Touchless Order Processing

What Is Touchless Order Processing? 

Touchless order processing is a way of handling customer orders from receipt to fulfillment without manual intervention. Once an order enters the system, it can be captured, checked, processed, and sent to the next step automatically.

The goal is simple: process orders accurately without requiring a person to manually enter or move the order through each step.

How Does Touchless Order Processing Work?

Touchless order processing moves an order through a series of automated steps without manual intervention:

1. Capture: The system receives order data from channels such as EDI, ecommerce, or email.
2. Validate: It checks details such as products, quantities, pricing, customer information, and inventory.
3. Post to ERP: Once validated, the order is automatically entered into the ERP or order management system.
4. Handle exceptions: If something doesn’t match the predefined rules, the order is flagged for a person to review. Otherwise, it continues automatically.

This allows straightforward orders to move from order receipt to fulfillment without manual data entry or processing. For a broader look at how automation can handle the full workflow, see our guide to automated order processing.

What Actually Counts as a Touchless Order?

A touchless order is one that moves through the required order processing steps without a person manually reviewing, entering, or correcting it.

For an order to be truly touchless, the system should be able to:

• Capture the order automatically
• Validate the order details
• Post the order to the ERP or order management system
• Move it to the next stage without manual intervention

If a sales rep or operations team member has to step in to fix or approve the order, it is generally not considered fully touchless.

What Is a Touchless Order Rate and How Do You Calculate It?

 The touchless order rate is the percentage of orders that are processed without manual intervention.

You can calculate it using this formula:

Touchless order rate = (Number of touchless orders ÷ Total number of orders) × 100

For example, if 800 out of 1,000 orders are processed without human intervention, the touchless order rate is 80%.

Tracking this rate helps businesses understand how effectively their order process is running without manual work.

How Is Touchless Order Processing Different From Automated Order Processing? 

Automated order processing uses technology to handle one or more steps in the order process automatically. A person may still need to review, approve, or correct the order.

Touchless order processing goes further. The order moves through the entire defined workflow without human intervention unless an exception occurs.

In simple terms, automation can reduce manual work, while touchless processing aims to remove it from standard orders altogether.

Which Order Channels Can Be Processed Touchlessly?

Touchless processing can work across different order channels, as long as the order data can be captured and processed without manual entry. Common channels include:

• EDI: Orders move directly between the buyer’s and seller’s systems.
• Ecommerce: Online orders can flow automatically into the order management or ERP system.
• Customer portals: Orders placed through B2B portals can be captured and processed automatically.
• APIs: Order data can move directly between connected business systems.
• Email orders: Orders received by email can be processed touchlessly when the system can accurately extract and validate the order information.

The key factor is not the channel itself, but whether the order data is structured, accurate, and compatible with the processing workflow. This is especially important when businesses are trying to bring multiple channels into a single order processing workflow.

Which Orders Are the Best Candidates for Touchless Processing? 

Not every order needs the same level of automation. The best candidates for touchless processing are usually simple, repeatable orders with predictable rules.

These may include:

• Repeat orders from existing customers
• Standard products with consistent SKUs and pricing
• Orders with complete and accurate information
• Orders that follow predefined payment and delivery terms
• High-volume orders that follow the same processing steps

Starting with these orders can help businesses increase their touchless order rate while keeping exceptions manageable.

Why Do Orders Fall Out of a Touchless Flow? 

An order falls out of a touchless flow when the system can’t process it confidently based on the rules and data available. Common reasons include:

• Missing or incorrect information, such as product codes or customer details
• Pricing or quantity mismatches between the order and existing records
• Out-of-stock products or unexpected inventory issues
• New products or customers that aren’t yet mapped in the system
• Unusual requests that require a sales or operations team member to review

A well-designed touchless process doesn’t try to eliminate every exception. Instead, it automatically handles standard orders and sends exceptions to the right person for review. This approach is also central to order entry automation, where only orders that need attention are routed for review.

How Do You Move Your Business Toward Touchless Order Processing?

Moving toward touchless order processing starts with identifying where manual work happens in your current order flow. A practical approach is to:

1. Map the current process: Identify every step from order receipt to fulfillment and where people intervene.
2. Standardize order data: Keep customer, product, pricing, and inventory information accurate and consistent.
3. Connect order channels: Bring orders from EDI, ecommerce, portals, email, or other channels into your order management or ERP system. This kind of multi-channel approach is a key part of sales order processing automation.
4. Set validation rules: Define the conditions an order must meet to move through the process automatically.
5. Create exception workflows: Route orders that don’t meet the rules to the right person for review.
6. Measure the touchless order rate: Track how many orders are processed without manual intervention and improve the process over time.

The goal isn’t to make every order touchless immediately. Start with predictable orders, prove the workflow works, and expand from there.

Conclusion 

Touchless order processing helps businesses move standard orders through the sales and fulfillment workflow without manual intervention. It can reduce repetitive work, improve processing speed, and make it easier to handle growing order volumes.

The best approach is to automate predictable orders first, manage exceptions separately, and continuously improve the touchless flow.

FAQs 

What Is the Goal of Touchless Order Processing?

The goal is to process standard orders from receipt to fulfillment without manual intervention, while sending exceptions to a person for review.

What Is a Good Touchless Order Rate?

There is no single touchless order rate that works for every business. A good rate depends on factors such as order volume, order complexity, sales channels, and how standardized the process is. Businesses should focus on increasing the rate while maintaining order accuracy.

Can Email Orders Be Processed Touchlessly?

Yes. Email orders can be processed touchlessly when a system can accurately extract the required order information, validate it, and send it to the appropriate business system without manual data entry.

Is Touchless Order Processing the Same as Straight-Through Processing?

They are closely related. Both aim to move transactions through a defined workflow without manual intervention. The exact terminology can vary depending on the business or technology being used.

What Happens When a Touchless Order Fails Validation?

The order is typically moved into an exception workflow. A sales or operations team member can review the issue, make the required correction, and allow the order to continue processing.

How Can You Increase Your Touchless Order Rate?

Start by automating high-volume, predictable orders, improving customer and product data quality, connecting order channels, and creating clear rules for handling exceptions. Then measure the touchless order rate and improve the workflow over time.