Where’s My Order? 5 Ways to Fix Order Fulfilment Challenges Using Dynamics 365

Order fulfilment challenges can barge into the scheme of things out of nowhere (quite literally). These challenges, often occur, when the supply chain gets disrupted. Now, it is interesting to note that the supply chain can get disrupted at any given stage of the production process, be it during the procurement of the raw materials or while a buffer stock of the products is being sent to the warehouse.

Here are some reasons that tend to disrupt the Supply Chain

• Issues with the supplier
• Natural or manmade calamities
• Issues with the supplier
• Fluctuating customer demands

Major Order Fulfilment Challenges

Order fulfilment challenges can tarnish your reputation and goodwill. Therefore, you must keep these problems at bay. There are several challenges that you might face while carrying out a customer’s order. These are:

Order Processing Issues

Issues in order processing can arise due to several reasons, such as inaccurate entry of orders, inadequate inventory levels, and inconsistent communication with the buyers and customers.

One common issue faced by about every business entity is inaccurate order entry. This can result in incorrect or incomplete orders being fulfilled. It can lead to delays in order processing, dissatisfied customers, a decline in sales, etc. This issue can be solved using Dynamics 365 Solutions automated order processing systems features that can minimise human errors while improving the accuracy of the entry made.

Inventory Management Problems

Problems pertaining to inventory management can come up suddenly without any notice. Inaccurate forecasting of demand is one of the biggest reasons that may lead to inconsistencies in inventory management. Likewise, a lack of visibility into stock levels and inadequate inventory planning can also lead to inefficient inventory tracking.

Not being able to predict the customer demand for a product can also lead to inconsistent inventory management. If the demand is overestimated, it can result in excess inventory. This would lead to an increase in storage costs. On the other hand, underestimating demand can give rise to stockouts. Such a situation can result in lost sales opportunities and unhappy customers.

Logistics Challenges

Logistics is a complicated and critical component of supply chain management. It involves the movement of goods, people and information from one place to the other. There are numerous problems that people might face whilst fulfilling the logistical requirements within a company. These are:

• Inefficient order processing: It can result in delays when it comes to fulfilling customer orders. This might result in customer dissatisfaction. Make use of Dynamics 365 solutions automated order processing functions to streamline the order fulfilment process.
• Transportation delays: Transportation delays can barge into the picture due to several reasons, such as weather conditions, traffic congestions, and vehicle breakdowns. These problems can result in increased lead times, missed deadlines and dissatisfied customers.
• Poor warehouse management: Poor management of the company's warehouses can result in unorganised storage, inefficient packing, and incorrect inventory counts. This problem can be eliminated by using automated warehouse management systems.

Challenges in Collaboration and Communication

Both collaboration and communication happen to be critical components if you wish to deliver an order with success. However, several challenges can arise during the process of order fulfilment. These challenges may hinder communication and collaboration.

Here are some of the challenges:

• Lack of visibility
• Communication may happen in siloes
• Linguistic barriers
• Differences in time zones
• Incomplete or inaccurate information

Performance or Process-Oriented Challenges

When it comes to order fulfilment, there can be both performance and process-oriented problems and challenges.

• Performance-oriented challenges:
• Meeting delivery deadlines
• Reducing manual errors
• Maximising order accuracy

Process-centric issues in order fulfilment can be:

• Streamlining order processing
• Optimisation of the inventory
• Improving cross-departmental communication

Why is it Important to Solve Order Fulfilment Challenges?

It is essential to address order fulfilment challenges as soon as possible because undelivered orders are bound to leave your customers dissatisfied and upset. A quintessential order-fulfilment cycle requires a company to process and deliver an order after it has received an order request.

Addressing order fulfilment challenges is of paramount importance because undelivered orders will lead to the following problems:

• Tarnishing customer experience
• Loss of goodwill
• Rise in additional cost
• Decline in operational efficiency

How can Microsoft Dynamics 365 Fix Your Order Fulfilment Issues?

Automate Order Processing

Automating your order processing cycle is of paramount importance because several processes need to be carried out recurrently whilst receiving and processing orders. These are:

• Order entry
• Inventory management
• Processing of orders
• Carrying shipping and delivery

Automating your order processing cycle can lead to a decline in the frequency of factual errors, whilst increasing efficiency. Microsoft Dynamics 365 solutions enable business houses and organisations to streamline order processing by bringing together the data pertaining to sales, shipping, delivery, and inventory management.

Example: Whilst using Microsoft Dynamics 365 solutions, companies can streamline the process of order fulfilment by concocting workflows that tend to update the levels of inventory automatically. Shipping labels can also be generated automatically. According to a study conducted by Microsoft, after making use of Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, a leading Mexican retail chain was able to increase order processing by a whopping 30%.

Improve Inventory Management

Inventory management is a critical part of the overall order fulfilment cycle. Dynamics 365 allows a business to improve its inventory levels by monitoring the stock levels, optimising replenishment, and forecasting demand.

Example: Businesses can easily track inventory levels whenever they want to, all thanks to Microsoft Dynamics 365. Automated notifications can also be set whenever the stock levels fall below a certain threshold. As per a recent survey report, businesses with an inventory management system reported a 20% reduction in incidents pertaining to stock shortage.

Optimisation of Shipping and Logistics

Shipping and Logistics can impact customer satisfaction and business performance. Dynamics 365 provides the users with a set of features that optimise logistics and shipping by integrating them with shipping carriers, automating shipping label creation. Also, the tracking of shipments can be carried out in real-time.

Example: According to a recent report by a leading logistic service provider, using digital tech in the shipping industry can enhance delivery times by 30% (approx.)

Enhance Communication and Collaboration

Communication and cohesion between departments are bound to have a drastic impact on the overall order fulfilment process. Dynamics 365's features enhance communication and cohesion by allowing real-time collaboration within all divisions and departments, right from the suppliers to the customers.

Example: Dynamics 365 solutions can help sales representatives update a customer's order status instantly. The employees at the warehouse can notify the sales team about stock shortages (if any). Likewise, the delivery team can convey the date of delivery to the customer. Similarly, warehouse employees can notify the sales team of any stock shortages if any in real-time. According to a recent survey by a leading research firm, businesses that give rise to an effective communication model within the organisation are likely to witness a 20-30% rise in productivity.

Analyse Performance and Improve Processes

Analysing order fulfilment performance can help businesses identify areas for improvement whilst optimising processes. Microsoft Dynamics 365 solutions provide a wide set of features to analyse order fulfilment performance by generating reports, analysing trends, and providing insights.

Example: Using Microsoft Dynamics 365, businesses can generate reports that provide insights into order processing time and shipping costs. A report by a leading research facility state, businesses using analytics to optimise their order fulfilment processes can enhance customer satisfaction by 20% (approx).

To summarise, Dynamics 365 offers numerous features that streamline and optimise the processes dealing with order fulfilment.

Conclusion

It goes without saying that your business will not be able to thrive and prosper if you take order fulfilment for granted. You need to mitigate the order fulfilment problems to earn satisfied customers and retain your clients and or customers in the long run.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 is here to streamline and automate all your orders. Right from inventory management to order tracking, this intelligent software solution contains every single feature that you will need to fulfil all your customer order wants on or before time.