What to Expect with SAP Order to Cash Process?

SAP Order Management is billed as a complete "order to cash process" system. It helps retailers and other businesses improve the efficiency of the entire order cycle from the moment an order is placed (oftentimes long before that) to the receipt and reconciliation of the payment. The term "order to cash" is not unique to SAP. It refers to all of the business processes required from receiving the order, packaging it, delivering it, and depositing the money in the bank.

SAP Order Management includes tools for managing all of these processes. A few of the functions in the SAP order to cash process are listed below:

• Account management - Integration with SAP CRM means that you can easily manage customer data throughout the order to cash cycle. It also provides everyone involved from sales reps to billing clerks and senior management with a holistic view of customer data.  
• Quotes and sales order management - As an integrated solution, SAP supports inventory and supply chain operations, making managing quotes, proposals, and orders a streamlined, efficient process.
• E-commerce - SAP also supports e-commerce both for B2B and B2C scenarios. Websites can include catalogs, shopping carts, product searches, and more.
• Contract management - Whether you need to manage contracts or ensure that a customer receives a specific discount, built-in contract management and pricing tools make doing so a snap.
• SAP accounts payable/receivable - Paying suppliers and receiving customer payments through an integrated system is essential to ensuring adequate cash flow.
• Returns - Enabling an efficient means of handling returns can help to reassure customers that they will be taken care of should they need to return an item. This reassurance can prompt hesitant customers to buy. Should the item be returned, efficiently minimizes costs.  
• Invoicing - Invoicing is crucial to any business, but it's also a time-consuming task. SAP order to cash process systems automate invoicing as well as allow for online invoice submissions and online payments.

These are a few highlights of how the SAP order to cash process works (Source: Dolphin Corp. SAP Order To Cash). It's a complete system for all processes related to an order including quotes, contracts, returns, billing, and more.

                                                                                                                                                                        

James Hadley is a professional business and IT consultant specializing in SAP solutions. On his spare time he enjoys traveling, fishing and rooting for the San Francisco 49ers.