Have you ever stopped to calculate the real cost of processing a single B2B order? Beyond the obvious labor, there are hidden costs like manual data entry and the resources needed to spin up new catalogs.
For many suppliers, the true expense of order management is far higher than they realize.
Why B2B Order Processing Gets So Expensive
Catalog Production
Producing catalogs isn’t cheap, especially if you manage multiple customer segments with special pricing. These costs should be factored into your per-order spend.
The fix: A digital catalog, or B2B Order Portal allows you to update products on the fly with customer-specific SKUs and pricing.
Customer Service Overhead
How much time do your sales reps spend receiving and entering orders? Every minute spent keying in repeat orders is time not spent prospecting new business.
The fix: A self-service ordering portal linked to your ERP frees up your sales team to focus on growth instead of transactions.
Manual Order Entry
Traditional processes require re-entering the same information across multiple systems. As order volume grows, so do headcount costs.
The fix: Automating your B2B order processing can cut order entry time from 20–30 minutes down to just 2–3 minutes. That means your existing team can handle more orders at a fraction of the cost.
Order Errors
Manual entry leads to mistakes. Error rates can reach 4%, meaning 40 mistakes per 1,000 orders. Each correction can cost 50–125% of the original order value once you account for returns, reships, and admin time.
The fix: Digitally submitted orders that flow directly into your ERP drastically reduce errors and protect margins.
ERP Integration: The Key to Lowering Costs
A major reason B2B order processing is so expensive comes down to disconnected systems. Without integration, teams are stuck re-entering data into ERPs, accounting software, and fulfillment tools.
By integrating your orders directly with your ERP, you create a unified flow of information. Customer orders go straight from your online portal into your ERP and out to fulfillment without duplicate entry.
That means:
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Fewer errors from copy-paste mistakes.
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Faster processing because orders don’t sit in inboxes.
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Better visibility for finance, sales, and operations teams working from the same data.
From Cost Center to Growth Driver
Order processing will always carry costs but with modern tools, it doesn’t have to drain as many resources. With automation and integration, you can lower your costs while processing more volume with the same team.
At OrderEase, we help B2B suppliers transform their order operations by standardizing every order, automating data flow, and connecting directly into ERP systems. The result: lower costs today, and a foundation for growth tomorrow.
