Order Management: The Key to Success in Cross-Border Ecommerce

In today's globalized and hypercompetitive world, online sellers need a system that keeps disparate systems, processes, and people in sync across all continents and cultures. Fortunately, a Merchant of Record facilitates order management for merchants. As the overarching system that brands use to manage inventory, order management involves the entire supply chain process, from inventory management to receiving and fulfilling orders. Order management is a vital part of a successful cross-border ecommerce (CBEC) strategy, but it is also very difficult to manage. As part of a Merchant of Record companies' responsibility, they utilize their own order management system to help grow brands manage international transactions more quickly, easily, and safely.

Cross-border ecommerce is an unclear area with many variables. Brands involved with global ecommerce have to manage sales channels, inventory needs, potential costs, logistics, the customer experience, complicated tax issues, currency exchange rates, and many other issues that can quickly become confusing without predetermined systems. However, well-managed enterprise order management vastly reduces the number of factors at play — unifying all of these elements and bringing them into a cohesive strategy.

Take Chiara Boni's journey into cross-border ecommerce, for example. Chiara Boni is an Italian designer brandok focused on creating timeless, elegant, and innovative clothing for all seasons. Over the years, the brand developed a robust presence and began exploring new avenues for expansion, including the U.S. market. This new market came with complex challenges, including managing newfound growth worldwide. The brand reached out for assistance with order management to a reliable Merchant of Record.

Thanks to a Merchant of Record (MoR), Chiara Boni's strategy was tailored to their specific needs and addressed pain points with local and global payment processing. As part of a MoR responsibility, they also helped the brand navigate international tax jurisdictions, such as cash reconciliation, value-added tax (VAT), and other tax administration issues. By outsourcing these tasks, Chiara Boni was able to focus on their core business and use their partnership with the Merchant of Record to efficiently grow into international markets, manage inventory levels appropriately, and provide customers with a smooth buying experience.

Order management is a key factor if you are thinking of expanding into new competitive markets. Automating processes like customer orders reduces critical entry errors, ultimately saving both brands and consumers money by eliminating mechanical tasks and ensuring accuracy. Other advantages have emerged, like allowing for omnichannel marketing strategies, where companies can be more efficient and imaginative with their offerings.

For example, enterprise order management can allow sellers to offer customers an endless aisle while still getting the experience of sales consultation. Brands that continue searching for competitive advantages like these will likely inform providers of their unique needs. Furthermore, they will help organically optimize the order management they operate within.

Beyond the point-of-sale advantages, order management adapts to more complex supply chain needs, tax demands, and legal issues. In the future, sales jurisdictions' rules could institute changes or new environmental regulations could affect logistics capabilities. All of these potential issues mean that brands must be forward-thinking about the markets they operate in and proactively work with ecommerce partners to find solutions.

While there are many advantages of working with a partner that utilizes an effective enterprise order management system, there are four key features that your brand should be aware of:

1. Automatic order processing

An enterprise order management system should strive to provide as much business value as possible, as quickly as possible. Removing time-intensive and low-return work such as order processing, so brands can focus on sales or other operations, is non-negotiable. Automating processes, particularly order fulfillment, is an essential feature that brands must cover under an enterprise order management solution.

2. Accurate inventory across all sales channels

Most brands are increasingly leaning toward hybrid brick-and-mortar and ecommerce strategies that demand accurate inventory counts and surgical management of inventory and storage costs. As such, you must know exactly how many items are in store and simultaneously have access to real-time data that allows for adjustments. Fortunately, a Merchant of Record order management system can make this pain-free and simple.

3. Optimal order fulfillment capabilities

Your business needs order fulfillment that produces quick and accurate shipments to customers. You will also likely require this system to accurately gauge the most economical and efficient way to deliver your products. When shipping costs or inventory purchasing costs are rising, it is critical to have a partner with an agile order management system that can update current prices, regulations, and supply chain timetables.

4. Provide a great customer experience

Order management systems need to give customers the convenience and ease they've come to expect in the digital age. Customers should be able to initiate self-service returns, generate shipping labels from home, and ideally return items to a physical location if necessary. Customers also want to know the status of an order at every fulfillment stage, so the system must provide timely updates.´

Cross-border ecommerce is a complex and challenging world to navigate. Brands can rightly be confused deciphering questions like "What is order management in ecommerce?" or trying to discern the difference between order management vs. order fulfillment.

Here at Go Global Ecommerce, we can work with your brand to deliver the education and consulting needed to successfully address your business's cross-border ecommerce needs and sell products that consumers love. Contact us today to see how we can help you sell internationally by incorporating order management into your strategy.