Manufacturing and distribution leaders are under constant pressure to increase revenue. When it comes to the purchase order process, only two eBusiness strategies can achieve this objective: EDI and ecommerce websites. But the adoption of these eBusiness solutions remains a struggle.
eBusiness executives have realized they simply cannot dictate how their customers want to buy from them. Despite attempts to shift customer behavior through eBusiness tools, customers continue to prefer email. Investments in digital channels have limited impact and don’t seem to encourage behavioral changes in customers. The trend does not appear to be changing any time soon. A 2018 study found that 70% of customers prefer to email their POs.
Most companies require a PO to receive goods and pay invoices that need keying into their internal purchase order software. These platforms, by default, deliver the purchase document via email. Customers don’t want to enter orders a second time into an ecommerce website or any other eBusiness solutions you may possess. So they prefer the default option to transmit their order via email and continue ordering as they always have.
For the seller, a member of the inside sales team manually enters these emailed orders into the ERP system. This manual data entry into using purchase order software delays order fulfillment and becomes a huge burden on productivity.
The inside sales team and customer service representatives are one of the most valuable resources a company has to support growth. They are product and sourcing experts and have extensive knowledge of products they sell. But they end up not having enough time to truly meet customer needs and build relationships. Instead of devoting time to driving growth, they focus on low value tasks like manual order entry. Any other eBusiness strategies you plan to implement will be of limited impact if you don’t find eBusiness tools to solve this inefficiency.
It is not just the investment into digital channels that will ultimately achieve your company’s eBusiness goals and increase digital transactions. Just as important is leveraging a cost-effective purchase order management solution that allows customers to continue to do business with you in the same way they always have.
Conexiom saves your inside sales team time by digitizing your customers’ emailed orders in the same way your existing digital channels do. This purchase order management software also reduces the cost of your purchase order process. Thus, it enhances your company’s profitability without impacting your customers or requiring any specialized hardware or software.
Companies that use purchase order management routinely experience an ROI of 200% to 1,000%, according to Conexiom data. Competing in today’s eBusiness environment means becoming more efficient by increasing digital ordering – and also by offering better customer service. Conexiom’s touchless purchase order management software can help companies meet both these goals, building business resiliency for years to come.