New technology has changed everything about how we do business. The advent of the internet has created a whole new type of business altogether: eCommerce. In this competitive sector, optimizing your processes and workflows is very important.
Streamlining your eCommerce workflow can seem daunting. It can involve a lot of tasks and making big changes. Knowing where to begin and what steps to take can be challenging. If you don’t know where to start optimizing your eCommerce business, read on.
In this guide, we’ll go over what an eCommerce workflow is, and discuss the importance of streamlining workflows and how to identify areas for improvement. We’ll also talk about common ways to improve workflow, such as an RMS (retail management software) or POS (point of sale) system.
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Understanding eCommerce workflow
An eCommerce workflow includes all the different processes involved in running an eCommerce site. Common steps in an eCommerce workflow include payment processing, order confirmation, and shipping updates. Understanding how these processes work together is essential to running a thriving eCommerce business.
Issues or bottlenecks that arise can impact your customer experience and future growth. If you are slow to reorder inventory, for example, you may run out of stock and customers may then buy from a competitor instead of you.
Let’s now look at what a typical eCommerce workflow usually involves.
Product sourcing
In this step, eCommerce businesses find suppliers for their products or services. This may be done internally or externally, depending on your business.
Listing
The listing step involves putting your product or service for sale online. This could be on your own site or through a third party or even an online marketplace.
Order processing
This step usually involves a few different processes. Orders from customers need to be approved, confirmed, and fulfilled. Getting this right is crucial, as the speed and efficiency with which you handle orders directly affect your customer experience.
Fulfillment
Order fulfillment involves all the different steps in getting an order on its way to a customer. Mailed orders, for instance, will have to be picked from a warehouse, packed, and sent through a courier.
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Post-sale
After delivering a product or service, there’s still work to do. Post-sale work includes answering customer questions, processing returns, and continuing to build positive customer relationships.
Inventory management
Inventory management means keeping products in stock and updating inventory records. Accurate stock tracking and reordering avoids customer frustration and potential missed sales.
Why streamline?
Ecommerce is a highly competitive field.
With fierce competition, it’s important that your online store runs as smoothly as possible. Errors or workflow bottlenecks can all negatively impact your company. With a large proportion of cart abandonments being due to website flaws such as an overly complicated check-out process or errors, it’s vital that you have everything running as smoothly as possible.
By regularly examining and streamlining workflows, eCommerce businesses can make processes more efficient, reduce errors, and improve overall performance.
How to start streamlining your eCommerce workflow
Where do you start with streamlining? Fortunately, it isn’t that complicated. There are a few key principles to streamlining your eCommerce workflow, outlined below.
Define your goals
Figure out your business goals before trying to streamline your eCommerce workflows. Knowing your unique aims means you can target your efforts more effectively.
Find areas for improvement
Once you have identified your goals, you can pinpoint where your workflow could be improved. If you have data available this can help you find problem areas. Are there bottlenecks that limit your performance? Are there repetitive tasks that could be automated? Once you find these issues, you can plan how to improve on them.
Evaluate solutions
Figure out ways you can address your areas for improvement. Can you change your processes? Would new equipment or software help? See what would work best for your specific use case.
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Implement and monitor
Put your changes into place – and make sure your team is prepared to handle them. Arrange training if needed, as your team’s full collaboration is a must. If your team is well-prepared, they can take full advantage of the solution you have prepared.
Continue to monitor performance after you implement any changes. This lets you track whether your solutions have improved your workflows as intended, as well as identify other areas for optimization.
Centralize information
An order may have to go through multiple team members before it is fulfilled. It can cross between different departments, buildings, and even physical sites. All of this leaves a lot of room for human error.
Keeping track of information in one place prevents miscommunication between different team members. It can also simplify different processes in a workflow. Finally, it means that information is easily accessed for future reference if needed, such as when dealing with a return.
Simplify processes
If we understand an eCommerce workflow as a set of processes, it makes sense to make each step as simple as possible. Complex processes make room for more errors and waste time. When reviewing your workflow, consider what you can do to make things simpler. Remove unnecessary steps from your processes and see what could be made easier.
Some steps in your workflow may have unavoidable complexity. For example, fragile goods may need to be packaged differently than other products. There may still be solutions that can simplify these steps, however, such as alternative packaging materials.
Use data
Data is an incredibly useful tool for understanding your workflow. It can show you how well each component of your eCommerce business is functioning. Proactively collecting data lets you identify areas for improvement and address them, as well as monitor future performance.
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Automate time-consuming and repetitive tasks
Almost all workflows have steps repeated across different orders. While these tasks may not take too long individually, the time spent on them between each order adds up.
Identifying and automating suitable tasks can have many benefits. Automated processes can reduce incidents of human error, for example. They can also free up time so your team can work on more important tasks.
You can automate processes throughout most workflows. An eCommerce retailer, for instance, might have a system that automatically confirms orders and alters inventory accordingly.
Monitor and improve regularly
Commit yourself to regularly checking on your workflow to try and find improvements. Areas to improve can arise for different reasons. For example, as your sales increase, you may find your previous workflow can’t keep up. Don’t be afraid to explore new solutions for your business.
Leverage software
Software has transformed many business processes. For example, ATS and CRM systems have completely changed how companies manage recruitment and hiring. A suitable RMS or POS, similarly, can revolutionize your eCommerce workflow and increase efficiency.
RMS systems offer numerous benefits. They centralize all the information required to run your business, including order information and inventory. This can then be used to automate large chunks of your workflow. Repetitive tasks that may have taken up hours of your team’s time can be finished in moments.
For example, when customers order something from you, they can process a payment through a POS (point of sale) system. This also automatically creates a receipt, confirms the order, and adjusts your inventory.
An RMS can also reduce errors. Information is stored in one place and can be updated instantly. This forms a single source of truth and prevents conflicting information being given. Data entry is also automated, reducing rates of human error.
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Many RMS systems can be used to collect data as well. This can be used for future monitoring and improvement. Some may have added tools, such as forecasting, allowing you to predict when new stock needs to be ordered.
Today, RMS and POS systems are easier to implement than ever. You can buy or subscribe to a wide range of software packages online, each one with their own unique advantages and features. Some sellers may also customize a package for your specific needs.
A new RMS can be set up and ready to go in a very short amount of time. A relatively small investment can massively improve your performance and help you keep up with the competition.
Making your workflow work for you
Streamlining your workflow is an important part of any eCommerce business. Working efficiently can improve your performance and make you stand out from the competition. Any changes should be carefully considered and prepared for beforehand, however.
Reviewing your workflow and implementing ideas like automation can massively increase your performance. Investing in an RMS system like Magestore can automate processes, centralize information, and make your whole business run smoother. Contact us if you’re discovering a fit solution for your business!
Author:
Natasha Thakkar – Content Marketing Manager #1
Natasha Thakkar brings over a decade of marketing expertise to her role as Content Marketing Manager at Oleeo, a tech company that specializes in producing recruitment software solutions. Skilled in lead generation and communication, Natasha shapes content that enhances Oleeo’s brand and resonates with audiences. With experience handling global campaigns and an approach rooted in innovation and engagement, she excels in strategic campaigns, skillfully adapting to trends and connecting with audiences to optimize visibility.
