Ordering Process Inefficiencies and Their True Cost to Your Business: 5 Ways to Do Better

Streamline the Ordering Process for Accuracy and Efficiency

At first glance, the ordering process seems straightforward. A distributor needs product, they place a request with sales support or operations, and the team picks, packs, and ships the order. Simple, right?

But anyone in medical device distribution knows better. What looks like a basic operational step is actually a series of interconnected handoffs that depend on accuracy, timing, and coordination. If even one link in the chain breaks, the consequences ripple across your business and, in the worst cases, impact patient care.

In the medical device industry, a failed ordering process can mean a missed surgery, dissatisfied providers, wasted resources, and higher costs. That’s why it’s essential to treat your ordering workflows as strategic, not just transactional.

The Hidden Stakes of a Broken Ordering Process

Every order is more than just a shipment—it’s a series of dependencies that must align perfectly. When one step fails, the fallout is bigger than most realize.

Lagging Effects in the Supply Chain

If an order error or delay surfaces at the last minute, most teams scramble to push it out the door anyway—often paying for expensive overnight freight to have even a slim chance of making it on time. The reality? The order probably won’t arrive in time, which means not only is the case missed, but you’ve also doubled your shipping spend to send it out and bring it back.

Even worse, the missed order often ties up trays or products that could have been used elsewhere. A single breakdown in the ordering process can easily translate into two lost sales opportunities, not just one.

Band-Aid Fixes Cost Time and Money

When an incorrect order is submitted, items are out of stock, or a handoff breaks down, teams usually drop everything to put out the fire. While well-intentioned, these “all hands on deck” moments delay other business.

Every emergency consumes time, attention, and communication bandwidth. This creates bottlenecks that spread across the operation, generating more errors and more exceptions. In effect, one weak point in the ordering process spawns a cascade of waste that diverts resources from high-value work.

Bad Data and Poor Records

Errors are even more damaging when they can’t be traced. Imagine a hospital calls six months later asking why an order didn’t arrive in time. If your systems don’t log issue resolution steps, your team has no root-cause analysis to reference.

Without data visibility in your ordering process, your organization misses the chance to learn from mistakes and prevent repeat errors. This lack of historical recordkeeping allows inefficiencies to perpetuate unchecked, embedding bad habits into your culture.

Actionable Ways to Strengthen Your Ordering Process

Fortunately, a few strategic changes can transform your ordering workflow from fragile to resilient. Here are practical steps to take:

1. Increase Process Visibility – Implement tools that give you end-to-end visibility into every step of the ordering process. Dashboards, audit trails, and error tracking ensure issues are spotted and corrected quickly.
2. Standardize Handoffs – Define operational standards for how information moves between teams. For example, require POs to include key data fields (UDI, lot numbers, expiration dates) before moving forward. This minimizes downstream surprises.
3. Automate Where Possible – Manual handoffs are prone to error. Automating order entry, confirmations, and tracking ensures fewer breakdowns and reduces the burden on staff.
4. Build Exception Protocols – Mistakes will still happen. Having a defined playbook for handling errors ensures corrective action doesn’t derail the rest of the business.
5. Measure and Learn – Track KPIs like order accuracy, late shipments, and freight costs. Use these metrics to identify weak points in the ordering process and reinforce accountability.

Why Tolerating Inefficiency Hurts Growth

The inefficiencies you tolerate in your ordering process eventually become normalized. Teams learn that problems will always be fixed downstream, so they have little incentive to change upstream behaviors.

This creates a culture of reaction instead of prevention—one where firefighting is the default. Over time, the wasted costs of exceptions, re-shipments, and lost opportunities compound into a serious drag on profitability.

To break the cycle, leaders must look at the ordering process as a system. Trace recurring errors back to their origin, close the gaps, and design workflows that prevent breakdowns before they occur.

The Ordering Process as a Competitive Advantage

Far from being a routine back-office function, the ordering process is a strategic lever for efficiency, growth, and customer satisfaction. When you build visibility, strengthen handoffs, and eliminate waste, you not only save money—you improve reliability, preserve customer trust, and protect patient care.

In a competitive market, that level of operational discipline becomes a differentiator. Companies that treat their ordering process as a strategic asset will reduce waste, increase resilience, and deliver a better experience for everyone in the value chain.

Optimizing the Ordering Process with Beacon

Beacon transforms the ordering process from a fragile chain of handoffs into a seamless, integrated workflow. By connecting purchase orders, inventory, and field usage in real time, Beacon eliminates blind spots that lead to errors, delays, and costly re-shipments. Automated order tracking ensures accuracy, while built-in visibility helps teams anticipate issues before they become fire drills. With Beacon, manufacturers and distributors can reduce wasted spend, improve order reliability, and give sales reps and providers confidence that products will be where they need them—when they need them.

If you’re interested in learning more, schedule a demo and let’s chat!