What is Order Management System and How Can it Benefit Your E-Commerce Business?
An order management system will not only support all the stages of the sales process in your company from order creation to customer delivery, but will also make the logistics challenges that are impossible to avoid much easier. One of the main benefits of an OMS is that it provides one central system that is used for order management from any sales channels your business uses including mobile, kiosk, store, eCommerce, call centers and more. An OMS makes it easier for you to meet the demands of customers much more efficiently and easily.
The Order Management Process
The order management process includes all activities that are involved in taking, processing and fulfilling customer orders that are received through any of the sales channels your business uses. The process begins when a new order is taken and ends with activities such as keeping the availability of products up to date, picking, packing and shipping orders.
Common Challenges with Order Management
Traditionally, the process of order management would involve manual tasks that were more prone to error, especially in terms of inventory management and order entry. Each department using a different software system can create even more challenges by making it difficult to get a clear view of the entire process. It can create disconnects between different groups and departments in the business, often resulting in increased costs and more customer frustration.
How Do Order Management Systems Work?
What is order management system? An OMS automates the entire process of order management for your customers by handling all the functions that are involved in fulfilling customer orders. It enables both employees and customers to view and track all orders from beginning to end, enabling you to analyze and improve the overall efficiency. An OMS provides fulfilment reporting and insights, enabling both retailers and distributors to track important KPIs. It allows you to determine if the order was fulfilled quickly and for the lowest cost possible – and if not, gives you the opportunity to determine how you might improve on that.
How Does an OMS Benefit Your Business?
An order management system can increase the efficiency of the process of order management, allowing you to automate various steps that would previously require managing manually. Due to this, the company’s ability to efficiently and quickly process orders will improve. As a result, using an OMS for your business can increase customer satisfaction, improve profitability and boost your cash flow. The decision to use an OMS often leads businesses to take a closer look at their supply chains for bottlenecks and any areas that could use improvement. Sometimes, analyzing this alone can bring about improvements such as faster order fulfilment. Some additional benefits of an OMS can include reduced data entry, more visibility regarding order statuses, and tighter inventory management, allowing you to continue meeting customer demand while keeping excess stock to a minimum.
If your business takes customer orders from a variety of different channels, an order management system can have many benefits. Order management systems allow you to track customer orders and find any areas in the order process that could be improved.