Starting an online business and fulfilling customer orders looks like a pretty straightforward thing to do. It sure is, if you are just getting started and there are only a handful of orders to process. Fast forward to when you start receiving more orders than you anticipated (and from multiple channels), and you can see how it’s easy to get overwhelmed.
At that point, a pen-and-paper order management strategy will obviously not work – that’s when you bring out the big guns (an Order Management System). In this article, you will learn what an Order Management System is and what it does.
So, What Is an Order Management System?
To understand what an Order Management System is, let’s first describe order management. In simple words, order management is a process that involves capturing, processing, tracking, and fulfilling customer orders. This process begins when a customer makes an order and ends when they receive their package and are satisfied. If a customer isn’t satisfied, the journey won’t end there and can include extra steps like returns and refunds.
An Order Management System (OMS), therefore, is a system that helps a seller handle tasks related to order management. It makes it easier to track orders, sales, inventory, fulfillment, and customer order records.
Modern OMSs are powerful, multidimensional systems that touch multiple facets of your business’s operation including:
- Suppliers
- Customers
- Product Information
- Order processing, printing, packing, and shipping
- Returns & refunds (and other auxiliary services)
- And more
A well-integrated order management system is supposed to facilitate a consistent and seamless business workflow, thereby enhancing customer satisfaction and making the business thrive.
When you engage an excellent business solutions provider like Deck Commerce they help you create a perfect OMS, customized to your business needs so that you can meet your customers’ expectations.
What Does an OMS Do?
Now that you know what an order management system is, here’s what it will help you do:
1. Track & Manage Inventory
An OMS makes it possible to track and manage inventory across different sales channels, whether that be online/self-serve such as through direct-to-consumer (DTC), an online/offline combination such as buy-onine-pick-up-in-store (BOPIS), or offline such as in-store point-of-sale (POS).
You can even track your stock to identify the best-selling items in each channel or a certain region. With such information, you will be able to restock appropriately so that your customers don’t miss what they are looking for.
2. Manage Customer Data
You can also use an order management system as a customer relationship management (CRM) tool, allowing you to effectively manage customer data such as order history, location, lifetime value, and more.
With access to such data, you can send personalized messages that will resonate with your potential buyers.
3. Automate Order Fulfillment
An OMS acts as a centralized platform for automating order fulfillment. Once an order’s details are fully captured, it helps with moving the order through the different stages, from picking items and printing labels to packing the products and shipping them.
Additionally, an OMS makes it easier to accept different types of payments from customers and forwards the shipping information to third-party logistics partners.
4. Manage Reverse Logistics
A complete order management system also makes it easier to manage reverse logistics (returns for refunds, exchanges, etc.) Customers can print the returns shipping labels online and track the orders to ensure they reach the expected destination.
The same system updates your customers and makes it easier for your staff to know when it’s time to process the refund or exchange. To finish off the list, the OMS can facilitate the process of adding back the returned item, placing it in quarantine, or removing it completely from stock.
5. Merge Order & Financial Data
You can integrate your order management system with other back-office tools like accounting software. That way, you will have merged the order and financial data so that you always have accurate information on the payable and receivable accounts.
Doing so will also automate invoice and purchase orders, allowing for even smoother functions.
To Sum It All Up,
An Order Management System can revolutionize how you handle your orders and run your business. It will make it easier and faster to fulfill orders while reducing operational costs and bringing additional benefits like improved customer service, facilitating the creation of accurate inventory forecasts, and more.
So, as long as you work with an exceptional solutions provider like Deck Commerce to create your OMS, you can be sure you will enjoy great benefits in the long run.
