5 Benefits of a Bespoke Online Ordering System for Your Customers

If online ordering systems present so many opportunities to make our everyday lives easier, imagine the benefits they offer within a busy company with endless tasks to replicate on a regular basis. Here’s a few examples of how online ordering systems can make life a lot more straightforward for businesses and their customers:

1. A bespoke system does what you want it too!

There are lots of great off-the-shelf systems that fulfil various business needs but sometimes (or perhaps a lot of the time!) there are complexities in your operations that make it difficult or indeed impossible for you or your customers to complete necessary tasks within a one-size-fits-all system. In these situations it can make a lot more sense to build a bespoke online ordering system which takes into account those little quirks that make your business unique.

2. It minimises or eliminates human error and order processing times

If you phone your local Chinese take-away and hang up without giving them your delivery address, or without clarifying if you want boiled rice or fried rice, you may end up somewhat disappointed. Often orders places via a phone call or email correspondence neglect to include a few vital pieces of information, and these incomplete orders can’t be processed until the information is obtained.

In a carefully designed online ordering system this sort of delay will be taken care of. As you move through each section of the order process you will be prompted to consider and provide details on all of the necessary aspects of your order. Not only does this make it a lot easier for the supplier to fulfil but it also reduces admin time, distribution timescales and costs - the benefits of which can be passed on to customers through lower prices. It also increases the likelihood of you receiving an end product that you’re really happy with!

3. Increases order numbers through 24/7 access

Often sales or administration staff in a busy furniture store or car showroom are tied up during office hours dealing with customers face to face, demonstrating products, answering questions and scribbling notes on order forms. Before you know it, the day is over and it’s too late for sales staff to call their suppliers to place the orders, or the store is closed by the time a customer has mulled things over and decided they do want to proceed with an order.

With an online ordering system, staff can log-in after normal trading hours and input sales data into the system. New orders will be picked up and processed first thing in the morning by their suppliers, or the customer notified to verify the order online. Alternatively a customer can create their own online account at any time of day or night, and place their order while the advice they received is fresh in their head. Again, prompts within the system reduce human error, and loss of potential orders can be avoided – for example, a customer who is on the brink of placing an order can be lost if they can’t order immediately and they’ll be distracted by something else by the time the doors open again the next morning.

4. Reduces time spent in order administration and credit control

Online Ordering Systems make it easier for companies to maintain up-to-date information on their customers such as a change of address, change of key contacts or unpaid invoices or exceeded credit limits – each time a user logs into his/her account they will be prompted to check their details or pay outstanding bills before an order can be processed. Similarly, online payment options can be integrated into the online ordering system to eliminate wasted time and cash flow problems associated with waiting to get paid. This can make a huge difference when it comes to the success or failure of your enterprise.

5. It simplifies weekly or monthly reporting

If customers put data into an online ordering system, that data can also be exported from the system into multiple user-friendly formats that make reporting and analysis of outputs against targets much quicker and easier. Your online ordering systems can also be integrated with other existing back office systems you operate to transfer relevant information between departments and provide financial information or updates to stock levels in real-time.

These are just some of the many benefits of building a bespoke online ordering system for your business. Take a look at some online ordering systems commissioned by our clients to see how effective the solution has been for their businesses.