A Guide to Salesforce Order Management for Healthcare and Nonprofits
Healthcare and nonprofit organizations often struggle with complex operational workflows, from patient services and equipment orders to donation processing and volunteer coordination. Salesforce Order Management (SOM) offers a practical way to address these challenges, improving efficiency, stakeholder experiences, and data accuracy. This guide helps decision-makers understand how SOM can support their goals in these critical sectors.
Key Benefits: How SOM Improves Operations
Healthcare and nonprofit organizations face growing pressure to operate efficiently with limited resources. Disconnected, outdated systems slow down processes, impacting everything from patient care to donor outreach. Salesforce Order Management provides a unified approach to streamline operations.
SOM integrates directly with Salesforce CRM, combining customer, order, and service data into a single platform for better coordination. It handles various order types, like product requests and returns, tailored to specific operational needs. This setup reduces data gaps and simplifies workflows.
Here are the main advantages SOM brings:
- Improved stakeholder experiences with clear, timely communication.
- Higher efficiency through automated processes.
- Stronger compliance with organized workflows.
- Better decision-making supported by accurate data.
Interested in how SOM can help your organization? Book a consultation with Equals 11 to explore customized Salesforce solutions.
Why Modern Order Management Matters for Healthcare and Nonprofits
Operational delays in healthcare and nonprofits directly affect people’s lives and mission goals. Manual processes and disconnected systems hinder effective service delivery, making it hard to allocate resources efficiently.
In healthcare, delays in order management can lead to late patient care, medication mistakes, or supply shortages. These issues harm patient outcomes, raise compliance risks, and increase costs. Managing everything from service requests to equipment orders becomes a constant challenge.
For nonprofits, slow donation processing risks losing donor trust, while poor volunteer coordination wastes valuable time. Without clear data on program results, showing impact to funders becomes difficult, affecting future support.
Sticking with old methods creates growing problems, like dissatisfied stakeholders, overworked staff, rising expenses, and reduced impact. As organizations grow or face new expectations, these issues only get worse.
Today’s stakeholders, whether patients or donors, expect quick, clear updates and tailored interactions. Failing to meet these needs risks losing their trust and weakening your mission’s reach.
What Salesforce Order Management Offers: A Solution for Complex Needs
Salesforce Order Management (SOM) is a flexible platform built to handle the full cycle of orders, requests, and service workflows. Unlike systems focused only on sales, SOM adapts to the specific demands of healthcare and nonprofit operations.
With direct integration into Salesforce CRM, SOM combines stakeholder and order data for a complete, efficient view. This breaks down data silos, giving a full picture of interactions from start to finish.
SOM includes core features like order processing, payment handling, inventory tracking, fulfillment coordination, real-time updates, and detailed reporting. It manages sales, orders, inventory, and fulfillment across channels with consistency.
For healthcare, SOM can manage patient requests, such as scheduling appointments, refilling prescriptions, ordering equipment, coordinating care plans, and planning discharges. It keeps care teams aligned with full visibility into patient needs.
In nonprofits, SOM supports donation tracking, volunteer placement, program enrollment, resource allocation, and impact reporting. It helps personalize donor outreach while measuring program results.
Its adaptability lets organizations customize workflows to fit their needs, keeping processes consistent and integrating with current systems through custom fields and automation.
How SOM Applies to Healthcare and Nonprofits
Healthcare: Better Patient Care and Workflow Efficiency
Healthcare organizations use SOM to improve patient services and coordination. It adapts to handle various requests critical to care delivery, from simple bookings to detailed planning.
SOM manages patient needs like scheduling, prescription refills, equipment orders, care updates, and discharge follow-ups. It offers real-time status updates and automates routine tasks, easing the load on clinical staff.
Inventory control for supplies and medications becomes more reliable with SOM. Automation and visibility help manage workflows, cut shipping costs, and speed up delivery of essential items. It tracks stock, reorders automatically, and ensures availability of critical resources.
Care coordination improves with SOM’s connected system. Teams can follow patient interactions across departments, organize services, and document journeys fully, enhancing care quality and meeting compliance needs.
Case management tools organize sensitive notes chronologically and support data privacy with proper setup. This helps maintain detailed records while protecting patient information.
Nonprofits: Increasing Impact and Stakeholder Connection
Nonprofits use SOM to allocate resources better, engage stakeholders, and show clear results. It tackles the unique challenge of managing varied relationships and program needs.
Donation tracking becomes more efficient and personal with SOM. It handles receipts, recurring gifts, major donations, corporate partnerships, and grant reporting. Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud centralizes data on donors, participants, and volunteers for fundraising and program management.
Volunteer coordination simplifies recruitment, matching skills to roles, scheduling, and tracking engagement histories, making the process smoother for staff and volunteers alike.
Program enrollment and management benefit from SOM’s automation. Nonprofit Cloud connects service delivery and evaluation, handling requests like volunteer assignments and client intakes. It tracks progress and measures outcomes consistently.
Impact tracking tools and custom plans offer clear data on progress and efficiency for actionable adjustments. This helps nonprofits prove their value to funders and spot areas for growth.
Resource distribution is streamlined with SOM, offering visibility into flows of goods, services, and funds, while automating processes and maintaining records for reporting.
Key Factors to Consider When Adopting SOM
Build or Buy: Choosing SOM as Your Platform
Organizations often weigh whether to create a custom order system or adopt SOM. Building from scratch gives control but demands heavy resources, ongoing upkeep, and longer setup times, which many healthcare and nonprofits can’t sustain.
SOM offers a tested platform with scalability, compliance tools, integration options, and regular updates. Its flexibility lets you adjust features to your needs while benefiting from Salesforce’s ongoing improvements and security.
Cost-wise, SOM often makes more sense. Custom builds involve high initial expenses and maintenance, plus the challenge of finding skilled staff. SOM’s subscription pricing is predictable, covering updates and support.
Risk also leans toward SOM. Custom systems carry delays, technical issues, and security gaps. SOM builds on Salesforce’s established platform with strong security and recovery options.
Preparing Your Team and Managing Change
Adopting SOM successfully starts with assessing readiness and planning for change. Leadership support is vital to secure resources, encourage adoption, and navigate challenges during rollout.
Engaging stakeholders early is key. In healthcare, this includes clinical staff and coordinators; in nonprofits, program and development teams. IT and executives also play roles, each needing specific communication and training.
Documenting and standardizing processes is a must before starting. Map current workflows, find inefficiencies, and set consistent methods for SOM to support. This step often uncovers gaps to fix during setup.
Training and adoption take careful planning. Staff need to grasp new processes and their roles. A gradual rollout can work better than a full launch, allowing time to adjust and learn.
Data Planning and System Integration
Data quality is essential for SOM to work well. Organizations need a plan for cleaning, standardizing, and maintaining data to avoid issues that hurt system use or trust.
Integration needs differ but often involve linking to EHRs in healthcare, donor or financial tools in nonprofits, and communication systems. SOM streamlines order cycles, including payments and fulfillment, reducing manual entry and system disconnects.
Data governance sets rules for ownership, access, privacy, and upkeep. Healthcare must meet compliance rules, while nonprofits protect donor data with controlled access.
Migration needs a strategy to avoid disruptions. Running old and new systems together during transition helps maintain consistency and accuracy.
Tracking Success: Metrics for SOM Results
Measuring SOM’s impact starts with baseline data before rollout, followed by tracking progress. SOM’s reporting tools monitor performance and guide decisions with data on outcomes or engagement.
Operational metrics include processing speed, error rates, staff output, and cost per service. These show direct improvements from SOM.
Stakeholder feedback, like patient satisfaction, donor retention, or volunteer engagement, reflects if SOM enhances experiences.
Financial metrics cover cost savings, donation growth, grant success, and return on investment, proving SOM’s business value.
Strategic metrics, like program results or compliance scores, link SOM to broader goals, varying by organization.
Thinking about SOM for your team? Contact Equals 11 for help crafting metrics and strategies tailored to your needs.
Equals 11: Your Partner for Salesforce Solutions
Equals 11 specializes in Salesforce setups for healthcare and nonprofits, blending technical skills with strategic advice to achieve real results. We focus on solving actual challenges while aligning with your mission.
Our approach starts with understanding your problems before suggesting solutions. We analyze workflows, pinpoint inefficiencies, and design Salesforce setups that deliver clear benefits, working closely with your team.
AI Tools for Automation and Insights
Equals 11 uses Salesforce’s Einstein AI to add predictive insights and automation. For healthcare, this means identifying risks like patient no-shows or readmissions for early action.
In nonprofits, AI spots donor dropout risks or major gift potential, helping tailor outreach for better retention and fundraising.
Next Best Action guides staff with personalized recommendations, like patient follow-ups in healthcare or donor cultivation in nonprofits.
Agentforce automates routine tasks, freeing staff for high-value work while keeping processes consistent.
Improving Data Quality and Connections
Equals 11 tackles messy data challenges before Salesforce rollout. We assess, clean, standardize, and resolve duplicates, setting up workflows for ongoing accuracy.
Our integration skills link Salesforce to EHRs, financial tools, and donor systems, ensuring smooth data flow without silos or manual entry.
We prioritize data consistency, security, and privacy, meeting compliance in healthcare and protecting donor info in nonprofits.
Mobile Access for On-the-Go Teams
Field staff in healthcare and nonprofits need mobile tools for real-time work. Equals 11 customizes Salesforce Mobile for these teams, supporting data access and updates on the go.
Healthcare workers, like nurses or coordinators, can manage patient info and care plans from anywhere, improving accuracy and reducing paperwork.
Nonprofit field teams track outreach or resources via mobile, with offline options for areas with poor connectivity.
Role-specific mobile setups boost adoption and output, ensuring staff get relevant tools while keeping records for reporting.
Planning and Proving Value
Equals 11 counters the idea of Salesforce as a wasted cost with clear planning that ties rollout to measurable gains. We map high-value opportunities, set metrics, and phase implementation for quick wins and long-term growth.
Our ROI models show value through cost cuts, efficiency gains, better engagement, and mission impact, helping secure leadership support.
We prioritize projects by impact versus effort, ensuring fast benefits while setting the stage for bigger changes.
Support for Busy Internal Teams
Many organizations have skilled Salesforce admins who manage daily tasks but lack time for big projects. Equals 11 steps in with expertise and capacity for complex rollouts, while strengthening your team’s skills.
We collaborate with your staff, offering training and knowledge transfer for long-term management. Documentation and processes help your team maintain Salesforce after launch.
Managed services are available for organizations wanting to focus on core work while we handle Salesforce upkeep and improvements.
Your Roadmap to Salesforce Success
Achieving results with Salesforce requires a clear plan covering technical, team, and strategic aspects. Equals 11’s proven method is built on successful projects in healthcare and nonprofits.
Phase 1: Discovery and Goal Setting
This first step lays the groundwork by assessing current operations, stakeholder needs, and objectives, involving your key team members.
We review existing workflows, pinpoint issues, map interactions, and evaluate data systems, often uncovering quick ways to improve with Salesforce.
Stakeholder input comes from staff across roles to capture needs and expectations. Goals align with priorities like patient care or donor growth.
Clear metrics are set to measure Salesforce’s impact, guiding ROI and future adjustments.
Phase 2: Designing and Customizing Solutions
Design turns insights into specific Salesforce setups, defining objects, automation, interfaces, and integrations for your needs.
Workflows are refined to cut inefficiencies and standardize tasks across teams or locations.
Security and compliance are built in, addressing healthcare regulations or nonprofit privacy needs.
User interfaces are tailored by role for ease of use, ensuring security and data accuracy while supporting adoption.
Integration plans connect Salesforce to existing tools, enabling smooth data sharing with strong performance.
Phase 3: Data Transfer and System Links
Moving data is a critical step. Errors or poor quality can hurt system trust and use from the start.
We clean and standardize data first, tackling duplicates, formatting issues, and gaps to ensure reliability.
Migration is planned for minimal disruption, often phased to allow checks and tweaks along the way.
Integrations are built with APIs or custom tools, linking systems for real-time updates without manual work.
Testing confirms data accuracy, connection reliability, and performance before full launch, reducing risks.
Phase 4: Training and Team Adoption
Success hinges on staff buy-in. Training and change support help teams adapt to new ways of working with confidence.
Training fits specific roles: healthcare staff learn patient tools, while nonprofit teams focus on donor or program tasks.
Multiple formats, like live sessions or online guides, suit different learning styles and schedules.
Change updates keep everyone informed, sharing progress and addressing concerns to maintain momentum.
Ongoing help, through desks or key users, supports staff as they settle in and explore features.
Phase 5: Optimization After Launch
Rollout is just the start. Continuous updates ensure Salesforce keeps delivering as needs evolve.
Performance tracking uses initial metrics to spot gains and areas for improvement through regular checks.
Feedback from users, via surveys or analytics, drives tweaks and training updates for better results.
Health checks catch technical or security issues early. Equals 11’s services include proactive care.
We help adopt new Salesforce features over time, keeping your system current for maximum benefit.
Ready to start? Schedule a consultation with Equals 11 to create a custom Salesforce plan for your organization.
Avoiding Common Mistakes in Salesforce Rollout
Even experienced teams face typical hurdles with Salesforce projects. Knowing these risks helps prevent setbacks and boosts success.
Overlooking Change Management Needs
Great technology fails without strong change support. Focusing only on setup while ignoring adoption often leads to poor outcomes.
Resistance varies by role. Healthcare staff might push back on added steps; nonprofit teams may fear losing personal touch with stakeholders.
Leadership must drive change by sharing the vision, providing resources, and showing commitment to new ways.
Weak communication, like unclear updates or ignored feedback, hurts progress. Open, regular dialogue builds trust.
Generic training misses the mark. Role-specific, hands-on learning ties Salesforce to daily tasks for better uptake.
Ignoring Data Quality Early On
Bad data derails Salesforce benefits. Moving inconsistent or incomplete records just spreads existing problems.
Assessing data early sets realistic cleanup plans. Rushing this risks errors that hurt trust in the system.
Duplicates confuse patient care or donor tracking. Careful deduplication handles variations in key details.
Governance defines who owns and maintains data. Without it, quality slips as new errors creep in.
Integration data must match formats across systems, or workflows break, frustrating users and slowing adoption.
Scope Overload and Skipping Phases
Clear scope and phased rollouts keep Salesforce projects on track. Trying everything at once risks delays and overspending.
Scope often grows as teams see potential. While exciting, unchecked additions strain resources and timelines.
Phased launches deliver early successes, building confidence and allowing tweaks before full rollout.
Prioritizing by impact guides focus to key areas first, using ROI and goals to decide what waits.
Planning must cover ongoing needs, not just launch. Resources for support and updates keep value flowing.
Treating Rollout as the End Goal
Seeing Salesforce as a one-time fix misses bigger gains. Needs change, and the platform evolves with new tools.
A mindset of improvement adapts Salesforce to shifts, using updates for ongoing benefit.
Regular user input, through surveys or analytics, shapes tweaks long after launch for better fit.
Staying current with Salesforce releases taps new features, keeping your investment relevant.
Periodic reviews align Salesforce with evolving goals, spotting chances to enhance further.
Choosing the Wrong Partner
Your implementation partner can make or break success. Look at their skills, methods, and fit with your team.
Healthcare and nonprofit needs demand specific know-how around rules and mission focus. General partners might miss these nuances.
Check their process for planning, training, and support. Structured approaches yield steadier results than loose plans.
Good communication, with clear updates and quick help, keeps confidence high during rollout.
Talking to past clients reveals true reliability and quality, especially from similar projects.
Look for partners offering long-term help with updates and optimization, not just launch support.
Common Questions About Salesforce
How Does Salesforce Support Healthcare Compliance?
Salesforce offers features for healthcare compliance, configurable to store data, track changes, and control access, keeping patient info safe while aiding coordination.
Equals 11’s healthcare focus ensures setups meet standards, balancing security, access limits, and efficiency for care delivery.
Can Salesforce Connect to EHR Systems?
Salesforce integrates with EHRs and other platforms, often needing custom setups or tools to link data seamlessly across systems.
Equals 11 has experience with major EHRs and data standards, designing connections that maintain security and performance for healthcare needs.
How Does Salesforce Help Smaller Nonprofits?
Small to mid-sized nonprofits gain efficiency with Salesforce through automation and centralized data, stretching limited staff further by cutting manual tasks.
Equals 11 works with resource-tight groups to focus on high-value features, laying groundwork for growth over time.
What Can AI Do in Salesforce for These Sectors?
AI boosts Salesforce with actionable predictions, automation, and tailored outreach, cutting workload while improving results in healthcare and nonprofits.
Predictions flag risks like patient no-shows or donor drop-off, letting teams act before issues grow.
Equals 11 implements AI tools like Einstein Prediction Builder, ensuring they fit specific workflows and staff trust the tech.
How Long Does Salesforce Setup Take?
Setup timelines depend on complexity, integrations, and project scope, varying widely based on readiness.
Equals 11’s detailed planning gives realistic estimates, spotting delays early and keeping progress steady with clear steps.
Wrapping Up: Boost Your Mission with Salesforce
Salesforce offers a powerful way for healthcare and nonprofits to enhance operations and meet mission goals. Its adaptable tools tackle specific challenges while supporting future growth.
With a smart approach, organizations can improve stakeholder satisfaction and efficiency. Healthcare teams enhance patient care; nonprofits strengthen donor ties and program impact.
Success goes beyond tech. It takes planning, team commitment, and expert support for lasting change. Focusing on change management, data, and ongoing tweaks maximizes value.
As expectations rise and operations get tougher, Salesforce provides an edge. Delaying updates risks falling short on delivery and goals.
Equals 11 brings focused expertise to Salesforce setups for these sectors, guiding with strategy, skill, and continued support. Our results-driven method delivers value now and builds for the future.
Take the next step to improve operations and engagement. Contact Equals 11 for a tailored consultation on Salesforce solutions for your organization.