75% OF COMPANIES CONSIDER DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF THE SUPPLY CHAIN “IMPORTANT” OR “VERY IMPORTANT”1
According to Gartner, digital optimisation is “the process of using digital technology to improve existing operating processes and business models”.
Its popularity has surged over the past few years, due in part, to its ability to help supply chain leaders increase efficiency and better navigate modern challenges. The elimination of low-value tasks and the streamlining of front-end order management has a positive impact on the supply chain, and apart from boosting the bottom line, means more time for:
- Supporting new opportunities
- Building enhanced relationships
- Maximising the customer experience
Challenges
in Order Management
Supply chain excellence requires a continuous supply chain. Serious challenges
which prevent this from being a reality include:
- Errors
- High costs
- Poor communication
- No visibility
- Low customer satisfaction
- Customer & employee churn
In this day and age, problems such as these are just not acceptable, and are certainly not conducive to providing a smooth supply chain and a fantastic customer experience. Any of these challenges will directly affect the company’s bottom line in a negative way, and in an increasingly competitive business environment this is simply not supportable.
Automating
Order Management
Transforming the supply chain with automated order management can remove all of
these challenges:
- Order reception: all submitted orders regardless of type or format (e.g. email, fax, EDI, portal, etc.) are entered into the appropriate queue for electronic processing.
- Data extraction: AI-driven technology like machine learning extracts relevant data from image files and even recognises orders and other documents for faster, more accurate processing.
- ERP integration: data and workflows are connected to existing ERP systems either on site or on demand, supporting seamless integration.
- E-archiving: orders are automatically archived and linked back to the ERP/business system for as long as specified.
- Analytics: Real-time metrics are displayed on dashboards customisable for each user, enabling full visibility from beginning to end on important KPIs, like order backlog.
Benefits of Automated Order Management – don’t just take it from us…
INCREASED SPEED
“We have reduced the number of order entry errors due to manual handling and sped up our processing times. As a result, we have been able to invest more time on higher-value tasks, which has led to an increase in customer satisfaction.” HEINEKEN
BOOSTED CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
“A specific feature that has been well received by our customer service team is the ability to quickly and effortlessly retrieve archived orders. This not only saves time, but it also provides a higher level of service to our customers by being more flexible and responsive.” GE HEALTHCARE
IMPROVED BOTTOM LINE
“Automation of documents in our order-to-cash cycle such as sales orders and invoices will reduce errors, lessen the load on our own staff and speed payment cycles – and when you’re talking about more than a million documents a year, that adds up to a significant impact on the bottom line”. WHIRLPOOL
Supply Chain Excellence Shouldn’t be Complicated
Digital optimisation needs to be embraced in order to excel in today’s competitive business world.
Supply chains cannot thrive using outdated manual methods of order management.
You can read more about this in our guidebook:
If you would like more information about how Esker’s solutions can transform your business, get in touch, we’d love to help you.
1GT Nexus & Capgemini Consulting (2016). The Current and Future State of Digital Supply Chain Transformation. Retrieved from: https://www.capgemini.com/consulting/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2017/07/digital_transformation_report_capgeminiconsulting_0.pdf
