If you run an eCommerce business, then you will know all too well that things like data entry are absolutely vital for processing online orders, which can be crucial for correctly bringing together the many different workings of an eCommerce site to complete order fulfilment.
No eCommerce seller wants an order to get messed up. This can seriously negatively impact the business and just one bad experience can go against your brand forever. A dissatisfied customer may not choose to shop with your eCommerce business again, or leave a negative review which could act as a deterrent for other wishful shoppers.
This article will cover the key benefits of automation for eCommerce businesses and why you might want to think about implementing it.
What Is Automation For eCommerce Businesses and Why Is It Important?
Most eCommerce sellers and business owners rely heavily on automation when it comes to things like order fulfilment. Most of the data gathered from customers and their orders will be sent over to various other systems to help manage the order, such as a system for order management, ERP, accounting or a 3PL or POS system.
If this data was to be manually entered, there would be large margins for error for the seller. For example, when inputting a customer’s address or name, this could very easily be misspelled, which could result in an order being incorrectly fulfilled. Alternatively, a seller might input the wrong SKU number and the customer will then receive the wrong product, which could result in a loss of revenue should you have to send the original product out at a later time after arranging a return.
Manual data entry can be tedious and slow, especially if your eCommerce site takes a lot of orders daily. This could leave you spending hours every day, manually entering data to fulfil orders, which is time that could be spent focusing on other areas of your eCommerce business, such as advertising.
By using automation, eCommerce businesses can save hours of time; automation can allow for manual data entry that could take up to 7 hours per day, and automatically input the information into the various systems in a minute.
Automation for eCommerce businesses is a combination of a correct and simple process alongside software and knowledgeable people, to automate the fulfilment process as soon as your customer submits their order. Automation allows for orders to be effortlessly processed as soon as an order has been placed.
Key Benefits of Automation For eCommerce Businesses
Implementing automation in an eCommerce business has many benefits, all of which can have a positive impact on the business.
You Do Exactly What You Say You Will – As soon as a customer places an order, they have the expectation that you will fulfil their order correctly and provide them with their goods or services as quickly and correctly as possible. Automation allows for this process to be carried out in a correct manner, ensuring the right product is chosen for delivery and is delivered to the correct person at the correct address which was input at checkout.
This helps to reduce the chance of a customer either receiving the wrong order, the order going to a different address or person and even reduces the potential chance that the order will not get delivered at all. This helps keep your customer happy and instils their trust in you as an eCommerce seller, making it more likely that they will have a positive experience shopping with you.
Manual Data Entry is No Longer an Issue – Automation in eCommerce sites almost eliminates the need for manual data entry from the seller, as you won’t need to input data into any other systems. This can also save you money on hiring other people to input the data for you. Time spent manually entering data is significantly reduced and allows you to spend more time in other areas of the business which may require more focus and energy.
Improve Your Customer Experience and Satisfaction – By implementing eCommerce automation processes within your eCommerce business, you can add in further business processes and capabilities, which in turn can improve your customers overall experience shopping at your eCommerce business.
For example, allowing customers to choose the cheapest and closest fulfilment centre to ship from or displaying inventory stock levels. A more positive and straightforward experience is better for business, and can lead to return customers and good reviews, further increasing revenue.
Improved Product Information – Implementing eCommerce automation can heavily improve the amount of information readily available to customers. Things like product information can take a long time to update and input manually, and there is the chance that errors could slip their way in as well. Automation can help ensure that the product information is not only correct, but of a high quality and reliable standard as well.
Better Access to Business Intelligence – By using eCommerce automation systems, you can gain access to a wealth of real time data that you can use to positively assess and take action on within your business. This could be useful for marketing strategies or even knowing what products are selling well and in which countries. Automation systems can help you keep better track of this, allowing you to implement changes or carry out target marketing to help boost your overall revenue.
Should I Implement Automation in My eCommerce Business?
If your eCommerce business is growing at a rapid pace and you are finding that you spend a lot of time manually entering data or simply just want an easy solution to reduce and minimalize any chance of errors occurring when fulfilling orders, then yes. Implementing eCommerce automation systems within an eCommerce business can have many advantages for both customers and sellers.
Automation within eCommerce is a great short and long term investment, and can help accurately fulfil orders as well as track and gather useful data which can be used in various other areas of the business to help increase growth in profits or site traffic. If you need any help contact us Liverpool web design company.