5 Everyday Tasks You Can Automate in E-Commerce

Manufacturers and distributors can’t afford to waste time on repetitive, manual processes. From managing bulk orders to keeping tabs on fluctuating inventory, everyday tasks can pile up quickly—and cost your business both time and money. The good news? You can automate many of these tasks and free up your team to focus on what really moves the needle. Let’s break down five tasks you can automate right now to boost efficiency and profitability.

1. Automated Order Processing

Order processing is at the heart of your operation—and one of the easiest tasks to automate. If you're still entering orders manually from emails, calls, or PDFs into your ERP, you're not just wasting time—you're increasing the risk of human error. Automation tools can capture orders from multiple sources and push them directly into your backend systems with little to no manual intervention.

This kind of automation reduces data entry errors, which translates directly into fewer fulfillment mistakes and happier customers. And it’s not just about fixing errors; AI automation has shown to reduce order processing time by an average of 30% in wholesale distribution companies.

2. Inventory Management

Managing Foodservice inventory is a delicate balance—overstock and you risk spoilage, understock and you lose sales. Automated inventory systems can monitor your stock levels in real time, predict demand based on order history, seasonality, or weather data, and even automatically reorder products when thresholds are hit.

These tools don’t just help you avoid shortages—they also optimize holding costs. Infact, AI-enabled supply chain planning can reduce inventory by up to 20% and cut supply chain costs by as much as 10%. That's money saved and better margins on every shipment.

3. Automated Customer Service

Your customers expect fast, accurate answers—whether it’s checking on a backorder, verifying pricing, or getting help with product specs. Chatbots and automated help desks can handle a huge chunk of those everyday questions without tying up your sales or support staff.

According to Keevee, chatbots now handle 85% of customer interactions in e-commerce settings. These bots are available 24/7, and they never get tired or miss a message. They also integrate with your knowledge base and order systems, so customers can get real-time answers about delivery status, product availability, and more. And it's what customers want—nearly half (47.2%) actually prefer live chat over other forms of customer service.

By automating routine service tasks, you’re not just saving labor—you’re improving your customer experience and increasing retention.

4. Email Marketing

Email is still a powerhouse in B2B marketing, especially for nurturing customer relationships and driving repeat orders. But manually crafting and sending emails? Not scalable. With marketing automation platforms, you can trigger personalized emails based on customer behavior, order history, or even inactivity. According to Hubspot, the best strategies for email marketing campaigns are subscriber segmentation, message personalization and email automation.

And this personalization pays off. Automated email campaigns can boost click-through rates. The highest click-to-open rates are for emails on price drop alerts, with a 57% open rate. Browse abandonment, back-in-stock alerts and cart abandonment messages also have high open rates. Based on all of this and your customer insights, targeted, automated email campaigns can help you stay top-of-mind without lifting a finger every time.

5. Pricing Strategy

Let’s face it—static pricing just doesn’t cut it anymore. With raw material costs, transportation fees, and competitor pricing all shifting constantly, you need a smarter way to stay competitive without hurting your margins. That’s where dynamic pricing tools come in.

Automated pricing platforms analyze demand, competitor moves, order volume, and even customer segments to suggest or auto-apply optimal prices. This kind of pricing intelligence ensures you're not leaving money on the table—or scaring away customers with outdated quotes.

Wrapping It Up

Automation isn’t just for the large broadliners of the world—it’s a practical, affordable toolset that’s becoming essential for Foodservice businesses. Whether you’re a manufacturer streamlining order entry, a distributor optimizing your pricing in real time or an operator looking to save time, automating these five everyday tasks can give your team hours back and drive measurable gains across the board. Start small, but start now. Even modest automation efforts can snowball into big improvements in efficiency, customer satisfaction, and profitability.