Author: Zoe Stimpson

Benefits of using a cloud-based order management system

From retail stores to e-commerce companies, order management is a key aspect of running a successful business. Unfortunately, many small businesses find themselves hindered by outdated processes and systems. If you’re having difficulty keeping your orders organized—leading to orders falling through the cracks and disgruntled customers—it’s time for a change.

If you’re ready to upgrade your order management, take advantage of the latest technology to improve your processes. A cloud-based order management system (OMS) ensures that your order information is updated in real time, and your team can access that information from anywhere. And, that’s just the beginning of what these systems can do.

Learn more about the benefits of using an OMS on the cloud and how implementing this solution can help your business grow. Or you can use the links below to quickly navigate the article.

What is a cloud-based order management system?

First, let’s review what order management is and how it fits into your business operations. Order management includes:

  • Organizing the orders you receive
  • Stock movement
  • Customer relationship management (CRM)
  • Handing returns and refunds
  • Billing and payments
  • Order processing

An OMS is a software as a service (SAAS) used to track orders from customers for goods or services. An OMS also tracks customer data and stock levels. If you’re a retailer or wholesaler, you probably already have an OMS in place—even if it’s just in the form of a messy spreadsheet.

Cloud-based OMS is the newest method of order management in which everything is stored in a secure online database. These systems are designed to be intuitive and to integrate with other solutions to streamline as much of the order management process as possible. Additionally, since this system is entirely online, anyone with permission can update information, check orders, or change an order’s status from anywhere. – Read more

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Top 12 benefits of RingCentral Cloud PBX for Microsoft Teams

So, you’ve finally committed to Microsoft Teams (or maybe you’re getting ready to commit), and you’re ready to make the most out of your purchase. How do you get started? First, you want to make sure you don’t overlook the one key feature Microsoft Teams does not include: telephony. 

Microsoft Teams can give you so much, but it doesn’t include external telephony capabilities. That means you need to set up an entirely separate system to handle public switched telephone network (PSTN) calls to enable calls outside of your business. 

The solution? RingCentral Cloud PBX for Microsoft Teams—the best way to get the most out of your Microsoft Teams investment. RingCentral Cloud PBX for Microsoft Teams is a Direct Routing integration (more on that later) that enables telephony natively in Teams, making your RingCentral/Teams integration a winning combo that delivers results.

📚  Learn all the facts when it comes to telephony for Microsoft Teams and find out how RingCentral can help. 

When it comes to your communications stack, it’s important that you have the flexibility to build it according to your exact business needs. Whether you prefer to have a single vendor or multiple vendors for communications, RingCentral provides you with the flexibility and options you need to be successful—no matter which tools you choose.

What is Direct Routing?

There are two ways to add telephony to Microsoft Teams: Microsoft Calling Plans and Direct Routing. With Microsoft Calling Plans, you can use Microsoft as your telephony carrier but there are a number of restrictions, including limited PBX functionalities and feature capabilities. Direct Routing, on the other hand, lets you choose your own telephony carrier and PBX services to connect to a PSTN. That means you can choose your own telephony carrier and PBX service (like RingCentral) and connect it to your Microsoft Teams setup. 

When choosing RingCentral for Direct Routing, you can use RingCentral for voice needs, such as lines, phone numbers, and minutes, while retaining Microsoft Teams as your messaging application provider. All incoming and outgoing calls are routed through the RingCentral cloud network using the Microsoft Teams application—everything is seamlessly tied together with a native experience within the Teams interface. 

Direct Routing makes it possible for you to connect RingCentral’s enterprise-grade telephony with Microsoft Teams’ collaboration platform so you can utilize the best of both worlds.

12 benefits of RingCentral Cloud PBX for Microsoft Teams

So what are the top 12 benefits of choosing RingCentral Cloud PBX for Microsoft Teams? We’ll tell you.

🔍 Grab our datasheet to have the entire 12 benefits of RingCentral Cloud PBX for Microsoft Teams list handy. 👀 Grab the datasheet

1. Intuitive Teams experience

RingCentral Cloud PBX for Microsoft Teams integrates natively into Teams, so you can still use the same Microsoft Teams interface with the power of RingCentral’s telephony to back it up. And you won’t have to ever worry about additional downloads, bots, or plugins—what a relief! – Read more

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How Wine Central Uses Shopify POS to Improve Product Recommendations and Lift In-Store Sales

Wine Central is a New Zealand–based online retailer specializing in wines, beers, spirits, and non-alcoholic beverages. When it launched in 2013, Wine Central’s original premise was to offer consumers wine specials and daily deals.

While its goal was to operate exclusively online, that all changed in 2021 when Wine Central moved into a larger warehouse space, reserving some of the square footage for its first ever storefront.

“It’s a section of our warehouse with its own entrance,” explains Paul Newport, Wine Central’s founder and CEO. “With pallets of our merchandise on the floors and shelves, it feels more like a warehouse than it does a typical store.”

To support his aspirations, Paul needed a point-of-sale (POS) system that would update inventory levels in real-time when purchases were made online or in-store, would allow his staff to serve customers from anywhere in the warehouse, and could support a loyalty program that used customers’ purchase history to recommend beverages that matched their preferences. With Shopify POS helping run its omnichannel business, Wine Central has enjoyed: 

  • The ability to sync its customers’ online and in-store purchase history to its customer profiles, enabling staff to serve up hyper-personalized recommendations and lift in-store sales.
  • Smarter inventory management, with inventory levels being adjusted in real time whenever a sale is made in their store or online.
  • The ability to use one platform to manage both its online and physical stores.

The challenge

With the launch of Wine Central’s new storefront, Paul wanted a POS system that integrated with the business’ inventory management platform, Unleashed.

“We needed to have visibility on all our orders, whether they were initiated online or from our warehouse storefront,” Paul says. “Regardless of the channel where the sale was initiated, our inventory levels needed to remain accurate at all times.” 

Paul also wanted Wine Central’s retail operation to facilitate “on-the-go” transactions, where his staff could interact with clients, look up inventory, and take payments from anywhere in the store. These features were essential for hosting wine tastings or selling at shows or events.

As such, he needed a POS system that worked on a tablet or smartphone, accepted mobile payments, and would help staff run wine tastings without being tethered to an immobile kiosk. – Read more

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