How to Keep Track of Orders for Small Business (Silhouette or Cricut)

If you have found yourself "organizing" orders on sticky notes or a notebook it may be time to get a little more organized and streamlined with a free order management "software" for small business. Many Silhouette crafters did not intend to sell their items when they started out with their Silhouette CAMEO...but inevitably a friend, neighbor, or friend of a friend asks "Can I buy one from you?" And you have yourself a small business almost overnight with no way for order tracking. One order is easy to remember or jot down on a notepad, but it's not the way to scale. You need an ordering system for small business.

What is Order Management?

Order management encompasses the set of activities that take place from the time customers place an order until they receive the product. This process includes the planning, organization, execution, and control of all operations relating to orders and their subsequent distribution. For successful order management, you need to have the required merchandise in the right place, at the right time, and in the right quantity.

Automation and digitalization boost order management efficiency. By investing in technology and digitalization, which minimizes errors, you can distribute more orders in less time. Order management calls for coordination between your company’s different departments and stakeholders. Far from being an isolated operation, it’s an interconnected, integrated process whose goal is for customers to receive their orders.

How an Order Management System Works

Order management includes several stages, from the time customers purchase a product until they receive it in the stipulated conditions. The first phase is the purchase of the item by the customer. To this end, your points of sale have to be stocked with enough merchandise to cover demand.

The next stage takes place in the warehouse. When customers buy a product, the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system must notify the warehouse management software of the items requested. From there, the WMS orchestrates the operation, sending exact instructions on fulfilling the order. The next phase consists of packaging and packing the product to be distributed so that carriers can pick it up and deliver it to customers. Lastly, order management includes dealing with possible returns (i.e., reverse logistics).

Practical Tracking Solutions for Small Silhouette Businesses

It's FAR easier to implement an order management system from the start and the Google Suite tools - all free - make it easy to do. If you're using Etsy or another website with a cart system such as Shopify or Wix you may not need to do this, but most Silhouette small businesses start on Facebook or by word of mouth and that's where you need some kind of order tracking system.

Using Google Forms

Go to Google Forms. (If you don't have a Gmail account yet, you'll need to create one before you can create a form.) You're going to create a form either from scratch or by using one of the templates. If you're totally new, I'd suggest using the Order Form template - you can modify it. At the very top of the form name the form...I'd suggest you just call it something like "(Shop Name) Order Form). In the description, you can put something about the info.

Software Tools for Automation

There often comes an exciting yet stressful time when sales for a small business increase to the point where it can no longer manually handle inventory management, order fulfillment, and efficient, timely shipping. Find the right order management software to help your business automate and scale. Below is a comparison of some top tools based on the provided material:

Jotform’s online order form templates allow you to gather customer information — such as name, email, phone number, and billing address — as well as automate the order collection process and collect payments securely. When your customers place an order through your form, their order will automatically appear in the order tracker along with customer information, order details, and payment confirmations.

The Importance of Management Systems

Effective management of orders is a prerequisite for ensuring customer satisfaction, streamlining operations, and optimizing inventory levels. A proper OMS sits at the crux of any distribution operation, encompassing the entire process ranging from receiving and processing to fulfilling customer orders. Distributors value order management for several reasons:

• Customer Satisfaction: The need for swift processing of orders is paramount. This ensures that products reach their destination with clockwork precision.
• Inventory Optimization: Distributors may avoid issues like overstocking, reduce stockouts, and lower carrying costs by tracking inventory levels in real-time.
• Operational Efficiency: A seamless order management process helps minimize manual errors, thus increasing productivity.
• Data-driven Insights: Collect and categorize data on client orders, sales trends, and inventory levels to extract insights into customer behavior and demand patterns.