Running an online store is exciting, but keeping up with orders can be a real challenge. As your business grows, managing orders on BigCommerce can quickly become overwhelming.
However, there are simple tips and tricks to streamline your BigCommerce order management process. In this post, we will share easy-to-follow practices to help you stay on top of orders and provide a stellar customer experience without all the stress and headaches.
Essential to Know about BigCommerce Order Management
You should look at every step from when a customer pays for an order until you deliver their products. Look for ways to make this whole process better for your customers because improving the order experience can help you make more money.
Receiving and Processing Orders
It is best to have a central place to view all orders and inventory levels, especially if you sell on multiple platforms. BigCommerce consolidates your orders automatically and updates inventory if tracking is enabled.
Payment processing is built into the platform with PCI-compliant gateways. Many allow automatic payment capture when an order is placed or a manual authorization letter. Choose the method that fits your business – automatic capture works well if you don’t produce products in-house.
Most gateways include basic fraud prevention like Address Verification and Card Verification Value checking. Some, like PayPal by Braintree, also support 3D Secure for extra verification at checkout. You should check their Fraud Prevention Guide to learn more about eCommerce fraud.
How you process paid orders depends on where you store products. For in-house fulfillment from your own warehouse, you’ll need to manually update each order stage. You need to train staff on using the BigCommerce control panel properly and document processes to stay consistent.
Alternatively, use a third-party logistics (3PL) service integrated with BigCommerce, like Skubana, Brightpearl or ShipBob. They can automate most order processing by syncing data across your warehouses for flexible routing and fulfillment.
Fulfilling Orders
Order fulfillment involves three main steps – Picking, Packing, and Shipping. This is where implementing automation or streamlined processes can greatly improve speed and accuracy.
When just starting out with a low order volume, it’s fairly straightforward to avoid mistakes. However, as you grow and process orders from multiple channels routing to various fulfillment locations, it can quickly become overwhelming.
Picking:
Technology like tablets, voice-picking, and time-tracking software can further boost productivity, but smart warehouse design is essential. Improving picking efficiency starts with an organized warehouse layout:
- Position best-selling items closest to the packing and shipping areas for quick access.
- Group frequently purchased items together to reduce travel time between picks.
- Regularly review and rearrange storage locations, keeping the hottest sellers in prime positions.
Packing:
The packing stage is more than just boxing items – it’s an opportunity to demonstrate care for each order through efficient and accurate fulfillment:
- Arrange the packing area near the shipping zone to optimize the workspace.
- Invest in quality packaging materials – don’t cut corners.
- Use appropriate-sized boxes/materials for each order.
- Verify each item as it’s packed.
- Review frequent returns and update packaging/SKUs if confusing.
Automation becomes crucial for efficiently handling large order quantities without sacrificing precision. Evaluate your fulfillment workflow and identify opportunities to reduce manual tasks through integration and outsourcing.
Practicing Post-Sale Experience
The experience after someone buys from you is very important. It can help you get more customers and make more sales.
For new businesses, a good post-sale experience helps people learn about your brand. Happy customers are more likely to tell friends and family, getting you new buyers.
For businesses with existing customers, the post-sale experience keeps those customers coming back. It’s easier to get someone who already bought from you to buy again than to find a completely new customer. Customers who keep buying from you are very valuable.
After making a purchase, follow up with customers, offer support, give tips on using the product, and ask for feedback. A great post-sale experience leads to positive reviews, referrals, and repeat sales. Don’t overlook it! Keeping customers happy after buying pays off in the long run.
How to Handle BigCommerce Order Management Easily with Atom8’s Quotation Feature
With Atom8’s Quotation Feature, handling BigCommerce order management becomes easy, especially for B2B businesses. This powerful tool allows you to take control of the entire quoting and ordering process, streamlining operations for both merchants and customers.
Sales representatives can set custom quote prices and send them directly to merchants, offering flexibility in pricing that may be lower than the listed rates. Store admins don’t need to worry about monitoring these types of orders, as the system handles them seamlessly.
Merchants and sales staff can receive notifications when quote prices reach predefined thresholds, ensuring proper oversight. This feature is particularly useful for scenarios where company users order items with limited quantities or when total order amounts don’t meet minimum requirements.
Unlike BigCommerce’s native functionality, which applies minimum order quantities universally, Atom8’s Quotation Feature allows you to set specific minimums for B2B quotes only. This level of customization ensures a tailored experience for your B2B customers without impacting B2C operations.
Moreover, store merchants gain additional control by having the ability to delete quotes or send email reminders to B2B buyers to update their quotes as needed. This level of flexibility and communication helps streamline the quoting process, leading to a smoother overall experience for both parties.
By leveraging Atom8’s Quotation Feature, BigCommerce merchants can effortlessly manage their B2B order flow, providing a personalized and efficient experience for their valued customers.
In Conclusion,
Streamlining your BigCommerce order management processes is crucial for providing an exceptional customer experience and driving business growth. By implementing the strategies outlined in this guide, you’ll be able to centralize orders, automate fulfillment, and deliver a seamless purchase journey.
If you need further assistance in optimizing your BigCommerce store for simplified and automated order handling, our experts are here to help. Contact us today to learn how we can customize BigCommerce order management solutions to elevate your eCommerce operations!
