The fulfillment process is a critical component of effective order management. Centralising data in one system is crucial in providing a single view of demand, inventory, and supply, allowing you to exceed customer expectations for buying, fulfilling, and returning anywhere, at any time. As the buyer landscape and expectations evolve, order management has adopted a multi-dimensional approach that touches on many business operational aspects. These aspects include customers, sales channels, product information and location, inventory levels, returns and refunds, packaging, order picking, processing, and shipping. It’s the right time to invest in an Order Management System (OMS) to help you streamline your order fulfillment process. From order processing automation to providing high-quality customer service and everything in between, the suitable OMS is a must-have for your business.
What is an Order Management System (OMS)?
An order management system (OMS) organises and automates order entry and processing. These systems provide a comprehensive view of each customer order and enable merchants to manage their entire order fulfillment process in one platform. An OMS provides the assistance you require to manage both order management and order fulfillment efficiently. A company selling on a Magento site, Amazon, or eBay, could view, manage, and fulfill all sales orders from a single login screen. Whether your inventory is on fulfillment center shelves or fulfillment centres, in retail store locations, or you’ve outsourced fulfillment to third parties or dropshippers, you have real-time visibility from them all. It allows you to fulfill any order in the most cost-effective manner possible.
What does an OMS do?
An OMS is a way for businesses to track an order from its placement to completion. It will record all of the processes and information that occur during the lifecycle of an order.
Payment
Upon receiving the order, a full-featured OMS facilitates payments and shares data with financial systems. You must see every interaction your team had with each order, such as when payment was taken, who picked it up, and when.
Inventory or stock levels
An OMS allows you to track and manage inventory across multiple sales channels, such as in-store point-of-sale POS software, self-service via a Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) eCommerce store, and online/offline combinations such as Buy-Online-Pick-up-In-Store (BOPIS).
Suppliers or 3PLs
An OMS gives you visibility into Available-To-Promise (ATP) inventory in your fulfilment center and stores and stock from third-party suppliers such as 3PL (third-party logistics) firms and drop-ship locations. This enhances inventory planning.
Returns and refunds
If a customer wants to return an item, the OMS establishes procedures for processing returns from all channels, fulfilling exchange requests, crediting the customer account, and managing the dispositioning process.
Pick, pack, and shipping
Following that, the OMS fulfill orders through robust order capture, validation, and release; pick, pack, and ship functionality, including drop-shipping, shipment confirmations, and customer interaction.
Financial integration
An OMS also integrates with other back-office functions, such as accounting software, to merge order and financial data. You can gain insights into accounts payable and receivable and automate invoices and purchase orders.
Reporting and analytics
A good OMS like I-Fulfilment’s BladePRO will track your current orders and assist you in understanding larger patterns and trends. As you plan ahead, you can use the reporting and insights to create accurate inventory forecasts.
How to Choose an Order Management System
Order management includes tracking and organising sales orders that come into a business through various online and offline channels. It will typically include the processes required to deliver an order to the end customer and handle any resulting returns in eCommerce.
Price Structure
This goes beyond the overall platform price. It is critical to investigate the details. How many free user seats can the system accommodate? Is there a transaction fee or any other operating costs?
Customer
Merchants can use OMS to access the information they have on a customer, including previous orders, lifetime value, and location. If a problem arises with a customer order, your customer service team can easily track it down and resolve it as soon as possible.
Shipping
By using a proper OMS, you can integrate directly with your relevant shipping carriers to fulfill orders without the need for additional software. If you collaborate with a technologically advanced 3PL, you can integrate your OMS built-in management tools to optimise shipping.
Inventory
Inventory is synced in real-time across your sales channels and forecasts accurately to avoid stock-outs. Most systems provide two-way integration to ensure that order details are passed between the order management system and an eCommerce platform while also providing visibility into the entire process.
Automation
An automated order processing system can receive and verify customer orders before directly entering them into a business’s order processing system. With automated order rules and digital systems, the majority of manual processes are eliminated.
Integrations
An OMS integration will allow you to sync your invoices, credit notes, and purchase orders. You do not have to spend time manually entering data into your accounting software.
Accessibility
You should not be restricted to a single web browser or computer. Mobility is essential for improving operational efficiencies. You can process orders remotely and whenever you want if you have an OMS that you can access from any location and via mobile devices.
Reporting
Through detailed reporting, OMS enables merchants to assess their overall performance and profitability. Statistics and other indicators can also be extracted for distribution to their stakeholders.
What to Do Next: Integrate Your OMS with BladePRO
Online orders have increased dramatically in the last two years, and their use will almost certainly become mandatory. Choosing not to modernise your business processes may result in decreased productivity and profit loss. Innovation is one of the great ways to future-proof your brand, and I-Fulfilment provides tech-driven eCommerce software solutions that can accelerate growth. I-Fulfilmet solution – BladePRO integrates seamlessly with all major eCommerce platforms and marketplaces, creating a fully automated, scalable fulfilment operational solution. Your operation can drive continuous improvement through the insights available through both a cloud-based web portal and a mobile app.
The all-in-one -solution
BladePRO is an all-in-one platform that combines the power of a Warehouse Management System (WMS), Inventory Management System (IMS), Courier Management System, and Marketplace management capabilities. With BladePRO, you get detailed intelligence on all aspects of your operations, giving you complete control over your business.
Multi-Channel connectivity
One of the key benefits of BladePRO’s multi-channel connectivity is the ability to sell on different marketplaces without having to manage them separately. This can save you time and allows you to take advantage of the unique features and customer base of each platform. With BladePRO, you can easily manage your inventory, orders, and listings across multiple channels from a single dashboard.
Test new markets and scale seamlessly
Another key significant advantage of working with BladePRO is our ability to handle international compliance with our Commercial Cross Border Solution. This solution streamlines the selling process and takes care of all cross-border compliance requirements, making it easier than ever to expand your business globally.
Personalisation/Customisation Solutions
We understand that personalisation is essential to your brand, and our system allows for scaling your unique personalisation solution. In addition to personalisation, BladePRO offers product customisation, giving your business and brand a unique edge over competitors. We understand the importance of business and brand differentiation, and our system provides the tools necessary to achieve it. BladePRO is a powerful, versatile eCommerce platform that can help businesses of all sizes grow and succeed. With its multi-tenancy architecture, cloud-based infrastructure, and open API, it’s an ideal choice for businesses looking to take their fulfillment operations to the next level. Contact I-Fulfilment and get access to our robust all-in-one fulfillment platform that simplifies the order management system.