Progress doesn't happen in a vacuum, and nothing helps us progress faster than an open dialogue with our customers. In February we surveyed AQ subscribers on AQ Order Status, a FEDA Initiative. We wanted to understand who is using AQ Order Status, what their experience is like, and how we can improve Order Status to make it the best product possible. We extend an enormous thank you to the 1,200 industry professionals who took time out of their busy days to answer our questions. There is nothing more comforting than clarity, and we now know exactly what we need to start doing, what we need to stop doing, and what we should continue to do.
Before jumping in, the first thing we want to do is clear up a couple of misconceptions. First, you don't have to create and submit purchase orders through AutoQuotes to access them in AQ Order Status. Orders come directly from the manufacturer so no matter how you create and send orders to manufacturers, they will appear in Order Status. Also we don't charge anyone for AQ Order Status. If you have an AutoQuotes license, you can already start using Order Status in AutoQuotes. If you are a publishing manufacturer, there is no additional charge to start publishing orders. All you have to do is contact us. Order Status is such an amazing feature that we want everyone to have access.
Don't take our word for it though. Let the numbers speak for themselves. According to the data 15% of users check AQ Order Status on a daily to weekly basis and 26% check on at least a monthly basis. While this feature is used by people in many different roles, 40% of users are involved in sales and 62% are using order status to track their own orders.
The most inspiring result is that the majority of users, 79%, say they are likely to recommend AQ Order Status to a colleague. Over 80% of industry professionals surveyed agree that AQ Order Status is easy to use, improves their efficiency at work, and meets their order tracking needs. One respondent called it, "The most complete database of orders the industry has ever seen." After a year of brainstorming, development, webinars, and troubleshooting, we are glad to know that we are providing you with a worthwhile product.
Survey Results
AutoQuotes has never been the type of company that rests on its laurels, and we know that there is always room for improvement. 7% of users who tried Order Status, for one reason or another, abandoned it. 64% of them reported that they tracked orders as part of their job, but they needed to see more manufacturers and see manufacturers update data more often for them to rely on AQ Order Status. We completely understand where they are coming from. Our Order Status Coordinators guided by Michael Greenwald, our organization's president, have worked tirelessly since Order Status' inception contacting manufacturers and working with their IT departments to get them on board. As a resource to manufacturers already providing data, we have recently launched a massive quality control campaign led by Order Status Specialist Luis Ferrer. The primary goal is to provide those manufacturers who have taken the time to make orders available with the resources needed to be successful. The manufacturers who have been responsive and put in the time and effort to give you the most accurate data possible deserve a big round of applause. They have made vast improvements in just the past three months and they won't be stopping anytime soon.
Last but not least, we asked ourselves, "why have some users never tried AQ Order Status?". Almost 30% of survey respondents reported that they have never even clicked on Order Status. The two biggest reasons were not enough time to try it (19%) and a lack of training resources (23%). Well now we are imploring you, find time to save time! The next time you are about to call a manufacturer to figure out when that oven is going to ship, open up AutoQuotes, click on Order Status, and type your PO Number in the search bar. You might be surprised to find that the tracking number, delivery date, and link to the carrier website is right in front of you.
AutoQuotes strives to provide extensive training resources, and we have come to be known for our personal one on one tech support and informative webinars. We are making a commitment this year to provide you with more training opportunities to make it easy to get started with Order Status. Our users are busy professionals and need personalized training.
You spoke and we listened! Keep on the lookout this year for some exciting new improvements to AQ Order Status. Again, a big thank you to all of our survey respondents, participating manufacturers, and all of our valued users.
If you have any comments or questions, please let us know at orderstatus@aqnet.com.
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Written by: Adam Gazaleh, Product Manager |