4 Ways to improve order-to-cash cycle

Efficiency is the name of the game for most businesses and businesses that deal with sales and orders from customers. That’s why companies are always looking to improve their operations.

One of the areas that manufacturers and distributors are constantly trying to streamline is the order-to-cash cycle, which gets their product out to the customer and gets their money to them.

While many areas of filling, packing, and shipping orders are automated, there are some gaps in the system that, until recently, weren’t addressed. And now cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP) software is helping to fix those gaps; thereby making the whole processes more streamlined.

But what else can be done to improve the order-to-cash cycle of your business? There are a few things you can implement that can make much bigger changes than you’d expect.

 

  1. Keeping Up with Demand. If demand for your product is increasing, you need to increase with it. Part of excellent customer services is making decisions that will get your customers what they want as quick and easy as possible. In some ways, this can be a thankless task as a customer may not make note of a package arriving on time but they sure will notice if it shows up late or doesn’t show up at all. It’s your job to make sure that customers don’t have to deal with whatever situation is happening at your business. If you’re good at what you do, the customers won’t even be aware of how much is going on behind the scenes.

 

  1. Finding an ERP and Cloud Enterprise Software That Works for You. There are a variety of products available. Some of them might not have everything you want while others can have too much. Before you spend money on something, it’s best to check that it’s a good fit. Ask around, do your research. Make the best purchase for your business.

 

  1. Work Towards Automating Sales Orders. Manual entry sales orders can be filled with mistakes, which can cause larger problems down the road. An order sent to the wrong address or with the wrong product inside is more than just a hassle; it’s a mistake that could cost you a customer. Automation at the sales orders level will also assist the order-to-cash cycle as it will keep operations running smoothly and give customers confidence in the way your business is run.

 

  1. Reinvest in Your Company. While you’re improving the sales orders system and using an ERP to keep track of your product and cash flow, don’t forget that your business depends on you to grow. This is connected to keeping up with demand. If you are seeing more profit due to automation and stellar customer service, put that money to good use. Expand in areas that need a larger operation, hire more people as more work comes in, improve work conditions so that your employees feel valued. If you need to upgrade the automation system you’re using for your sales orders, do it. Once you’ve got a smooth operation running, you’ll see improvements all over and you can move some of those along by assessing what you need from your software and systems.

 

Every business wants the order-to-cash cycle to be effortless. It means the business gets more revenue and their customers get their orders, accurate and on time. Automation can assist with efficiency and software can assist with insight and you as a business owner are vital to making the decisions to implement those changes.

Improving operations should be your goal, not just for your own purposes but for your customers as well. If you do right by your customers, your order-to-cash cycle will be endless and what more could a business owner ask for?


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