Digital order entry with ECM: Fewer errors, more control

Order entry encompasses the acceptance, processing and internal forwarding of customer orders — making sure that you correctly capture all relevant information, from customer data, line items and quantities, to prices and terms of delivery.

Goals of order entry

The primary purpose of order entry is to safeguard smooth, efficient and error-free order processing. This supports efficient order management and paves the way for optimizations in your downstream business processes — because efficient order entry processes lead to faster order processing, way fewer bottlenecks and high service quality. Speed up steps in your production, logistics, invoice processing workflows and more besides.

Hi Doxi, how does order entry work?

In a manual order entry process, incoming orders by phone, letter, etc. are manually entered into an ERP system or similar by an employee. It’s not only time-consuming and error-prone, but your information also ends up spread across multiple systems or even paper documents, adding further confusion.

For this reason, more and more companies are making the switch to digital order entry. No more inputting information by hand — instead, orders are processed directly in the system, ideally fully automatically. Technologies like optical character recognition (OCR) or electronic data interchange (EDI) accurately capture inbound orders, cut down the amount of errors, accelerate workflows and maintain full transparency from start to finish.

In short: digital order entry optimizes the entire order-to-cash process.

The benefits of automated order entry:

• Faster data capture and processing: automated systems capture and process orders in real time.
• Fewer errors: reducing manual entry lowers the error rate.
• Greater transparency: all captured data is saved in a central system and accessible at any time.
• More scalability: even as order volumes grow companies continue to work efficiently without the need for additional people.

Efficient order entry is more than just a digital UI — it has to be frictionlessly integrated with your company’s existing systems. This is where an ECM system comes in, playing a central role in input management: its job is to capture, process and archive all order-related documents.

With smooth integration, orders, offers and order confirmations are automatically linked to the associated data records in your ERP system. The pay-off: a single source of truth available to all departments, from sales and production to accounting, at all times.

ECM software offers even more advantages and order entry functions:

Central document management for a continuous process chain

An ECM system structures and organizes all order-related documents in a central location, unlocking access to all relevant information at all times — regardless of whether it arrived by scan or EDI. Documents are automatically filed based on uniform criteria to ensure they can be quickly retrieved and are available during the right process phase.

Automatic data capture and indexing

Modern ECM systems use artificial intelligence (AI) and OCR technologies to automatically capture and index documents. The system analyzes inbound orders, extracts relevant information such as order number and product details, and assigns the documents and data to the right transactions in the ERP system. Meanwhile the intelligent search function makes it easy to quickly find documents using keywords or metadata. Entire workflows in your purchase-to-pay processes (P2P) speed up as a result.

Compliance, security and audit-proof archiving

All ECM systems additionally encompass the capabilities of a document management system (DMS) and should, in an ideal world, fulfill both internal company policies and legal requirements. An integrated audit-proof archive guarantees that all of your order-related documents are compliantly archived. It also protects documents against manipulation and ensures that they can be accessed in their original state even years down the line.

The Doxis ECM system uses authorized interfaces to seamlessly connect to standard CRM and ERP systems such as SAP. These connections enable the flow of captured order data between systems in real time, no manual switching between systems needed.

Colleagues in sales can access customer orders directly in their CRM system, while accounting can automatically process orders in the ERP system — saving time, cutting down the amount of errors and creating end-to-end processes.

AI-powered document processing for error-free capture

Doxis leverages modern AI technologies to automatically capture and analyze inbound order documents and assign them to the right business processes. Smart text recognition (OCR) and machine learning capabilities enable Doxis to classify and extract relevant data, from order numbers to customer information and line items, and store it in the system as structured metadata. In short, Doxis accepts inbound orders in the ERP system, processes them automatically and channels the information into downstream processes.

Workflow automation for faster order processing

With Doxis, you are able to automate entire workflows. Like checking that all relevant information is available and sending requests for missing information to the relevant people. Or you can automate your release processes: based on defined criteria, Doxis can send orders for processing directly to the right person or escalate in the case of deviations.

Are you battling inefficient order entry processes that operate in isolation and cost valuable time? The secret to optimization is seamless integration with existing CRM and ERP systems such as SAP. This is how you manage orders efficiently with a standardized view of customer relationships.

The solution: An ECM system like Doxis that directly integrates with your existing systems, creating an end-to-end information chain — from the initial offer to order entry to invoicing. All relevant documents are managed centrally and consistently, making processes more transparent, minimizing errors and boosting efficiency across order management and beyond.

FAQs on order entry