Synchronize Data for Real-Time, Automated Fulfillment
The Gist
Speedy, accurate fulfillment experiences are rising in demand and require brands to have an ecommerce and OMS platform that work together as a cohesive unit. In this post, we’re going to help you understand how to sync different types of data to remove fulfillment friction.
The checkout is the most celebrated and critical portion of the entire ecommerce experience. All that work getting consumers to learn about and be convinced in your brand finally paid off. It’s the Holy Grail. And the priority placed on the checkout experience is justified.
The issue is then, in many cases, the experience drops off. Brands’ operations and processes aren’t as buttoned up as they are pre-purchase. And it’s costing companies both in their efficiency and customers’ future likelihood to buy.
Post-Purchase Friction
The commerce journey is becoming more automated, but one area that’s lagging behind is in fulfillment. Nearly 50% of B2B manufacturing companies have manual data-entry processes for order management. And across B2B and B2C, more than 65% of small and mid-sized companies still use manual data entry.
The slower pace and chance for greater error end up hurting the customer experience. The expectation from customers is that the product status they’re viewing online is accurate, that they can get the product how they want (delivered to their home, in-store, or curbside), and that it happens quickly.
A strong order management system can ease some of this pain, but just implementing a platform won’t make the data magically appear automatically and in the ways you need. Your OMS needs to talk with your ecommerce platform and the rest of your tech stack and function as a single, unified commerce architecture.
Data Synchronization
For the best success, brands need real-time data visible and actionable in both its ecommerce platform and OMS. And there are four aspects of this data that need to be synced between the two for a true automated post-purchase process.
Customer Profile Synchronization
To meet consumer expectations of relevance and ease, brands must have customers’ data up to date and centralized in real time. Their order history, preferences, and behavior trends need to be reflected and influence their future experience. In a time of what have you done for me lately, customers want you to know what they’ve done most recently.
Product and Pricing Synchronization
“Phantom inventory,” which is where a site shows that a product is available but it’s actually not in either a store or warehouse, is a huge driver of lost sales. And it’s a sure-fire way to get your customers to leave for a competitor. It’s critical to keep product catalogues and pricing structures consistent between your OMS and ecommerce platform.
Order Synchronization
Customers believe and expect their fulfillment to start as soon as they hit checkout. Manual processes make this impossible, which is why you need a system that triggers workflows immediately.
Order Processing Synchronization
Get products delivered as quickly as possible while providing real-time visibility and tracking so customers know where their product is at any time. This awareness gives peace of mind that their product will arrive when they need and expect it.
Connect Your Platforms
Your technology should be working for you and not against you. That’s why we help brands free up their teams while improving accuracy and delivering a better customer experience. For those with a Shopify ecommerce platform and Salesforce Order Management, we have a solution that synchronizes customer data, product pricing, and the fulfillment process seamlessly.
Learn more about our connector to learn how to remove friction in your processes in order to get rid of the friction in your buyer journey.
