Order Management Best Practices

Require Order Forms to Be Fully Completed Prior to Submission to Improve Data Accuracy

Best Practice (Good)

Require all fields within order submission forms (customer contact information, product or service requested, customer comments, etc.), including online forms, to be filled in by the end user (internal or external) prior to submission to ensure that all necessary information is collected from the beginning. Forms that contain missing information should not be allowed to be submitted. Instead, ensure that a message appears within online forms clearly stating why the form is unable to be submitted as well as which fields are missing information. Physical forms, on the other hand, should be handed back to be fully filled in, with information given on which fields still need to be filled.

Typical Practice (Bad)

Allow the Order Processing function to accept all types of submission forms (physical or online forms) from customer-facing representatives (i.e., sales, call center and customer service representatives) or the customers themselves with only the minimum amount of information needed so as to reduce any related cycle time (data collection and submission, etc.). Should any missing information be deemed necessary, representatives and/or the customers themselves should be contacted to acquire the needed information.

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Benefits:

Submission forms (physical or online forms) must contain as much information as possible to ensure that all necessary data is accurate and available for use (especially if it concerns customer data). Furthermore, by ensuring that all necessary information is filled in before submission, the need for rework is eliminated since time will not need to be spent in obtaining the data from customers or the employees who submitted the data. Periodic reviews of the database should be performed to ensure that all data is up-to-date and error free.

Incorporate Auditing Processes Into The Customer Order Fulfillment Process to Improve Order Accuracy and Cycle Times

Best Practice (Good)

Integrate auditing processes into the customer order fulfillment process itself to promote employee accountability, increase order accuracy and reduce customer order fulfillment cycle times. Barcode all products and ensure that each product is scanned before being packaged to ensure accurate auditing and inventory management data entry. Supplement the customer order fulfillment process with the use of standardized quality control checklists to maintain product quality consistency.

Typical Practice (Bad)

Use a standardized checklist after the customer order fulfillment process is completed to ensure that all products are accounted for and in good quality before being packaged and delivered to customers. All poor quality products should be noted and replaced and missing products obtained during this portion of the process. Higher cycle times due to frequent inventory visitations when an item is missing or needs to be replaced are seen as inevitable - "the cost of doing business."

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Benefits:

Order accuracy is one of the most important steps when it comes to order fulfillment since nothing will reduce a customer's satisfaction more than receiving a low quality or erroneous product in the mail. Integrating the audit process with customer order fulfillment processes therefore promotes employee accountability, increases order accuracy and reduces customer order fulfillment cycle times. This is especially the case when products are barcoded and scanned before being packaged. While this and other automating techniques are useful (such a practice also keeps the inventory up-to-date by entering data into the order management system), supplementing these processes with the use of standardized quality control checklists is just as important since such checklists maintain product quality consistency within the organization's inventory and within the customer orders themselves. Performing these processes together during the customer order fulfillment process, furthermore, reduces the need to go back and replace poor quality or missing products which directly impacts the order fulfillment cycle time.

Use an Online Returns Interface to Measure and Improve Customer Experience

Best Practice (Good)

Provide customers with an online portal to submit a return request, track the status of their shipment, and even engage with customer service representatives (typically involves live chat functions, email, phone contact information, etc.). Use easy to understand polling to not only ensure that the organization is delivering the quality and services customers expect, but to also identify the core reasons products are returned. This ensures the organization is able to both resolve the issues customers have with the returned products and reduce the likelihood that they will happen again.

Typical Practice (Bad)

Provide customers with a landing page that provides the physical address of the organization, all appropriate contact information (customer service representative numbers, departmental numbers, etc.) and detailed instructions on how to return the product. This allows customers to return the products they wish with little to no effort or potentially confusing process information. Use all available contacts with the customer to measure customer satisfaction and the reason behind the returns being made.

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Benefits:

Every customer wants to know that their return is in process, when their refund has been issued or when a replacement product ships. Providing customers with an online returns interface (typically within the online portal itself), therefore, engages the customer in such a way as to quickly assuage any misgivings or apprehensions about the returns process that they may have. Using polls, furthermore, not only ensures that the organization can measure customer satisfaction (i.e., whether the organization is delivering the quality and services expected by the customer), but it also allows the organization to measure the root causes behind the returns. This then allows the organization to improve their own internal processes, product quality and development of new product plans to ensure customer satisfaction and reduce future return rates.

Place Saleable Merchandise in Suitable Putaway Zones and Store Un-Saleables According to Vendor Guidelines to Streamline Return Processing Practices

Best Practice (Good)

Place saleable merchandise on pallets by its destination putaway zone as soon as returned products are received in order to streamline return processing. Track un-saleable merchandise with a bar-coded label and use standardized checklists to ensure that all un-saleable products are stored according to vendor guidelines. Store all returns documentation in a centralized location (typically through the organization's Intranet-based resource) to promote easy access to complete audit trails (documentation typically includes return reason, date of initial shipment, date of return, customer name, etc.) which assures legitimacy of the claim (i.e., reason for the return) while improving supplier relations.

Typical Practice (Bad)

Place returned merchandise, saleable or not, in any open space available before returning to higher priority duties in order to reduce return processing cycle times. Saleable merchandise can be restocked at a later time while unsaleable merchandise should be stored in a designated area in the warehouse to await being scrapped.

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Benefits:

Typically, most merchandise are returned in saleable condition and thus clear for return to the storage area. As such, saleable products should be placed on pallets by its destination zone to streamline return processing practices, increase integration with the warehouse, and reduce the shortage of space and the potential for damage during undocking procedures. Return processing employees should use standardized checklists, however, to ensure that all returned merchandise that is not saleable and cannot be discarded are stored according to vendor guidelines. While some vendors simply require an inventory report to issue credits, others will send a sales representative to inspect the goods and/or to accept shipment to the vendor. As such, storing all return documentation in a centralized location (typically through the organization's Intranet-based resource) not only promotes easy access to complete audit trails (such documentation typically consists of the return reason, date of initial shipment, date of return, customer name, etc.) which legitimizes the return, but it also improves supplier relationships. Keeping orderly documentation, in essence, reduces the frustration and cycle times typically involved in determining why a return happened and what to do with the returned product(s).