Technology has highly improved the way of doing business as many businesses have shifted from their brick and mortar locations to embrace e-commerce. This comes as a no surprise because e-businesses are easy to start and manage as they do not require any physical setups that are usually expensive.

The fact that online businesses are not limited to a given geographical location means that businesses can reach out to a large number of customers globally and do business 24/7 without any limitations regarding the time of day.

It is true that many people use the internet network to find things that they need including information, products, and services. The internet is, therefore, a global marketplace where businesses can showcase what they have for customers to buy.

Problems that arise when not using technology to do business

Conducting business processes on the Internet means that business transactions are done on a global scale. Without the use of technology, this can bring some challenges that include high transaction costs, errors when handling data, slow business cycles, poor business efficiency and lack of an effective marketing strategy.

Processing orders manually can be very expensive considering that you will incur a lot of expenses on acquiring papers that will need to be printed, reproduced, stored, filed and posted to various customers.

Data disputes are also common when businesses handle their processes manually because there are high chances of orders to be lost, phone orders to be incorrectly taken and sending unclear faxes or mail.

Transaction exchanges need to be speedy to ensure a sufficient cash flow and faster order-to-cash cycle, but this cannot be achieved with manual processes.

The internet has a huge number of competitors, and you need to look for ways to gain a competitive advantage. One way of doing this is to have an efficient ordering process. This will ensure that you make your business more profitable and at the same time provide quality services to your customers.

Technology will help you have an efficient ordering process because of the following:

• Automation

One of the greatest benefits of technology is the ability to automate processes whether it is during the manufacturing of various products or when handling business data. When you automate your business processes, it becomes faster to process an order and in the end, reduce the procure-to-pay cycle time.

By automating your sales/order process, you will not only reduce your business cycle times but also reduce costly errors and increase your profits. This is usually what happens when you adopt an e-procurement solution that is EDI capable.

• Speed and accuracy

E-commerce has been embraced by many businesses mainly because it offers speed and accuracy when doing business. This means that customers can easily find products, order and pay for them using simplified procedures and be delivered to then within the shortest time possible.

This is beneficial for both the business and its customers because transaction times are reduced to minutes, errors are eliminated, and business relationships are made stronger.

• Send and track your business data in real time

To come up with a good business strategy, you need to have all the information that you need.

Technology will allow you to gather and analyze all the data you need for faster and accurate decision making on how to respond to various business challenges.

Technology can go a long way in ensuring that your business processes are simplified without any bottlenecks or barriers that can increase transaction costs and lengthen business cycles. All you need to do is to look out for current technological solutions that will work for your business.