2021: Faster order-to-cash process<\/b><\/p>\n
It\u2019s no news that B2B companies need to digitalise in order to stay competitive and keep up <\/span>with increasing customer expectations.<\/span><\/p>\n The last 12 months in the pandemic has pushed the need for digitalisation for both buyers and sellers even further. And thus, increased the pressure on B2B companies to adapt and align. Expectations on the digital purchase experience are booming.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n We\u2019ve seen companies\u2019 initial steps of the order-to-cash process to backflip, for example face-to-face meetings becoming prohibited in many markets. And we\u2019ve seen companies introduce extensive cost saving programs in the final steps of the order-to-cash-process.<\/span><\/p>\n This will drive a lot of exciting initiatives and even wake up the late blooming organisations <\/span>from their beauty sleep.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n And for many reasons we are truly, madly and deeply looking forward to what 2021 will give.<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019ll however, focus my predictions to B2B commerce and B2B payments. A faster order-to-<\/span>cash process.<\/span><\/p>\n Increased conversion in a faster order-to-cash-process<\/b><\/p>\n First parts of the order-to-cash process are often dependent on manual processes and <\/span>legacy systems. As of today, it is still many sellers that do not offer new buyers to become <\/span>customers instantly to complete their order and pay later. This will have to change sooner or <\/span>later, because the demand from their customers is increasing rapidly. So is the risk of <\/span>breaking the camel\u2019s back, with customers turning to a competitor that serves what they <\/span>expect, as a result.<\/span><\/p>\n More companies will improve their user experience, onboard their customers in real-time and <\/span>offer them to pay later. Without having to wait for days (or a couple of minutes, change is <\/span>coming!) until they can make their purchase. More companies will convert customers instead <\/span>of seeing them leave the digital channel when they want to buy their product or service.<\/span><\/p>\n We will see more pioneers in this order part of the OTC process popping up in 2021. I\u2019m <\/span>ready to bet on this, because I\u2019m fortunate to work with some of these innovative companies.<\/span><\/p>\n Driving forces for increased conversions and sales in OTC<\/b><\/p>\n Increased cost savings in a faster order-to-cash process<\/strong><\/p>\n Besides the increasing customer expectations there are also an increasing amount of cost <\/span>savings initiatives.<\/span><\/p>\n Legacy systems are today blocking companies to rapidly introduce the automated processes <\/span>that are possible with new infrastructure and technical change. Some introduce rigorous <\/span>programs to develop functionality in their legacy systems, but are risking the result to be <\/span>outdated once delivered many years after.<\/span><\/p>\n The winners however, will be the ones cooperating for change. Cooperating with specialists <\/span>in their field that have platforms ready for the specific problem. That can be added without <\/span>letting go of the customer.<\/span><\/p>\n That\u2019s why I bet we will see more companies proactively searching for innovative ways of <\/span>improving their profits. To push down costs in the points of payment where old and manual <\/span>processes in legacy systems keep them up (at night).<\/span><\/p>\n In fact, in the OCT process research shows that invoice handling cost is still high on average <\/span>12-15$ per invoice. Some research shows an even higher number. At the same time, the <\/span>share of late payments is 50% in some companies.<\/span><\/p>\n What an opportunity, right? Imagine you could lower the cost in one of the last parts of the <\/span>process with 50 %. I bet we will read about some of these heroes next year.<\/span><\/p>\n Driving forces for increased cost savings in OTC:<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I hope you enjoyed this piece and I would love to hear back from you. You can connect with me on LinkedIn here<\/a> or get in touch with our team here<\/a>.<\/p>\n – Markus<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 2021: Faster order-to-cash process It\u2019s no news that B2B companies need to digitalise in order to stay competitive and keep up with increasing customer expectations. The last 12 months in the pandemic has pushed the need for digitalisation for both buyers and sellers even further. And thus, increased the pressure on B2B companies to adapt […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":14291,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[246],"tags":[183,182,181,184],"class_list":["post-11703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-conversion","tag-order-to-cash","tag-otc","tag-sales"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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