Order Taking Services | Call Center Order Processing and Order Entry by Phone
Order Taking
Order taking services put trained agents on the phone line where your customers place orders: answering the call, confirming what the customer wants, entering the order correctly in your system, taking payment through a compliant process and confirming the details before the call ends. It is the point where interest becomes revenue, and it is also where a missed call, a long wait or a mis-keyed order quietly costs the sale.
Global Empire Corporation provides call center order taking and order processing for retailers, e-commerce and direct-to-consumer brands, distributors and manufacturers, with more than 25 years of experience in inbound customer contact and support in 27+ languages.
- Agents trained on your catalog, offers and policies
- Orders entered directly in your system, read back before placing
- Payment taken through a PCI-compliant process
- Accuracy, conversion and abandonment reported by campaign and agent
- 1.1B+
- Transactions Processed
- 11+
- Contact Centers Worldwide
- 27
- Service in 27+ Languages
- 35.5k+
- Over 35000 Happy Employees
- 10M+
- New Customers Acquired
Accuracy First, Then Speed, Then the Sale
Order taking looks simple and is unforgiving. A caller who waits too long hangs up and buys elsewhere. A caller who is rushed gets the wrong size, the wrong address or the wrong quantity, and the mistake comes back later as a return, a reshipment, a refund and a complaint. An order line has to be fast enough to keep the caller and careful enough that the order is right the first time.
So we design order taking programs around accuracy: agents trained on your catalog, working directly in your order system or storefront, reading back every order before it is placed, and measured on order accuracy and conversion rather than handle time alone. Where it suits the product, agents are also trained to offer the add-on, upgrade or alternative a customer actually needs — not to push one on everyone.
What our order lines handle
Call Center Order Taking Services
Inbound Order Taking
Orders placed by phone answered live, captured in full and entered in your system during the call.
Order Processing & Entry
Phone, fax, email and mail orders validated and keyed accurately, with exceptions flagged rather than guessed.
Campaign & Direct-Response Lines
Order lines for catalog drops, promotions and advertising, staffed for the spike a campaign creates.
Payment Processing
Card and payment details taken through a compliant process, with failed payments resolved while the caller is still on the line.
Upsell & Cross-Sell
Relevant add-ons, upgrades and alternatives offered at the point of order, to rules you agree.
Order Status & Changes
Where-is-my-order enquiries, address changes and cancellations handled against live order data.
B2B & Distributor Orders
Account customers, reorders and trade orders taken with the pricing tier, terms and delivery details already on file.
After-Hours & Overflow Orders
Evening, weekend and peak-hour calls captured so orders are not lost when your own team is closed or full.
How an Order Taking Program Is Built
The order flow is designed and tested before the first call, because errors are cheapest to prevent at entry.
- <strong>Map the Order Flow</strong> — Products, options, offers, delivery choices and the exceptions that stop an order — out of stock, invalid address, failed payment.
- <strong>Connect the Systems</strong> — Agents work in your order system, storefront or CRM, so orders are entered once and status is visible to everyone.
- <strong>Write the Scripts and Rules</strong> — The order capture sequence, the read-back, the offers allowed and when, and what agents may resolve without escalating.
- <strong>Train on the Catalog</strong> — Product knowledge, common questions and how to handle the caller who is not sure what they need.
- <strong>Measure and Tune</strong> — Order accuracy, conversion, abandonment and average order value reviewed with you and fed back into scripts and staffing.
Order Processing by Phone: Where Order Lines Lose Money
Most order lines lose money in three places, and none of them shows up in a cost-per-call figure. The first is the call that is never answered. Order calls cluster around campaigns, catalog drops, promotions and the hours after work, and a line staffed for the average day misses exactly the calls it was set up to take. Abandoned order calls are lost revenue rather than delayed service, which is why order taking has to be staffed to the peak and why overflow and after-hours capacity are often worth more here than anywhere else in a contact center.
The second is the order taken wrongly. An order entered quickly and incorrectly costs far more downstream than the call itself: the return, the replacement, the refund, the extra contact and a customer less likely to order again. That is why order processing should be measured on accuracy before speed, and why the read-back at the end of every call — item, option, quantity, address, delivery and total confirmed with the customer — is non-negotiable rather than a courtesy.
The third is the exception handled badly. Most orders go through cleanly; the value of a good order line is in the ones that do not. An item that is out of stock, an address that will not validate, a card that is declined or a customer who wants to change the order after placing it all need an agent with the authority and the system access to resolve the problem on the call. A line that can only say someone will call you back turns a sale into an open ticket, and many of those never close.
- Staff order lines to the peak, not the average day
- Measure order processing on accuracy before speed
- Read back every order before it is placed
- Give agents authority and access to resolve exceptions on the call
Frequently asked questions
What are call center order taking services?
An outsourced phone line staffed by trained agents who take customer orders: answering the call, confirming what the customer wants, entering the order in your system, processing payment through a compliant process and confirming the details before the call ends.
What is the difference between order taking and order management?
Order taking is the front end — the call where the order is placed and entered. Order management covers what happens afterward: validation, processing, exceptions, status and reconciliation across the order lifecycle. Many programs combine the two, and our order management outsourcing guide covers the back-office side in detail.
Can your agents enter orders directly into our system?
Yes. Agents work in your order platform, storefront or CRM wherever access can be provided, so each order is entered once and your team sees it immediately. Where a direct connection is not possible, we agree a structured handoff format during setup.
How do you keep payment details secure?
Payment is taken through a PCI-compliant process agreed with you, with controls on how card data is captured, who can access it and how calls are recorded. Our PCI compliance guide explains the controls a call center needs for card-not-present orders.
Can you handle order spikes from promotions or advertising?
Yes. Campaign and direct-response order lines are planned around the expected spike, with overflow capacity arranged in advance so calls are answered when the offer runs rather than abandoned while customers wait.
What affects the cost of an order taking service?
Mainly the hours covered, expected call volume and how sharply it peaks, call length, the number of languages, how many systems agents work in, and whether the line also handles upselling, order changes and status enquiries. We scope those with you before proposing anything.
TESTIMONIALS
Our trusted clients
I can’t believe we didn’t use Global Empire sooner. Since joining, our order accuracy improved, wait time is virtually gone, and customers receive their orders correctly and on time. This partnership has had a major impact on our national pizza business.
Because of their experience in the energy industry, Global Empire has become a valued marketing partner. Their call center solutions help us acquire customers, retain them, and provide quality service after the sale — 24 hours a day.
Our business relationship with Global Empire has been long and very satisfying. Their employees deserve full credit for the professionalism and consistency they bring to every interaction. I know firsthand how stressful frontline work can be, and their team delivers every time.