When you sell through multiple channels, managing your order lifecycle across all of those channels can be difficult. It can be a royal pain trying to keep up with the orders, inventory changes, price updates and out of stock items from your ecommerce site when you are also dealing with eBay and Amazon. And then what about all those Facebook referrals?
When it comes to keeping your ecommerce order lifecycle running smoothly in the midst of all this noise, there are a few important things to keep in mind.
The first thing to consider is how to choose your channels. This is very important, as it will set the stage for your entire way you complete your order lifecycle. You will most likely begin with your own site, then expand into additional channels like Amazon or eBay. Companies will need to determine which channels are appropriate for them based on their price point and product category. A company that has lower margins and isn’t looking to make high amounts of profit on every sale is in a good position to explore some of the bigger channels. But before you commit to a big channel, make sure you have the capacity to keep your order lifecycle moving forward in a healthy way. You don’t want to trade life cycle health for a bunch of orders that you can’t sustain.
Order management software is going to be a big help when you are working across multiple channels. This software will give you the tools to monitor and manage your channels in real time, so you can watch your order lifecycle in action. Monitor an order as it moves through the initial entry though funding, allocation, then shipping and settlement. Instead of approaching each channel as an independent enterprise, the channels are integrating into a bigger, more comprehensive system. This means one thing: a smoother order lifecycle, and happier customers.
Keeping order of a cycle will always take effort and organization. With these tools, you will have no trouble keeping a smooth order lifecycle through multiple channels.