Order Management Software Makes E-Commerce Easier

 Dr. Ralph F. Wilson, Web Marketing Today
Mar 18, 2008 - 6:30:00 AM

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If you process many e-commerce orders -- especially for tangible products -- you'll tear out your hair if you try to manage those orders without specialized software. Yes, some shopping carts contain rudimentary order management features, but not enough for a serious operation. You might be able to download and import your orders into QuickBooks, but QuickBooks isn't really designed for order management, either.

Order management done right helps you ship efficiently and look up a myriad of details if you get a question, return, or lost order. By its very nature, order management must integrate with online services (shopping cart, credit card processing, UPS, USPS, Stamps.com) and your company's other software and databases (accounting, customer management, e-mail lists, etc.).

More serious online merchants use order management software systems that include some or all of these kinds of functions:

 

• Downloading orders securely from your online store(s).
• Processing orders for approval, pick, pull, and pack, with features such as barcode, product shelf location, etc.
• Calculating shipping or postage costs (and noting any anomalies).
• Checking if sales tax is due (and noting any anomalies).
• Printing shipping labels, packing slips, etc.
• Integrating online with shipping services (UPS, FedEx, DHL, etc.).
• Integrating online with the postal service (USPS, Canada Post, Royal Post, etc.).
• Integrating with electronic postage meter services (Pitney Bowes, Stamps.com, Endicia).
• Integrating online with credit card processors.
• Handling or integrating with customer management software, list software, etc.
• Integrating with accounting software.
• Inventory, purchasing, receiving, and vendor management.
• Drop-shipping management.
• Communicating with fulfillment houses.
• Relaying shipping information and tracking codes to customers via e-mail.
• Handling incomplete orders, backorders, returns, refunds, etc.
• Order entry and point-of-sale functions are available in many packages.

If you've outgrown your cart's limited functionality, it's time to turn to order management software before you get frantic with the holiday rush. A word to the wise: don't shop by price alone; "cheap" isn't the best solution here. Decide which features you actually need and then look for systems that provide them. The programs listed below cater to small to medium businesses.

 

StoneEdge Order Management (www.stoneedge.com) is built on a Microsoft Access database and includes a great many functions and integrations. Of all products surveyed, it provides easy compatibility with the widest range of shopping carts and e-commerce systems, over 40 in all. Prices begin at about $1,500. This is own my personal choice for an order management program.

M.O.M. (Mail Order Software, www.dydacomp.com/mom) from Dydacomp has been popular with small to medium online businesses and catalogers for years. It is built on a modular system -- you buy only the modules that you need for your business. M.O.M. integrates with major carts and e-commerce services such as eBay, Yahoo! Store, ChannelAdvisor, Amazon Marketplace, Miva, ShopSite, Xcart, and others. Costs range from $1,000 to $1,500 and up.

MailWare (www.mailware.com) offers a limited SOHO version for $499 and a regular version for $2,299. It can work with most carts through a CSV download of the order file.

OrderMotion (www.ordermotion.com) employs web-based software, rather than locating the database on your computer. Pricing involves an initial set-up fee, plus monthly hosting and a per transaction fee. Prices begin at $349 per month plus $0.55 per transaction.

NetSuite (www.netsuite.com) provides comprehensive, integrated, web-based software to run an entire business -- e-commerce, accounting, CRM, etc. The database is online, not on your own computer. NetSuite Small Business can integrate with several popular online carts: ChannelAdvisor, FarApp, Infopia, and Marketworks, plus eBay, FedEx, UPS, and PayPal. The base fee is $99 per month plus $49 per month per user.

ShipWorks (www.interapptive.com) from Interapptive is priced lower than the programs above, but offers a smaller feature set. It resides on your desktop computer and interfaces with a number of popular shopping carts including: Amazon Seller Central, ChannelAdvisor, CRE Loaded, eBay, Infopia, Marketworks, Miva Merchant, osCommerce, ProStores, ShopSite, Yahoo! Stores, and X-Cart. Pricing varies based on the number of orders processed each month, beginning at $14.95 per month for up to 99 orders, $29.95 for up to 999 orders, and $49.95 for more than 1000 orders.

TrueShip (www.trueship.com) routes orders, and creates shipping labels and forms. The core product is ReadyShipper at $19.95 per month. In addition, various cart-specific integration modules run $99.95. Modules are also available for integration with QuickBooks, NetSuite, USP WorldShip, and others.

AdvancePro (www.advanceware.net) includes lite, regular and enterprise versions, focusing on wholesale and distribution companies. It integrates with QuickBooks. Pricing begins at about $1,500 for an e-commerce business. Unfortunately, it's up to the storeowner to map fields (using the XML Order Import add-on) to import data from his own particular shopping cart.

Fishbowl Inventory (www.fishbowlinventory.com) integrates with QuickBooks, osCommerce, Miva, Yahoo! Store, and Monster Commerce. Pricing starts at $1,795.