannel order management system for manufacturing

Katana ERP manufacturing software is an all-in-one platform, empowering manufacturers to take control of their entire business from sales to production and inventory management.

If you’re a manufacturer selling B2C or D2C, you understand the challenges of managing your business, manufacturing, and sales. Katana ERP gives users the ability to automate day-to-day activities and obtain real-time analytics, all of which can be used to make better business decisions on the fly. Katana also comes equipped with essential features for managing an omnichannel strategy, such as:

Multichannel inventory management

Katana ERP manufacturing software gives users complete inventory visibility across all their sales channels — ensuring they never miss a deadline again.

Regardless of where your stock is located, Katana helps you keep track of inventory movement in real-time, so you know exactly what you have on hand, what’s committed, and when raw materials are due to arrive. Implement barcode inventory management to optimize and streamline receiving and counting stock. Katana also integrates with e-commerce platforms, so you can centralize inventory management and execute your omnichannel strategy, for example:

• Shopify order management system
• WooCommerce inventory management plugin
• BigCommerce inventory management
• And more integrations, connected natively, third-party, or via the Katana API

Order management solutions

From purchase management to managing manufacturing and sales orders — Katana centralizes your order management to one easy-to-understand platform.

Using Katana to manage your omnichannel order management strategy means you can see the status of orders all from one screen. This allows you to track purchases and data of customers, regardless of the sales channels used. Having all this information to hand can improve the customers’ experience and easily handle returns or customers’ queries across different channels from the same customer.

Digitalized picking and packing

Kick a bad habit and turn to paperless manufacturing with barcode scanning on your shop floor for easier and cleaner picking and packing tasks.

Omnichannel order management features such as barcode scanning will make finding and identifying your item variants more efficient. You can use barcodes to track items anywhere in your supply chain or business. For example, you can use barcodes for:

• Performing stocktakes during audits
• Receiving deliveries
• Designing your own barcodes for internal use
• Managing raw material inventory on the shop floor
• Assigning batch numbers to items

And there you have it — Everything you need to know to understand what omnichannel order management is and how to implement the omnichannel strategy into your business.

If you want a tool to help you take your business to the next level, be sure to check out Katana’s 14-day free trial — see firsthand why 1000s of manufacturers entrust Katana to help them manage their business and operations.

And until next time, happy selling.