How AI dramatically boosts efficiency of B2B order processing

With an aging, shrinking workforce, it’s become harder and harder for B2B organizations to staff their sales teams, even while customers demand faster fulfillment times and access to their suppliers across multiple channels. Teams mired in manual back-end tasks for sales and order processing are significantly handicapped versus competitors who have automated these functions.

The issue is easy to grasp. When processes are not fully automated, orders received via email, Excel or PDF must be completed manually, a time-consuming process prone to errors. In addition to manual data entry, customer service reps invest hours tracking down products as they try to decipher partial product descriptions that don’t exactly match those in their order systems. As a result, overburdened CSRs can’t process orders quickly when demand is highest — disappointing customers and threatening future business opportunities.

Artificial intelligence accelerates order fulfillment

On the other hand, B2B sales organizations using generative AI tools cite “improved efficiency, top-line growth, and customer experience” as the major benefits they reap from gen AI, according to a survey by McKinsey & Company.¹ While the role of gen AI in BTB sales is still playing out, McKinsey notes it can already address many shortcomings of less intelligent sales processing systems.

One such solution is DataXstream’s OMS+ system, which integrates out of the box with SAP S/4 HANA on-premises and cloud environments.

OMS+ automates the process of entering orders directly into the back-end system, reducing the time it takes from hours to minutes and dramatically improving quote-to-order conversion speed. It does so by entering email, Excel or PDF orders directly into the SAP sales and distribution module, without manual rekeying — even if an order is 500 lines long.

OMS+ Intelligent Automation (IA) finds products in organizations’ portfolios if their description is incomplete. For instance, if the product being sought is an iPhone 16, just typing in “16” can bring it up relevant options, enabling a CSR to quickly find the product among the thousands listed in complex data sets in the SAP system. OMS+ can also find products using manufacturer number, UPC code, SKU, and more.

Advanced search features further save time by locating customer orders based on a full-text search for attributes such as the customer’s name, which would retrieve their order without having to look up their order number.

OMS+ even uses images to find products. In one case, DataXstream trained a machine-learning model on pictures of stone tiles from a client’s product catalog. Now, customers can upload a photo of a tile they like — maybe something they saw at a friend’s house — and the system responds with the closest match from the product catalog.

AI can satisfy B2B customers’ increasing expectations

As it supports additional features, AI in order-processing platforms will set a new bar for B2B order fulfillment that providers must clear. “As customers get accustomed to the benefits that come from gen AI—such as instant responses, 24/7 availability, and self-serve features—they may gradually come to prefer gen-AI-equipped suppliers,” McKinsey reports.²

All the while, AI will make sales reps more productive: they’ll spend less time punching in data and more time developing trusted relationships with customers.

To learn more about how DataXstream’s OMS+ can improve results for B2B sales organizations visit: dataxstream.com.

¹ “An unconstrained future: How generative AI could reshape B2B sales,” Sept. 16, 2024, McKinsey.com.

² Ibid.