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How Order Management Systems Can Streamline eCommerce

The Covid-19 pandemic has irrevocably changed eCommerce. By April 2020, the industry experienced ten years’ worth of growth in three months resulting from a shift in consumer spending habits.¹ The unprecedented demand for online goods stressed supply chains and forced retailers to reevaluate their operations. As the online shopping trend continues, competition among online retailers has never been greater.

Brands must be resilient and agile to compete against retail giants like Amazon. To offset the difficulties caused by an online-only ecosystem, retailers must find new sales channels and marketplaces to broaden their reach. However, a larger digital footprint and increased sales channels result in a complexity that can be overwhelming when combined with already steep customer expectations.¹ An order management system (OMS) is essential for a business to grow, embrace multi-channel retail, and compete with other online retailers while communicating effectively with customers.

What is an Order Management System?

An OMS is software that enables an eCommerce store to manage the order fulfillment process more effectively. It collects data such as order information, customer data, and inventory levels which allows for the management of critical business areas.² An OMS streamlines the process by unifying data and making the fulfillment process as cost-effective and automated as possible. OMS systems allow operators to manage orders coming in from multiple sales channels and process them from multiple fulfillment points.² An effective OMS can help with various processes and tasks to ensure a business stays in sync and fulfills its promises to its customers.

Key Benefits of Using an OMS

OMS tools are critical because they are more than just a means for shipping orders. Most eCommerce brands cannot grow without an effective OMS in place.³ These tools keep critical business processes organized and running smoothly as a business grows. Having a good OMS in place will also reduce human error, an enormous time and money waster for businesses. Reducing manual tasks will create time for solving complex customer problems, focusing on big picture projects, and optimizing the brand experience.⁴ An effective OMS is essential for sustainable growth and a smooth customer experience.

Customer Satisfaction

Customers have grown accustomed to personalized, efficient, and cost-effective order fulfillment. As a brand grows, systems will be tested, and inefficient processes can result in negative customer experiences and potentially lost profits.⁵ Since order management systems are automated and integrated across every step, brands can ensure a consistent customer experience across every channel. From logging orders to organizing fulfillment to managing invoices and returns, an effective OMS covers each step of the order process.⁶ The goal of the OMS is to get the product to the consumer as efficiently as possible. This is accomplished by managing the journey of each item in the customer’s order from the moment the product goes into the shopping cart until the product arrives on the customer’s doorstep.⁷ A good OMS will integrate with fulfillment centers to keep customers updated on the status of their orders.⁸ By optimizing each step in the process, an OMS reduces shipping and overhead costs and increases the quality of data collected.

Managing Product Availability and Inventory Insights

Selling products across multiple platforms can make it difficult to unify sales data. An OMS can integrate with each platform, collect all sales data, and bring that information together in one accurate and accessible place. Over time, this can provide insights into customer behavior and identify popular products and SKUs.⁹ Based on the collected data, inventory management decisions like what to order from suppliers and which fulfillment locations need new stock are simplified.

Other Considerations

The eCommerce landscape changes rapidly, so a good OMS should provide the flexibility and functionality necessary for a business to grow. It should be intuitive and easy to use by non-technical retail and marketing staff and integrate with existing company technology and infrastructure. Opening new fulfillment options, changing promotions and pricing, and setting up workflows should be straightforward.¹⁰ The ideal OMS will fit seamlessly with the eCommerce system to enhance customer experience and meet business sales goals.

Order Management Systems are the way of the future in the eCommerce world. This innovative software can simplify and streamline every system and process within the supply chain by reducing human error, enhancing delivery speed, simplifying multi-sales management, and forecasting future trends. In the competitive world of online retail, an OMS that optimizes the speed and accuracy of order processing across channels can positively affect the customer experience and give your business an edge over competitors. A seamless order fulfillment process provides an opportunity to enhance brand reputation, provide a positive customer experience, and grow revenue.¹¹ Adopting modern, integrated OMS software is the only way for businesses to keep up with the competition and customer expectations by streamlining the entire virtual business process.

Footnotes

1)https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/order-management/#what-is-ecommerce-order-management

2)https://richpanel.com/blog/order-management-system/

3)https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/order-management/#what-is-ecommerce-order-management

4)https://kibocommerce.com/blog/order-management-system/

5)https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/order-management/#what-is-ecommerce-order-management

6)https://paperform.co/blog/order-management/

7)https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/order-management/#what-is-ecommerce-order-management

8)https://www.brightpearl.com/ecommerce-order-management

9)https://www.shopify.com/enterprise/order-management-system-oms

10)https://www.smartsheet.com/content/order-management

11)https://paperform.co/blog/order-management/

Insights, Trends, and Predictions for 2021

The next few months should see us at the cusp of a post-pandemic economy – with multiple vaccines looming over the horizon, there is a light at the end of the tunnel for another tumultuous year globally – a new US President and people adjusting to a post pandemic world. There’s a few trends born out of the disruptions over the year to note when considering the state of eCommerce moving into 2021, and I’ve decided to highlight what we believe are the five most important trends. Of course, I hasten to add, every single one of my predictions could be wrong. I have learned at a very young age that I have no orbuculum at my disposal and my scrying is a game of dice!

Each trend connects with a greater cluster of users, from the consumer all the way to the integrity of the digital economy, so understanding each pillar of these predictions can go a long way in preparing for future disruptions and innovations ahead.

Hyper-personalizations: Considering the Consumer Alone

As buyer profiles grow more and more distinct with the aggregation of big data and the development of machine learning, hyper-personalization is a vital component of building modern customer experience. The world will move from broad segmentation to one to one marketing as the technology to further target content to the individual advances. We’ve begun to see this already to great effect in social media eCommerce as platforms like TikTok and Instagram have mastered the endless scroll via tailoring content specific to the individual, and now we see clear opportunities for early adopters in both B2B and B2C spaces to capture significant growth. Marketing to broad segments like Millennials or Baby Boomers won’t do. Everyone in these segments is unique so think about how you deliver 1:1 personalization.

The Elastic Enterprise: Reevaluating Business Models

With demand and supply becoming global, business models will change. We will see more Direct to Consumer (DTC) and composite hybrids – B2B, B2C and B2B2C power the digital economy. Both DTC and B2B2C are now proven business models that have challenged conventional wisdoms in eCommerce and thrived in the wake of their disruption. Throughout the pandemic, DTC models have transformed household essentials into subscription based services that are tailored to one’s needs and personalized to their wants. B2B2C models on the other hand have allowed businesses to specialize in providing services to other smaller businesses who you may engage – like an air conditioning supplier (B) who works with the small business contractor (b) you (c) trust.

The Longitudinal Book of Record: Understanding Connected Data Science

So I know your name and email. Over time I get to know your preferences.I keep building the small stub of information I have on you- like building a longitudinal book of record. Omnichannel has long been an established pillar of the digital economy, but going into the next decade, connected channels and the data science behind them will only skyrocket in significance. Companies will rely on building an infinitely extendable longitudinal book of record by collecting and compiling data from various channels – connected channels will be the next big thing. Efficient and effective CRMs, OMS’, and ERP solutions will help ensure that a business has that central node by which all customer interactions can connect towards. Building that book of record is the key piece in accumulating and executing the data to accomplish the sort of CX transformations like hyper-personalization that distinguish one commerce practice from another.

The Speed of the Human Mind: Powering Mass Consumption Instantly via 5G

Infrastructure across nations, cities, homes and businesses will upgrade to 5G to cater to mass consumption of information, instantly, everywhere, and as a result, the consequences to the digital economy will be staggering. Already we’ve seen brick and mortar rapidly erode from its conventional use-case as the nexus of shopping into a portal of customer experiences and tailored moments to match robust eCommerce solutions. 5G and the ensuing wave of digital infrastructure will only accelerate those trends further as it becomes even easier to search, engage, and purchase via any electronic device. Furthermore, that digital infrastructure can capture new consumer markets globally, putting more emphasis on useful technologies that can ensure fulfillment and tax liability across the world. So are you ready to deliver rich media. Chips, computers, phones, infra and 5G are ready to deliver it.

Resilience: Safeguarding Your Business and the Digital Economy

All it took is one pandemic to change the nature of business irrevocably. Companies will seek to protect themselves from such events – a mindset to be battle ready in all circumstances has emerged. Both digital security protocols and multiple routes of fulfillment will be top of mind for businesses as the world moves closer to a pandemic vaccine. Tools to ensure credit monitoring and ID theft protection will find more and more value as we tilt even further into a digital first economy.

All in all, these insights reveal a commanding trend towards leveraging new technologies to heighten CX in the space. Between personalization, distribution, speed, and safety, disruption comes in many waves that each elevate a business towards the most efficient and effective commerce experience. We’re excited to implement these insights and heighten the brands we work with over the next years, and capture our onwards and upwards sentiment with the changing digital economy. In short: is your business capable of change. Rapidly.