Automated Ordering System to Streamline Sales Order Fulfillment
In supply chain software development since 2012, ScienceSoft helps companies in 30+ industries design and implement high-performing automated ordering systems.
Contributors
Digital Supply Chain Consultant, ScienceSoft
Head of Enterprise Application Development, ScienceSoft
Automated Ordering System in Brief
An automated ordering system centralizes orders from all sales channels, streamlines order processing and routing, and tracks order fulfillment in real time. The system is widely used by businesses to decrease order fulfillment time and costs and avoid mistakes related to manual order handling.
Implementation time
6–12+ months.
Costs
$200,000–$400,000+, depending on system complexity. Use our cost calculator to estimate the cost for your case.
Payback period
<3 months. Calculate ROI for your tailored solution.
Key Features of an Automated Ordering System
ScienceSoft plans automated ordering software with unique functionality closely bound to our clients’ objectives. Here, we have summarized the features commonly requested by our clients:
Order processing and distribution
- Order and customer data aggregation from online and offline touchpoints (a company’s website, marketplaces, offline stores, call center, etc.).
- Automated EDI order processing.
- Rule-based order confirmation.
- Notifications to sales agents on orders requiring manual confirmation (e.g., if the payment is pending).
- Automated entry of order-related data into sales orders, invoices, shipping labels, etc.
- Automated order triage based on urgency, expected delivery time, customer-specific SLA, and more.
- Order routing to the best fulfillment location (based on inventory availability and delivery address).
- Real-time order status tracking and sharing with customers (via a self-service portal or integrated sales channels).
- Order modification and cancellation (upon a customer’s request via any channel).
Order delivery management
- Setup of delivery priority rules.
- Automated estimation of order delivery time (including for pre-orders and backorders).
- Order delivery scheduling.
- Order merging (if a customer makes several orders via the same or different channels).
- Automated creation of pick and packing lists with SKUs, product quantity, required packaging, etc.
- Order assignment to shipping carriers (can be partially automated by setting up default carriers for particular products).
Payment processing
- In-built integration with payment systems (PayPal, Stripe, Braintree, etc.).
- Capturing transaction requests and transferring them to payment providers.
- Payment data encryption.
- Auto-filling of customer data at checkouts.
- Support of multiple currencies and payment options (credit and debit cards, gift certificates, split payments, etc.).
- Template-based invoice generation.
Customer self-service portal (for B2C and B2B)
- Customer accounts with order history across all sales channels, contact and delivery information that can be added and edited.
- Real-time delivery tracking.
- Request submission and tracking: for re-orders, returns, repairs, etc.
- Automated notifications to customers (e.g., once their order is available for pickup).
- For B2B:
- Creating main and subordinate accounts (e.g., for regional offices).
- Overview of issued invoices.
Return and warranty requests management
- Submitting customer requests for return, repair, and exchange from integrated sales channels or a self-service portal.
- Verification of customer requests based on pre-defined rules.
- Auto-linking of return, repair, and exchange requests to related sales orders.
- Automated calculation of the refund amount (based on the return policy).
- Return order creation and routing to a fitting inventory location.
- Return order tracking (back to the assigned location).
Analytics and reporting
- Customizable dashboards for sales and customer service managers and agents (e.g., information on KPIs, current orders, customer requests via a single interface).
- KPIs tracking (e.g., fill rate, orders completed per day, carrier success ratio).
- Customer demand forecasting (based on historical and real-time order data).
To facilitate order fulfillment planning, I suggest our clients augmenting their automated ordering software with AI-driven prescriptive analytics. AI can provide intelligent recommendations on optimal fulfillment locations and delivery sequence with a view to a company’s unique order execution workflows.
How an Automated Ordering System Looks
Integrations for an Ordering System
ScienceSoft recommends integrating the automated ordering solution with relevant business-critical systems to streamline order aggregation from relevant sources and processing and maximize visibility of order fulfillment operations. Essential integrations include:
- Sales channels (a company’s website, marketplaces, offline stores, etc.) - to instantly consolidate orders and leverage automated order entry into the fulfillment system.
- Payment service providers - to process customers’ online payments securely.
- ERP / Financial software - to generate invoices and ensure error-free financial reporting (e.g., monthly statements on sales revenue from fulfilled orders).
- Warehouse management software (WMS) - to get visibility into inventory levels and accurately prepare ordered products for shipment.
- Shipping carriers’ systems (for businesses using outsourced shipping services) - to estimate shipping costs, choose the most cost-efficient delivery options offered by shipping carriers, and track order delivery.
Factors that Drive High ROI for an Automated Order Processing System
Employing over a decade of experience in engineering supply chain management software, ScienceSoft’s consultants have defined important factors that can bring maximum value from automated ordering software implementation.
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System tailored to the specifics of order fulfillment processes (e.g., rules for routing orders to fulfillment locations, prioritizing deliveries, confirming return requests) to maximize order execution speed and accuracy. |
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Real-time inventory visibility at all inventory locations to prevent stockouts and ensure efficient distribution of orders to fulfillment locations or suppliers. |
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System scalability to support business growth (launch of new sales channels and fulfillment locations, customer base expansion, etc.) and high performance to withhold peak ordering times, e.g., during Black Friday or Christmas Sale. |
Want to Learn the Value of Automated Ordering for Your Case?
Ways to Set Up Automated Ordering
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Business automation software |
Off-the-shelf ordering software |
Custom order processing system ScienceSoft recommends |
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Essence
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Implementing all-in-one OOTB business automation software that comprises a digital ordering tool. |
Implementing market-available ordering software, which typically enables automated order aggregation and processing and provides fulfillment control dashboards. |
Building custom automated ordering software to get all necessary functional and non-functional capabilities and digitally transform your unique order management flows. |
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Pros
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Establishing a cohesive order management automation environment. |
A fast and cost-effective way to leverage auto ordering. |
Getting a solution fully tailored to your order processing and fulfillment needs. |
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Cons
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High subscription cost. Chances to obtain a large share of unnecessary functionality. |
Pre-defined features, integrations, and processing flows. Inability to evolve the solution when needed. |
Software design requires additional time and investments. |
Should You Opt for a Custom Ordering System?
Answer a few simple questions and find out whether you should opt for a custom-made order automation solution.
Do you need an ordering system with specific features like order triaging based on custom rules or AI-supported fulfillment planning?
Do you need a solution providing functionality that is usually a part of other software, e.g., CPQ (“configure, price, quote”) features to automate price estimation for configurable products?
Do you need to integrate the ordering system with multiple back-office systems or legacy tools?
Do you need an ordering solution providing compliance with the local regulations in the regions your company operates?
Do you operate in a regulated industry (e.g., healthcare, public sector) and need a solution providing advanced order data security?
Do you need an ordering solution with various interfaces for different roles in the order management team?
Do you plan to evolve the solution with new functional and non-functional capabilities in order to adjust it to changing business requirements?
Do you have large teams involved in order fulfillment processes and look to avoid the software fees associated with the per-user subscription model?
Please tell us a bit more about your needs
Answer at least 3 questions to get results.
You can go with off-the-shelf ordering software
Looks like market-available order automation solutions are a viable option to meet your needs. Turn to ScienceSoft if you need help with choosing the optimal ready-made tools, their implementation, customization, or integration with your existing corporate systems.
You definitely should consider custom development
A tailor-made automated ordering solution will help you reap the unique benefits that market-available software cannot offer. Turn to ScienceSoft to get the detailed assessment of a custom ordering system’s feasibility for your business situation.
Custom ordering software is your best choice
Looks like market-available order processing tools don’t fit your specific requirements and won’t be able to provide the expected operational and economic feasibility. Turn to ScienceSoft to get a consultation on custom ordering software development and receive cost and ROI estimates
Platforms We Recommend to Automate Order Processing
Magento Order Management
Description
Recognized among strong-performing order management software by Forrester. Companies leveraging Magento’s ordering system are Brown-Forman Corporation, Rural King, Frankfurt Airport Shopping Mall.
- Intuitive UI.
- Support of diverse order fulfillment workflows, including in-store fulfillment.
- BI-powered reporting on orders, shipments, returns, and payments.
Best for
Midsized and upper-midsized businesses looking for an easy-to-adopt ordering system.
Pricing
Request Magento Order Management implementation cost.
Note: The product is a part of the Magento Commerce platform offer.
IBM Sterling Order Management
Description
Recognized among leading order management software by Forrester. Renowned clients of IBM’s OMS are Nike, CVS Health, Staples, Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation, and FleetPride, Inc.
- A powerful rules engine for the solution’s customization.
- Support of the whole order life cycle, including after-sales and returns management.
Best for
Enterprise businesses.
Pricing
Available upon a request to a vendor.
Oracle NetSuite Order Management
Description
Recognized among strong-performing order management software by Forrester. Among companies using NetSuite OMS are Jimmy Jazz, Guthy-Renker, Lovesac.
- Support of custom system triggers to create scenarios for automated order fulfillment, specific to a particular business (can be done directly via UI).
- Basic reporting capabilities (advanced reporting is available within a separate analytics solution).
Best for
Midsized businesses without complex fulfillment scenarios.
Pricing
Available upon a request to a vendor. Note: The product is available within the NetSuite platform license.
Development Costs and Financial Outcomes of the Automated Order Fulfillment System
From ScienceSoft’s experience, the cost of developing a custom ordering system varies from $200,000 to $400,000, with cost factors including the scope of functional modules, complexity of data migration procedures, the number and complexity of integrations.
Want to understand the cost of your ordering solution?
Key advantages of the automated ordering system
- Decreased order fulfillment costs.
- Optimized order delivery timing and costs.
- Reduced human errors (e.g., missed or misplaced orders).
Payback for an ordering system can be expected within 3 months.
Implement Order Processing Automation with Professionals
Drawing on 12 years of experience in supply chain software development, ScienceSoft offers full-cycle consulting and development services to build powerful automated ordering systems. Our teams guarantee that project goals are achieved within the expected time and budget and that emerging risks are mitigated quickly.
Ordering system consulting
Our consultants:
- Analyze your order fulfillment workflows and define optimal functionality to enable automated order management.
- Help decide between a platform-based and a custom ordering system, taking into account mid-term and long-term benefits of both.
- For a custom solution: design a secure and scalable software architecture.
- Prepare an integration roadmap (with sales channels, ERP, PIM, etc.).
- For a custom solution: prepare UX and UI software prototypes (optional).
- Estimate implementation costs, timelines, and expected ROI.
Ordering system development
Our development team:
- Elicits implementation requirements for an ordering system.
- For a custom solution: designs a secure and scalable software architecture.
- For a custom solution: develops the front end and the back end of an ordering system.
- For a platform-based solution: configures and customizes software.
- Integrates an ordering system with other systems (online and offline sales channels, ERP, PIM, etc.).
- Covers end-to-end quality assurance of the system.
- Provides post-launch support and software evolution (if required).
What makes ScienceSoft different
We achieve project success no matter what
ScienceSoft does not pass mere project administration off as project management, a practice that's unfortunately common in the market. We drive projects to their goals, mitigating risks and overcoming constraints.
About ScienceSoft
ScienceSoft is a global IT consulting and software engineering company headquartered in McKinney, Texas. Since 2012, we deliver robust ordering systems that automate order fulfillment processes end-to-end and help meet the unique requirements of their B2C or B2B clients. Being ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 certified, we rely on a mature quality management system and guarantee your data security. Check out our software development offer for more details.