Every Bol.com seller makes mistakes - it's part of entrepreneurship. But some mistakes are so common and costly that you'd better avoid them. In this article, we share the five biggest pitfalls in order management and how to avoid them.
Mistake 1: Not Synchronizing Inventory
The Problem: You sell on multiple channels but track inventory in separate spreadsheets or systems. Result: you sell products you no longer have (overselling).
Overselling is one of the most damaging mistakes you can make. Not only do you have to cancel the order (leading to penalties and bad reviews), but you also damage customer trust. On Bol.com, repeated overselling can even lead to suspension of your seller account.
The Solution: Use one central system for your inventory and synchronize it in real-time to all your sales channels. Tools like BolSync do this automatically.
Mistake 2: Confirming Shipments Too Late
The Problem: You ship the package but forget to confirm the shipment on Bol.com. Or you do it hours later, at the end of the day.
Late shipment confirmations have a direct impact on your seller performance. Bol.com measures how quickly you confirm shipments, which affects your position in search results. Additionally, customers only receive track & trace when you confirm - leading to unnecessary "where is my package?" questions.
The Solution: Automate shipment confirmations. As soon as you ship an order from your central system, Bol.com is automatically updated including track & trace.
Mistake 3: Manually Retyping Orders
The Problem: You manually copy order details from Bol.com to your own system or shipping platform. This takes time and leads to typos.
A wrong house number, a typo in the postal code, a forgotten addition - it happens to the best sellers. But the result is always annoying: failed deliveries, returns, and unhappy customers.
The Solution: Import orders automatically into your system. No manual retyping means no typos and lots of time saved.
Mistake 4: Ignoring or Slowly Processing Returns
The Problem: You're so busy with new orders that you let returns sit. Or you wait to refund until you've physically received and checked the product.
Bol.com has strict rules around returns. Processing too slowly leads to complaints, bad reviews, and can even negatively affect your seller performance. Customers expect quick refunds.
The Solution: Treat returns with the same priority as new orders. Automate where possible and maintain a clear returns process.
Mistake 5: No Backup or Redundancy
The Problem: All your order data is in one system, without backup. If that system crashes or you lose access, you've lost everything.
This sounds like an edge case until it happens to you. A hacked account, a corrupt database, or simply a forgotten password can lead to complete chaos if you don't have a backup.
The Solution: Make sure your orders are in multiple systems. By synchronizing Bol.com orders to Shopify, you automatically have a backup, plus access to better analysis and reporting tools.
The Common Thread: Automation
What do all these mistakes have in common? They can virtually all be prevented with proper automation. By automating processes, you eliminate human errors, save time, and can focus on what really matters: growing your business.
Most sellers who switch to automation wonder why they waited so long. The investment pays for itself within a few weeks.
Prevent These Mistakes
Automate your Bol.com order management and eliminate human errors.
