In this new era of Ecommerce, businesses that have embraced technology to allow their customers to place orders without any hassle, with just a few taps, have stolen the show. While there are numerous platforms companies can use to set up their online business stores, streamlining the processes and understanding how to manage their inventory is completely up to them.
An online grocery store company understood their need for an integrated solution that would allow them to manage their orders and inventory without using any complicated or expensive apps. Realizing that they need to offer their customers a user friendly experience to place their orders, the company approached Quickwork to implement the automation of their order placement and recording model.
Why should online store processes be automated?
When it comes to grocery and vegetables, it is one such business that thrives on word of mouth and client relationships. It is essential to ensure that customers can place their orders without spending too much time. Furthermore, once an order is placed, there should be no discrepancies in what is delivered due to mismanagement of inventory.
With orders coming from different platforms, it is difficult, especially for small businesses, to keep track of numbers while ensuring timely delivery of fresh produce. Human error in taking note of orders and quantities could lead to a wrong order being delivered, and one such mistake can lead to a bad online review causing huge setback to a small business.
Identifying the most efficient workflow from the first step of order placement to order delivery and automating tasks which are time consuming and repeated ensures that the business can focus their attention on more important tasks.
How was automation incorporated into the business?
1. To allow customers to always be able to see what fresh products are available, the company wanted a flexible option to display their changing offerings. Customers were provided the number of a WhatsApp chat bot which they could interact with to place their orders.
2. Once a customer sends a message to the chatbot, they receive a message with a link for the latest Google Form. This Google Form contains the list of products available at that time, taking into account the current inventory available.
3. Customers use this Google Form to select which products they wish to purchase, along with their desired quantities. When they submit the form, they receive an automated message on WhatsApp thanking them for their successfully placed order.
4. The Google Form used for placing the orders was integrated with a specific Google Sheet, in a manner that any orders placed would be automatically appended to the sheet. This acted as a central repository for the company to keep track of all orders received and helped them manage their inventory.
What benefits did the automation bring about?
Since customers could place their orders with just a few taps, it provided a simple and effective way for them to purchase groceries. The Google Form lists only available products, which ensures that no orders will be cancelled or delivered in an incomplete manner. Additionally, customers can see the prices of the products before they place their order, which adds a level of transparency and builds trust in the brand.
On the other hand, the company’s employees do not need to spend their time and effort to take orders from customers manually. Since all orders will be auto populated into the Google Sheet, they can immediately focus on packaging and delivery related activities.
The order details collected in the Google Sheet will also help them gain insights into the most commonly ordered products, which ones are ordered seasonally and which ones are ordered in certain quantities. This understanding helps the company manage their inventory and plan their promotional offers.
Now that you know how automation of business tasks helps you save time and focus your resources on critical activities, get in touch with Quickwork to automate your business workflows!
