What is Omnichannel Order Management System: Best Practice

adminDecember 12, 2023

0 39 6 minutes read

Omnichannel shopping has become the new norm for both B2B and B2C consumers. A recent survey of US consumers revealed that the majority prefer online shopping, with 41% using e-commerce websites and 16% using shopping apps.

In 2020, there was a significant global growth of nearly 30% in eCommerce purchases. This growth was fueled by a variety of factors, including increased product availability, the emergence of new purchase triggers, and the influence of pandemic-related circumstances.

Google’s research shows that consumers now rely on a combination of online and offline sources, including search engines, online videos, social media, in-store browsing, TV ads, and word of mouth, to research products.

What is omnichannel order management system?

Omnichannel order management considers the process of seamlessly managing and fulfilling customer orders across multiple sales channels, such as online stores, physical retail locations, and third-party marketplaces. It involves centralizing order processing, inventory management, and fulfillment operations to provide a consistent and efficient customer experience, regardless of the channel through which the purchase is made.

What is omnichannel order management?

Omnichannel order management examples

The seamless customer experience described above was made possible by a multi-channel inventory management system. This system ensured that inventory levels were synchronized in real-time across all sales channels. It allowed the customer to purchase the item online, select the ship-to-store option, and have their information recognized at the physical store. When the customer initiated a return, the system provided a return shipping label, and inventory levels were updated accordingly.

A customer orders a product online for in-store pickup, and the inventory is immediately reserved and updated across all channels.
A customer purchases an item in-store and later returns it via mail, with the return seamlessly processed and inventory adjusted across all sales channels.
An order placed through a mobile app is fulfilled by the nearest store or warehouse with available stock, ensuring fast and efficient delivery.

Managing orders across multiple locations is crucial in third-party logistics.

A DOM (Distributed Order Management) system optimizes order fulfillment by determining the best location based on preset rules. It caters to different customer preferences, such as fast delivery or the lowest shipping cost. For instance, if a 3PL has fulfillment centers in Los Angeles and Memphis and an order is placed to ship to Oregon, intelligent order routing selects the center that minimizes fulfillment costs. This ensures efficient order processing and cost savings. Additionally, DOM systems handle diverse order types, such as those from retailers like Walmart and Target, including orders to be shipped to distribution centers or stores. Event-based order orchestration simplifies the fulfillment process, ensuring a seamless customer experience.

How does omnichannel order management system work?

You are correct. Omnichannel order management involves the same fundamental processes as traditional retail order management. The key difference lies in managing and coordinating these processes across multiple channels simultaneously. To implement an omnichannel order management system, businesses must have a unified view of customer data, order history, and inventory levels across all channels to ensure seamless operations and customer experiences.

Customers place orders through various channels: offline stores, websites, mobile apps, etc.
The omnichannel order management system informs customers of product availability.
Payments can be made in-store or through payment gateways like PayPal, Stripe, Square, etc.
Retailers use the system to record, locate, and accept orders, forwarding them to the warehouse.
Products are picked, packed, and shipped, either in-house, through 3PL providers, or drop shipping.
For buying online and picking up in-store orders, the system locates the nearest store for customer pickup.
Refunds and returns are processed if requested by the customer.

Key benefits: Using an omnichannel order management software

Adopting an omnichannel order management system simplifies operations, improves the customer experience, and provides the foundation for growth and success in today’s interconnected retail landscape. Implementing an omnichannel order management system offers several key benefits:

Centralized Operations: A centralized platform enables you to manage and automate retail and e-commerce operations across various channels, consolidating orders and returns in one place. This streamlines processes, reduces data entry tasks and provides a holistic view of your operations.
Enhanced Visibility and Analytics: With all order data in one system, you gain better visibility into sales performance, inventory levels, and customer behavior. This data can be analyzed to make informed decisions, forecast demand, and optimize operations.
Consistent Brand Experience: By integrating all channels, you can deliver a consistent brand experience to customers, regardless of where they interact with your brand. This eliminates friction and confusion, improving customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Scalability and Efficiency: An omnichannel system allows for efficient scaling of your business. It minimizes order processing disruptions, reduces errors, and ensures accurate inventory counts, enabling you to meet customer demands effectively.
Improve logistics: An omnichannel order management system (OMS) improves internal logistics operations by centralizing order, inventory, and return management. With all orders integrated into a single location, businesses can easily handle these processes.

Omnichannel solutions provide real-time, accurate data on inventory, orders, and returns across channels. This enables efficient and timely fulfillment, dispatch, and return processing, ensuring smooth operations and customer satisfaction.

(5) Key Omnichannel Order Management Features to Consider:

Omnichannel Order Management System

You can choose an omnichannel order management software that meets your business needs and helps optimize your operations across various sales channels. When selecting omnichannel order management software, it is important to consider the following essential features:

Inventory management: The software should offer automated inventory updates across all sales channels and provide efficient order routing and fulfillment based on inventory availability.
Order management: Look for centralized workflows to process customer orders and manage returns, along with access to comprehensive customer data from different channels.
Multi-channel listing management: The software should enable easy creation and updates of product listings, including SKUs and pricing, across multiple channels from a single platform.
Shipping integrations: Ensure that the software integrates with major shipping carriers and third-party logistics providers (3PLs) to streamline shipping and tracking processes.
Business intelligence: The software should provide reporting and insights on sales channels, SKUs, order status, and other key metrics to facilitate data-driven decision-making.

Omnichannel order management solutions:

While the specific ranking of omnichannel order management solutions may vary based on individual business needs and preferences, some popular options in the market include:

Shopify
Magento Commerce
BigCommerce
Salesforce Commerce Cloud
Oracle NetSuite

These solutions offer comprehensive features for managing orders, inventory, and customer experiences across multiple channels to deliver a seamless shopping experience.

ShipBob

They can help with omnichannel order management through their suite of fulfillment services and software solutions.

Magestore

An omnichannel POS solution enables businesses to reach and engage customers across multiple channels, enhancing the shopping experience and driving customer satisfaction.

Quickbook

The order management and fulfillment tools provided by omnichannel solutions enable businesses to seamlessly integrate sales channels, efficiently manage inventory, process and ship orders, and generate comprehensive reports for monitoring and analysis purposes.

Upgrade Your Omnichannel Strategy

Ensure alignment between the online and in-store customer experiences by sharing customer information across channels and making it accessible to all personnel.
Utilize a single view of customer preferences, order history, and account information to streamline the shopping journey and provide personalized content and offers.
Leverage the real-time inventory visibility provided by an OMS to offer accurate product options based on availability, location, and customer preferences.
Use the distributed order routing capabilities of a modern OMS to efficiently group and prioritize fulfillment locations, resulting in faster order fulfillment and increased customer satisfaction.

Omnichannel Order Management

final word!

Understanding the concept, functionality, and benefits of omnichannel order management is crucial for businesses looking to support their operations effectively. By embracing omnichannel retailing, companies can deliver seamless shopping experiences that cater to diverse customer needs. Implementing omnichannel strategies early on enables businesses to gain a competitive advantage and stay relevant in the face of evolving customer expectations. If you’re interested in implementing an omnichannel system, our team of retail experts is ready to discuss your ideas and provide guidance.

An Order Management System (OMS) offers several benefits for businesses. Firstly, it automates the process of locating the nearest fulfillment centers and checking available stock, ensuring accurate and quick order delivery while minimizing costs. This allows employees to focus on meeting customer needs and handling specific issues in a personalized manner. The solutions to customer problems can also be fed back into the OMS to continuously optimize future processes.

Additionally, a good OMS can integrate and analyze data from social media to address customer complaints promptly and effectively, enhancing customer satisfaction and distinguishing the business from competitors. The OMS also streamlines inventory management by tracking orders and monitoring overall inventory, enabling the identification of inventory and delivery issues. This frees up employees’ time to focus on value-added solutions and problem-solving, which the OMS may not be able to handle as effectively. Furthermore, the standardization provided by an OMS allows for the distribution of work and optimal management of employee capacity. Overall, an OMS improves order fulfillment, customer service, and operational efficiency for businesses.

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