To help readers understand how an OMS can help them and develop a checklist for them to assist in their OMS decision. Target Group: Brands, retailers, Sellers, distributors.
The reality is changing fast and as online shopping becomes the new normal, businesses need to adapt accordingly. Modern eCommerce customers demand speed, agility and over-the-top quality at every touchpoint.
So, businesses need to balance these demands by using a powerful multi-channel order management system.
What is an Order Management System?
Every eCommerce business has one common goal- To serve customers what they’ve ordered as quickly and accurately as possible. An effective OMS provides a centralized dashboard to view, process, & manage orders across all the sales channels.
It enables you to streamline your order processing flow, track orders, and receive detailed insights of all orders generated across your sales channels (eg. marketplaces, webstore). So, it gives you a thorough information about your customers and their preferences. On the back front, you can access all the accounting data, point of sale (POS) systems and simultaneously keep track of the warehouse inventory — all from one system.
All these capabilities simplify your business operations and empower you to make smart decisions.
But all Order Management Systems are not similar, and in order to choose the best one for your business, you need to investigate following capabilities:
1) Real-time Order Processing & Tracking
As your sales operations are distributed across locations, marketplaces, and offline stores, how would you ensure all the orders are being handled with the same level of efficiency?
An effective OMS helps you manage & process all orders on a single unified dashboard, and track all your orders in real-time. Having a centralized visibility across your complete order cycle also ensures that there are no underlying bottlenecks.
If your system doesn't have real-time updates, then you may face a critical lag in your sales vs order data which will be harmful in crucial times (For example: sales and promotions period). Hence, real-time order tracking is not only significant to give you insights about your order journey, but also help with your potential sales.
2) Stable Integrations with backend systems
Is the OMS easily compatible with the current systems that you use? Would there be friction in the transition due to the presence of existing software solutions or processes?
Many leading OMSs are designed and developed to integrate with different eCommerce channels, shipping carriers, fulfillment systems, WMS etc. But, the smoothness of these integrations and data migration capabilities need a valid check while finalizing your particular multichannel OMS selection.
3) Pre-Built Partner System Integrations and Customizations
An OMS should have a powerful set of pre-built integrations with accounting systems, warehouse management systems, last-mile carriers, fulfillment providers, so that you run asset-light operations and boost your growth.
Additionally, customizations and partnerships throughout the eCommerce ecosystem must also be considered. While some OMS providers may have a strong foothold in technology and operations, having powerful integrations with service partners and associated processes is equally important.
With an increased demand for seamless shopping experience, an OMS can implement an agile process to fulfill the orders. Thus, integrations like accounting tools, ERPs, logistics processes help cut-short operational turnaround time and significantly improve complex processes.
3) Customer Support
While using a system that enables critically important operations for your business, having strong customer service is paramount.
Businesses can thrive phenomenally, or fail, depending on the customer success quality. Customized onboarding, hand-holding in critical times, priority product training, updates, reactivity and availability, are crucial indicators. So when selecting your OMS, you must look for providers that offer the best level of customer support to make sure you are always up-to-date and have a trusted interlocutor to help when you require assistance.
4) Additional Features
An intuitive OMS does not only facilitate order processing, but assists you in many other aspects related to backend eCommerce management. Product Information Management (PIM) and Digital Asset Management (DAM) are such features that help you manage your entire product data & digital content centrally.
Examples of some other features include large-scale promotions planning for special sale seasons, real-time inventory management, sales dashboard to receive insights & analytics, customized reports etc.
Conclusion:
An OMS is most effective should it reduce manual work, streamline order processing operations, and simplify your multichannel sales through a centralized platform.
Depending on your requirements, an OMS should enable accurate, actionable insights, and streamline the operations so that all your sales channels can perform better and help you expand the business. With the above guiding factors, you can easily identify the most important features in an OMS and which one will best suit your needs.
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