eCommerce Order Tracking System Is not an Overspending

eCommerce order tracking is a cornerstone for any store owner. Once you open your store, your customers will start to ask:

Where is my order?
I’ve been waiting for a century now.
Consider me unsubscribed!

Once your customers submit their order, they keep asking one question: Where is my order?
These WISMO order tracking questions may come up regardless of the tremendous efforts you carry out to plainly reveal the estimated shipping window. That is the reason it is so vital to make order tracking for eCommerce accessible as fast as possible.

WISMO = Where Is My Order

What Is Purchase Order Tracking?

“Purchase Order Tracking”, also referred to as “PO tracking,” is the process of following up, step by step, a purchase order from the moment of “Submit” to “Arrival.” Though it depends on the products being tracked, several purchase orders can follow the same items at multiple stages in the timeline, especially in eCommerce tracking orders.

Earlier, before the advent of technology, the sales department had to carry out this tracking process manually. Normally, such a process consumed a lot of paperwork with some fatal miscommunications in-between.

At present, modern management and technology have systematized the process of purchase order tracking and maximized the seller’s productivity in a manner that would have been unthinkable a few decades ago.

However, as long as vendors of all scales are in competition with business hulks, customer expectations will be continuously rising. Currently, some of the main stereotypical expectations are to get expedited shipping and be informed about the precise date and time of package arrival.

Simple Steps to Save You the Hassle

The more effectively you impart available tracking information, the less desperate questions you will receive from panicked customers. Thus, creating a tracking number for every order, as of the “Submit” moment, can spare you unnecessary hassles. You can also offer ePacket order tracking to enable the customers to follow up by themselves.

You may also advise your customers to create an order tracking platform like ShipStation and 17track.net. On assigning a tracking number, your clients can use it to check shipping information from the order status page.

Take Notice: Plugins such as assigning a tracking number, delivery notices, and estimated arrival date during the course of the process all rally around to eliminate the “peril” of buying online products and establish confidence with your customers.

👉 Read Also: 21 eCommerce Customer Service Practices to Compete in 2022

Tracking Process and Customer Purchasing Frequency

Buying goods online has grown to the degree of a necessity for each person. We all do it occasionally and, sometimes, it becomes so extreme that it invokes others to intervene.

Anyway, when you are ordering something online, does the eCommerce order tracking process matter to you? Or is it simply another exhausting online buying procedure?

In my opinion, tracking is an integral part of online shopping, because it maintains me informed about my order status. Hence, I do not have to be anxious about where my order is and I have never received any at an unscheduled date or time.

Here, allow me to elaborate on some points for you on the advantages that the eCommerce order tracking process provides to buyers and sellers.

Not only does an eCommerce order tracking system helps customers identify the location of their package, but it also allows eCommerce marketers to achieve authentic business indications.

On top of that, eCommerce stores can draw customer attention (and then customer acquisition) with tracking procedures, also by deploying an order tracking system they can raise their customer retention rate.

👉 Read Also: What Is Customer Acquisition and Customer Retention?

Remember: Customer retention means more recurrent sales.

But how can an order tracking facility stimulate customers to buy more and enhance their purchase frequency?

eCommerce purchase tracking lends you the power to keep an eye on the entirety of your e-business online order and shipments, and then transmit the status to your clients at any point in the order’s timeline.

eCommerce order tracking comprises attributes like estimated delivery dates, package tracking, and frequent updates on the order status. Jointly, these features play a major function in the customer experience, allowing buyers to discern what to anticipate for their delivery and get notifications of any delays.

The order tracking system alerts store agents and item buyers about the current order status whenever placed by the customer. Consequently, the tracking process makes all sides stay on the same page and eliminates the incidence of miscalculation on both the buyer’s side and/or the seller’s side.

It updates the customers and online store owners on the order status from the moment of departure to arrival. Although it may vary from one business to another, generally the order status can be subdivided into five phases: Submitted, Processing, Shipped, Delivered, and Closure. The matter is entirely dependent on the store owners’ alternatives and options.

For example, the buyers can track if their purchased product is out for delivery from the supplier or not. Also, they can know the time of arrival that they can expect, so that they can approach the point of arrival.

In the following paragraphs, we will find out the advantages of the order tracking procedure for the buyers and for store owners as well.

Advantages of Order Tracking System

Today, installing eCommerce order tracking is deemed an indispensable help every eBusiness firm has to provide. There are many advantages to D2C brands and to their customers, too.

Definition: Direct-to-consumer (D2c) is a business model where a company produces a product in its own facility, as well as distributes it within its own channels.

1. Cost Reduction

Probably you have realized that handling customer questions or complaints, in the long-term, has inflated hidden costs. Sometime later, you will be obliged to employ someone, subcontract customer service, or install a chatbot to reply to each individual complaint. Failing to do so will have serious consequences on your customer reviews.

The bright side is that if you deploy e-business order tracking, you will encounter far fewer inquiries. Once put into effect, all the tracking data will be automatically streamlined to your customer. In the event of any disputes, you can easily browse all your current (or previous) orders to find what is going on.

A Pro Tip: Using Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) order tracking can automate the procedure without loading you with unnecessary work, and minimize your customer support team stress, without affecting the service quality. By saving time and money, you would have further resources to devote to other schemes of refining the customer experience.

2. Fulfill Customer Expectations

The vast majority of buyers presume their ability to monitor their orders over every point of the shipping timeline.

Customers have obviously become familiar with following their orders through a high level of visual tools. After all, the environment of eCommerce commands it with such relentless competition in the field.

Therefore, it is mandatory to implement an eCommerce order tracking system if you do not want your brand to lose business to other giant retail stores.

If you cannot offer an adequate level of service, customers will react to this, which may jeopardize your customer loyalty. Establishing an order tracking process feeds your customers with the latest information, where their expectations will be fulfilled, and they will be more inclined to write excellent posts about you, buy again from you, or recommend you to their friends.

Remember: offering solutions to customers is far much more gratifying for them than the unpleasant statement “I do not know where your order is,” or repeated apologies. It is possible for an order, in the middle of this crowded traffic and travel, to stay far off from its final arrival point.

When an order departs the factory or warehouse, it can be transferred to a post office or assorting facility before it arrives at the buyer. Keeping the client in action will eliminate any chaos.

3. Better Controlled Order Fulfillment

The order is not fulfilled just by packing the item and handling it to the shipping agent. By order tracking system, you will uphold better control of the order fulfillment procedure, and you can promptly tackle any issues when they surface with ease. Without a tracing system, critical tracking data could be omitted, leading to a buildup of emails from unhappy clients.

Customer acquisition is an excellent aim, but the real profit comes from having permanent customers who continue to buy frequently from your store. The precise eBusiness fulfillment strategy, which employs order tracking, can help reduce disputes, maximize the lifetime value of the clients and gain you more sales.

The good thing is that there are so many excellent services to aid you in managing order fulfillment and solving the eCommerce shipping bottleneck more effectively, be it for sellers and buyers like ShipStation, or for buyers like 17track.net.

From Buyer’s Point of View

Being informed where your package is from the moment it is “Accepted” until it arrives at the destination point is a key approach to enhancing your customer experience and influencing how they view you. By managing this perception, you can earn greater trust with your customers, which will normally reflect in a better relationship and more sales in the long term.

• Makes it easier to manage and follow up on order status.
• Makes the process more efficient and avoids confusion.
• Clients are not required to track their orders.
• Consolidates satisfaction and confidence.
• Eliminates customers online waiting for replies from support agents.

From Seller’s Point of View

• Saves your support team time and effort, as they do not need to solve your clients’ eCommerce order status issues.
• Deepens customers’ loyalty to your business.
• Keeps you aware of your client’s order status.
• Rises the purchase frequency of customers.
• Fulfills your customers’ expectations easier.
• Saves efforts and hours of office work.

Other Advantages of Automating Order Tracking

After ordering an item online, the buyer will never just sit down waiting for his/her parcel to arrive. Normally, package shipment, if it is forwarded to a major city inside the same country, will reach its destination in 1-2 days. The shipment may take a longer time when customers purchase items from smaller towns or country areas.

If the buyer is ordering an international purchase, then the parcel will take much longer days to arrive, depending on the country and location. Therefore, tracking purchase orders (POs) is one of the most vital services the seller can provide to their clients.

Many eCommerce stores, to this day, unfortunately, still transport their products without providing their clients with a reliable automated tracking system. When customers cannot automatically track their goods, and when information is not flashed on their screens, showing the status of the package, they will feel as if they have been waiting for a century.

This would portray a distorted image of your business, and the buyer may go for a seller who, by default, offers automated data about the item’s departure and arrival. Here, let us review some of the main essential reasons why you ought to automate order tracking.

1. Responsibility and Answerability

Any e-business store must consistently confirm that it is held accountable to its clients. When orders and goods are under control and can be clearly tracked, this will encourage the buyers to return to your store and purchase again.

Also, automated order tracking will make it easier for your sales agents to keep all your transactions manageable. When a problem arises with invoicing or orders, you can always backtrack your records to validate any claim.

2. Confidence and Trust

Buying goods online has rocketed unprecedentedly. And yet, people still refrain from shopping online, particularly the elder clients and those who are not familiar with online shopping, yet.

With automated order tracking, buyers will receive notices on a scheduled base, a manner that will establish faith and confidence. Such buyers are perspective to make purchases frequently.

3. Reduce WISMO Calls to Customer Support

In business, it is very common to meet suspicious customers. We have customers who, at all times, want to believe that their package will never arrive as scheduled; even though it is covered by insurance and subject to a guarantee claim.

Such fears originate from an exaggerated uncertainty, but that uncertainty can lead to a flood of excessive calls on the heads of the customer service department. This situation will result in an avoidable waste of time and nerves of your customer care agents.

In order to avoid such irritated and hysterical calls about goods, that still have not arrived, install automated order tracking, and regularly forward out updates on order status to customers.

👉Read Also: What Is Cash on Delivery? All You Need to Know

4. Automated Tracking System Keeps an Accurate Timeline

As a store owner, you must know all the particulars of the orders as well as the shipments. You could need it at the exact moment or even in the time ahead.

The automated order tracking system assists you, at any given moment, in retrieving data pertinent to shipments and order fulfillment. This will release you and the customers from unwanted confusion and streamline the shipment process.

Why Too Much Office Work?

A few decades ago, automation wasn’t present everywhere. Employees had to engross themselves, by hand, in many endeavors all at once. This devours work time, energy, and tons of office work. All works were so convoluted that even a simple process would take hours to be completed.

The manual order tracking process was utter chaos, as it exerts tremendous pressure of paperwork on the procurement department.

In the era of information technology, so many channels of communication have simplified data collection and storage. Online stores can, in seconds, extract the data regarding the order status of clients to confirm that the order is in due course and on time, and the buyer can receive their delivery.

It makes no difference, in the popularity of your online store is, or the vastness of your customer base. After all, if these clients do not revisit your store, then probably you cannot hold your grounds versus your competitors.

To achieve customer retention and a rise in purchase frequency, implement an order tracking system. Also, let us find out how it increases customer loyalty.

Order Tracking Process–Increase Purchase Frequency

eCommerce order tracking system consists of modules that begin with order “Submit” to order “Fulfillment”, to better serve and reach the customer expectations. When a business serves its customer base well, then its customers will automatically enhance their purchase frequency. Besides, it strengthens customer loyalty to the house.

Purchase Frequency

It describes the number that shows how many purchases a prospective client will make in any interval of time. For example, the number of times a customer completes his/her purchase from the same store in a certain campaign or duration.

As we know, the clients want to accomplish their purchase process with ease. They do not want to exhaust their time or energy. Then, if provisions like online shopping devour clients’ time, it is logical to assume that it will not endure in their lives.

The online tracking system helps buyers to follow and manage their order status. This just makes them happier. Therefore, if your eCommerce employs an order tracking procedure, then it is great; if not, then you should conduct a plan to implement one.

Because it can:

• Assist you to gratify your customers’ expectations.
• Lead to more satisfied and loyal customers.
• Minimize your care time, cost, and effort.

Order Tracking System Increases Sales

As a client, online stores that provide this facility simply attract my eyes. Other than me, there are so many in the community who love the order details. Many customers want an order tracking system because they love it and appreciate it.

Keep in mind that eCommerce order tracking functionality improves customers’ purchase frequency, that in the end enhances retention rate.

How a Typical Order Tracking System Should Perform

Clearly, your clients need an eCommerce order tracking function that works in real-time to receive and manage order data.

It can be a plugin that can be installed to manage orders and offer a full real-time tracking system.

Preferably, the functions that the order tracking system provides should be like the following:

• Order tracking functionality from submitting to fulfilling.
• Multiple tracking templates with full customization.
• Notify the buyer about the order status via email.
• Feeds tracking data with a Third-Party Logistics (3PL) agent.
• Equipped with WordPress Multilingual Plugin, to overcome the language

Trends in Order Management Systems to Watch in 2022

• eCommerce Order Fulfillment and Quick Distribution

While tracking shipping costs is important for e-commerce enterprises, the time it takes for a product to travel from purchase to delivery is equally important. Multichannel order management software can help eCommerce enterprises expedite order fulfillment on orders received from any sales channel. When purchasing online in 2022, an increasing proportion of people are projected to choose next-day delivery.

• Instant  Data Collection

Companies’ sales team strategists can examine and collect all data linked to sales via real-time order tracking. They may keep track of sales numbers generated by each retail channel and stay informed about whether sales are increasing or decreasing.

• Customer Support Across Many Channels

Online firms will continue to strengthen their connection with clients across many sales channels, such as forms on their website, live chat, social media, and more, in the post-COVID-19 recovery scenario in 2022. Using multichannel e-commerce management systems for online eCommerce empowers the sales force to give greater customer assistance.

• Post-Purchase Expectations Shifting 

Many additional digital technologies have been introduced to internet firms’ systems since the pandemic began and new varieties evolved, the most recent being Omicron. Thus a multichannel e-commerce management system is the way forward for businesses.

• Operational Process Automation

By automating their order management and inventory data gathering processes, online businesses may better monitor their inventory movement across all sales channels. By automating the eCommerce order tracking system, online businesses may better manage and track their orders from the moment they are received until they are picked, packed, and sent.

In a Nutshell

As we said above, automated order tracking is not a fancy choice nor it is an over expenditure. It can help you reinforce customers’ trust and confidence. It assists you to recall shipment-related records at any time you demand them.

Orders, shipping cargoes, and other logistics relevant information are highly decisive, particularly when addressing complaints. Automating the whole tracking process helps you to avoid overwhelming hurdles while running an eBusiness.

Showing an understanding of your client’s current situation can influence the tone and wording of your reply. The customer is calling you with some despair, wondering when they will see their package, in an acceptable timeline. When the seller recognizes the customer’s frustration, this will make a big difference in turning a negative feeling into a positive experience.

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