Advance Orders in Ooooby are a valuable feature for special occasions like Christmas, allowing customers to place orders beyond their usual delivery cycle. This guide outlines how to activate and manage the Advance Order feature, enabling your hub to offer this flexibility to your customers.
Overview of Advance Orders
Advance Orders let customers place orders for a set week ahead of their regular delivery cycle, ideal for accommodating special events. To ensure inclusivity, it's often necessary to make the core item a zero-value, crew-only custom box, especially when not all customers may want an advance order.
Current Limitations
Limited Customization for Customers: They may need to contact the hub to add core items to their advance order.
Fixed Delivery Day: Customers' Christmas or advance orders are delivered on their regular delivery day.
One-week Limitation: The advance order period is restricted to a single week.
Steps to Enable Advance Orders
Activate Advance Orders: In the Crew Dashboard, navigate to Deliveries -> Advance Orders. Fill in the necessary fields, including the week start date for advance orders, event name (using emojis can make this stand out), and select a core product for the orders.
Visibility Settings: Ensure the Advance Orders Visible checkbox is ticked to display the option in customer dashboards.
Specifying Products for Advance Orders
When adding a product exclusively for an advance order, set its Order Visibility to 'Advance Orders Only'. This ensures that it's available only for the specified advance order period.
Adding Advance Order for a Customer
To place an advance order on behalf of a customer, navigate to their subscription details and select 'Add Advance Order'. Proceed as with a normal subscription setup.
Managing Advance Orders Cut-off
To halt advance orders ahead of schedule, uncheck the "Advance Orders Visible" option. This action removes the advance order tab from customer dashboards but keeps existing orders intact.
Confirmation Emails for Advance Orders
Consider sending confirmation emails to customers after halting advance orders early, especially since the advance order dashboard will no longer be visible to them.
Customer Dashboard Experience
With Advance Orders enabled, customers will see an additional tab for setting up and adjusting their orders, operating similarly to the regular dashboard but without the option to pause.
Crew Management of Advance Orders
An overview of placed advance orders is accessible via the Advance Orders page in the Crew Dashboard, listing all products ordered. Individual orders can be adjusted through each customer’s overview and subscription details page.
Key Considerations
Communication is Key: Keep your customers informed about the availability and specifics of advance orders, especially regarding delivery days and product limitations.
Flexibility: Advance Orders offer a unique opportunity to cater to your customers' needs during special events, enhancing their satisfaction and loyalty.
Early Cut-off: Decide on an appropriate cut-off date for advance orders to ensure your hub can fulfill all orders efficiently.
Advance Orders are an excellent way for hubs to accommodate special requests and manage seasonal demand effectively. By following these steps, you can offer a seamless and flexible ordering experience for your customers during key events like Christmas.