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What is Order Management? A Complete Guide

What is an Order?

In the simplest terms, an order is created when a customer buys a product from a seller. For example, if you buy a new computer keyboard online from a product seller, an order is created when you make the purchase. The order records what you purchased, for how much, and where to ship your purchase, the computer keyboard you bought.

In the world of Commerce, an order refers to the act of ordering or purchasing a product or service from a company by the customer, online or offline.

What Is a Backorder?

A backorder is when a customer or a client places an order for a product that cannot be delivered immediately due to no available stock at the present time. In other words, backorders are orders that cannot be fulfilled immediately but are sure to be fulfilled at a later date.

Why do Backorders exist?

Keeping a fully stocked inventory is one of the riskiest elements of running a product-based business. Not all companies, especially small and middle-sized ones, can afford to have their inventories full all the time.

And so, time and again, these companies run into situations where they have to inform the customer about their inability to deliver the goods within the stipulated time. The reason for the delay could be anything from lack of resources and raw materials to an unexpected labor strike or a sudden spike in customer demand.

In such a scenario, the company communicates the situation to the customer with clarity. It assures them that their order will be fulfilled, although the delivery may be slightly delayed.

Backorders help companies walk the tightrope of timely order fulfillment and profitability. They free companies from the false binary of yes and no, and provide a lucrative third option.

If a company receives an order that is larger than their fulfillment capacity, they can break it down into smaller pieces and deliver a few immediately while converting the rest into backorders. The possibilities are endless, provided there is clear communication between the company and the customers.

Example of a Backorder

A shoe manufacturer in Arizona receives an order from a Los Angeles-based retail chain, to deliver 20,000 pairs of shoes within 2 months. However, their current inventory as well as their two-month production capacity only allows them to supply 12,000 pairs.

Instead of refusing, the shoe manufacturer asks the retail store if they can start with 12,000 pairs. The company converts the rest into backorders of 4000 pairs to be delivered each month. This way, the manufacturer gets to keep the contract, while the retail store gets the shoes, albeit slightly later than expected.

What is a Pre-order?

A pre-order is a type of order that is placed before the product is released into the market. It is a way for the manufacturer to gauge the demand for the product before releasing it. Customers who place pre-orders have an edge over those who place normal orders, as pre-orders are fulfilled before the rest.

Pre-orders also help product sellers plan the sales and distribution of new products with pent up demand. For example, Sony pre-sold Playstation 5 gaming machine so that customers that wanted a new Playstation could buy it before it was available and receive it very quickly after it became available.

Example of a Pre-order

One of the best examples of pre-orders is books. When a publishing company signs a successful author, they announce the likely date of arrival of the book into the markets.

However, a few weeks before the book hits the stores, the publishing house allows the readers to pre-order the book. This way, the readers make sure that they receive one of the first few copies of the book. And the publishing company gets a significant sum of money without even releasing the product.

Difference between a Pre-Order and a Backorder

In the case of both- Pre-orders and backorders, there is a significant gap between the date of receiving the order and the eventual order fulfillment.

However, the key difference between both is that:

  • In the case of a Pre-Order, the product is yet to be manufactured.
  • In the case of a Backorder, the product is already in the market, but temporarily out of stock.

Indent Order

Indent orders are orders where a customer places an order with a company and the company purchases the product from a third party, due to a variety of reasons. Such orders are common while dealing with trading companies who don’t manufacture or store products but simply trade them.

Example of an Indent Order

Many brands offer a wide range of products to their customers. Some of these products aren’t necessarily produced by them. For example, an apparel company that also offers merchandise such as coffee mugs, may not necessarily produce the mugs themselves.

All they do is ask another company to manufacture the mugs and sell them to the apparel company so that the same could be offered to the customers.

By placing indent orders, companies can expand their product catalogs without necessarily producing all the products themselves. This helps them foray into new markets without taking unnecessary risks. What makes indent orders unique, is that the product seller contractually commits to holding stock for the buyer even if other customers are passionately seeking to buy the same stock. For example, an electronics retailer could place an indent order for 5,000 Sony Playstation 5s, and Sony would be obligated to hold the 5,000 for the electronics retailer even if other customers would pay more. This indent order ensures the retailer and the product seller are locked into a mutually beneficial agreement and both buyer and seller know exactly what to expect.

Ordering items online has become second nature in the world we live in. When you order an item online with a few clicks, you set into motion infinite wheels in the background that get your order delivered to your doorstep.

The company that receives your order performs a series of processes, known as order management. Order management ensures that customers receive their products accurately and as quickly as possible.

What is Order Management?

Order management refers to the process of receiving orders from customers and doing everything required to get the purchased products to customers — finding the items described in the order, packing them together, shipping them, and notifying the customer of the progress being made to get the products to the customers. The journey of a typical order begins when the order is received by the company and ends with the delivery.

In other words, Order management is a process of fulfilling an order through its journey from receipt to packing and finally delivery. Additionally, it also includes processes like returns and refunds.

Order Management Cycle

Here is what an order management cycle looks like:

Step 1 – Receiving an Order

The first stage of any order management process begins when a customer places an order with your business. Receiving includes accepting the order from the customer and collecting payment for it. After this is done, the details of the purchase are forwarded to your warehouse so your staff can start working on getting the products ready for shipment.

The order management cycle begins as soon as a customer places an order for a product. Once the order is placed, you will receive a summary of the same. From the summary, you’ll get to know the details and quantities of the product(s) in the order.

These details are then passed on to the manager of the warehouse that contains the stock. And thus, the next step of the cycle kicks in.

Step 2 – Order Fulfillment

Order fulfillment is where you pick up the product from the warehouse, pack them as required, and ship them to the customer.

As the explanation suggests, this can be divided into three processes:

Picking

When the order summary reaches the warehouse, the warehouse manager prepares a picklist. A picklist is a list of items to be picked, along with their storage locations. The warehouse personnel who collect the items from the storage areas are known as “pickers.”

This process is known as picking. Creating picklists makes the entire process of picking much more time-efficient and accurate. Once all the items from the picklist are picked, they’re sent to the packing area, commonly known as the warehouse packing station.

Packing

As the name suggests, packing refers to the process of packing the items as per requirements. Packing stations are designated spaces within the warehouse where the products are packed.

The packing process is one of the most important warehouse processes. It’s not just limited to simply packing the items and shipping them off. A lot of times, there are different products in a single order. These products have to be bundled together before shipping them.

Many products even require a specific type of packing to preserve them. The personnel working at the packing station are responsible for ensuring that the products are packed appropriately before leaving the warehouse.

Shipping

Once the order has been picked and packed, the warehouse personnel start preparing the shipping documents. These documents generally include shipping instructions, shipping labels, and invoices.

Once all of these have been printed, they are attached to the order package and brought to the delivery area of the warehouse. The packages are forklifted from here into the trucks and shipped off to the customers.

Step 3 – After Sales Services/Returns and Refunds

Once the order is shipped, the company sends the tracking details along with the estimated date of delivery to the customer. Many companies contact their customers after a few days of the product being delivered. This helps them in collecting valuable feedback on the product as well as delivery.

If the product is returned, the customer gets an alert about the refund or replacement, depending on the return policy of the company. The product makes its way back into the company’s inventory.

Activities such as these are part of the after-sales stage of the order management cycle.

The Simple Guide To Order Processing

Among the most legit outcomes of digitization, e-commerce is going strong after over two decades, and the COVID-19 just accelerated its expansion pace by a gigantic margin. It introduced online shopping to an audience that wasn’t keen on the concept while making it a bigger part of existing ones’ lifestyle. There are many things that happen behind the scenes when you place an order, but have you ever wondered how your orders are processed?

Ask any online retailer; order processing is the most sophisticated process since many things need to be well-coordinated to make the transaction successful. In this article, we will have a deep dive into the nitty-gritty of order processing. Let’s get started:

What Is The Meaning Of Order Processing In A Nutshell

In simple words, the workflow ensures proper order fulfillment right from confirming an order to sending the correct item in proper condition within the stipulated delivery time. Order details such as the item, SKU, quantity, discounts, and delivery period are fetched from the front end and synchronized with back-end systems like the inventory management software

This also includes collecting money through electronic methods like credit/debit cards, online wallets, or in-person if the customer has opted for COD. Once it is confirmed, the fulfillment facility is prompted for order picking, followed by packaging and the beginning of the shipping process.

Steps Involved In The Order Management Process

In this section, we will have a closer look at the steps involved in order processing. It can be completed both manually and through automation. However, manual order processing is not advisable since you will require far more human resources yet end up with errors and inefficiencies. Also, your customers would look forward to a seamless experience where they can complete their purchase on the go.

Thus, implementing automation is a must, given the cart abandonment rates amidst the competitive online selling landscape. Automation provides your customers with a decent purchase experience while it also sheds off a significant portion of the workload from your end. Let’s understand the basic steps of the ordering cycle system:

Step 1: Order Placement By The Customer

Once the customer goes through the marketing funnel and decides to make a purchase from your website/landing page, the front end forwards their query to your order fulfillment software. It verifies the customer’s credentials, purchase history, and banking details, while the inventory management system reflects the availability in terms of quantity and fulfillment time.

In case the product isn’t available in stock, the user is notified to add it to their wishlist, or an alternative product is displayed. Once the order is confirmed from the customer end, the shipping charges are displayed during the checkout process.

It would be best if you provide your customers with multiple shipping carriers to choose from and different speeds since these factors make a huge impact on shipping costs. This requires integration with the shipping carriers’ portals since this process needs to be done on a real-time basis. Next, the user is redirected to the payment gateway, and the bill is generated.

Step 2: Order Picking At The Nearest Storage Facility

Once the order is placed successfully, the concerned item is picked from the nearest facility or retrieved from a closeby hub in case the item is returned and is fit for use. For the items stored at warehouses, the inventory management solution generates an order picking slip. However, it is a part of an entire picklist, and the item is retrieved from its respective location in the warehouse that is mapped in your inventory management system.

The pick slip includes:

  • Its exact location.
  • The type and size of the bin that your worker needs to carry.
  • The designated trolley.
  • The list of nearby components that they need to pick.

In fact, the path is also marked, making it easy for the workers to navigate, and many advanced facilities use light-based indicators as well to aid the process.

Step 3: Sorting And Packaging Station Processes

After the picked items reach the packaging station, they are sorted based on their shipping destination and volumetric weight. They are then packaged according to instructions, and shipping labels are stuck on them. Once they are packaged, they are then loaded on trolleys to be placed in the shipping zone.

This process is very important because the items need to be checked for basic quality standards to verify their condition before shipping. Also, it is essential to note that accuracy is a basic aspect since shipping the wrong product will cost you much more than the transit costs- the well-paying customers! Therefore, accuracy is as important as speed when it comes to packaging and readying the items for shipping.

Step 4: Shipping The Products To The Destination

This part is usually overlooked by third-party logistics partners (3PL companies), and you simply need to integrate your store frontend with their system. This allows your customers to track the delivery status of their ordered items on your app/website.

The shipping process involves entire logistics, right from taking custody of your products from your storage facility to last-mile delivery. The shipper also makes provisions for return merchandise processing (of course, with your active participation and policy framework in place) in case the customer isn’t happy with your product or has changed their mind.

Don't Forget The Taxation Side Of The Story

Depending on where you are shipping the product and its price, you may be required to follow the local taxation and other compliance-ba00sed requirements. Even if you are selling the products on Amazon through FBA, you are still responsible for these clerical formalities. Therefore, it is advisable for you to consider this aspect of order processing before finalizing your workflows and policies.

The Role Of Automation In Order Processing

From the concepts explained above, it is quite natural that the entire process is layered, and it depends on how prerequisites are followed and the feedback shared. Also, the time constraint is another factor that impacts the overall quality and customer experience at large. Doing these tasks manually is possible up to a certain threshold but should the quantity cross it, you will be left overburdened and invite losses due to inherent inefficiencies.

Automation ensures that no step is missed, all details are collected, execution is taken care of at all stages, and that the entire transaction, including customer feedback, is electronically recorded. It helps streamline the taxation part as well while also allowing you to serve your customers 24/7 over multiple selling channels, including walk-in stores, without risking the accuracy of your operations.

Automation also helps make order processing safer since it covers all the financial processes involved with the highest conformance standards. Thus, it helps you cope up with both the quality and quantity involved in order processing.

We had an overview of order processing, but there’s one thing that needs to be added: It requires continuous updates in terms of technologies and workflows since the delivery model, infrastructure, and customer preferences keep evolving. It would be best if you use proper order processing software with SaaS capabilities to ensure the highest level of competence and security. We hope that this article helps you understand order processing better.

The Challenges of Order Management

Order management and fulfillment are the significant competencies of e-commerce, logistics, and supply chain companies’ success. There are so many manual ordering system problems that people face while managing orders. Focusing totally on omnichannel selling, handling, and fulfilling order requests from multiple channels becomes a little complex task.

Businesses are exploring different ways to automate, facilitate, and boost productivity in the whole order fulfillment process with the help of order management software. There are so many order management challenges that we are going to portray in the below article.

Missing integrations

The real power of the order management system arrives from the integration of information on multiple channels. Some order management software comes without any integration or connectors like PIM, CRM, ERP, E-Commerce Platforms, or any other. That’s why businesses are forced to look for different ways for channeling the information through other systems, avoiding any chance of a single error.

Precise forecasting

Customer order management’s high-level demand skills enhance the capacity to maintain erratic product demand and know the higher forecast accuracy. Two skills that expand proper forecasting are demand shaping and sensing. Using a multi-order channel system, obtaining customer purchasing data to forecast future product demand becomes challenging. When the order capturing is integrated, data is visible, and businesses hold the information instantly available for developing an exact forecast for future demand.

Stockout problem

Inventory management is necessary for effective order fulfillment, but if you have recurrent stockouts, especially on items with high turnover, there are total chances to lose customers. You must keep your stock sufficiently full for meeting customers’ demands. Stockout is also a big issue for some of the MRO inventories. If you do not have a replacement part in stock, it can lengthen downtime if any piece of equipment fails.

Complex onboarding process

The topmost order management system has an effortless reversing process. This process may consist of many steps, but those steps must be waved so that your expectations and timelines will be clear. The complex onboarding process makes customers feel irritated while using the order management system.

Communication

Communication is primary for effective order fulfillment. You just need to keep proper communication with – your respective suppliers for keeping all kinds of items in stock, your customers for handling their doubts, your personnel for running all the things without many efforts. If there is a communication gap, it may lead to delays and loss of customers.

Time-consuming packing

When the order gets placed, you will need to ensure that the items are correctly picked from your shelves and well-packaged at the right time. Unless the whole shipment reaches late, their potential customers will wait for a long time. If your order has not appropriately arrived on the given date, then there are full chances that the customer will not order from you again in the future.

Shifting demand

Customer demand is a continuously shifting demand. Keeping too much inventory may result in out-of-stock of items that you may not be able to sell. On the other hand, keeping less inventory can leave you incapable of satisfying customer orders. Order strategies for core items and technology for creating and executing an inventory plan will help recompense the shifting demand.

What Is An Order Management System (OMS)

If finding customers feels tough as an online retailer, you might agree to the fact that order processing and keeping your operations running gets even tougher. An entire set of cascading processes needs to be executed in an accurate and timely manner to execute a single purchase transaction that can be put under the umbrella term ‘order management.’

The modern selling ecosystem is getting increasingly complicated as the number of customers, variety of products, selling channels (both online and offline), and customer touchpoints keep evolving and increasing. This has made order management quite a complicated process where both value and costs depend on a multitude of parameters.

For instance, next-day or same-day delivery schedules are becoming an industry-wide standard that every customer simply loves, but it does put tremendous pressure on the logistics and storage infrastructure, thereby increasing costs by leaps and bounds.

On the other hand, consistently executing such fulfillment eliminates the scope of making mistakes as they can have repercussions far beyond the total price of products and the transactions involved- your brand image. Also, the need for collaboration and analytics is also increasing with each passing day.

These are enough reasons for you to invest in proper order management software (OMS.) Today, we will go through the basics of an OMS and what it can do for your business. Let’s get started:

The ABCs Of An Order Management System (OMS)

An OMS is a dedicated tool that tracks and manages all order processing-related functions, including customer data, sales, inventory management, and order fulfillment. OMS solutions also help businesses manage collaborations and internal as well as resources.

It helps bring people, processes, and insights related to order management under a common interface reinforced with comprehensive automation capabilities. An OMS allows online businesses to focus on their core operations while ensuring that the sales don’t suffer due to any incapability in processing orders properly.

Processes Benefited Due To Implementing An OMS Solution For Your Ecommerce Store

In this section, we will go through some of the advantages that you can avail yourself of with the help of an OMS solution. But at the same time, you should be aware that these benefits can be considered basic necessities in today’s online selling landscape. The reasons are quite simple: It takes a lot to attract traffic in terms of money and strategy-based execution.

Only a small percentage of your traffic returns to your website, while issues like cart abandonment are long persistent setbacks that continue to haunt the industry. On top of that, losing a paying customer despite crossing all hurdles can be a bit heartbreaking, while not fully encashing the opportunities always has a lasting impact on your business’s growth. Let’s have a look at the domains where OMS solutions prove to be helpful:

Order Processing

Firstly, you need to understand that order processing requires a complex set of processes needed to be followed before you can accept an order. This includes building customer profiles, tracking user activity, integrating various payment gateways, verifying credentials in real-time, verifying product availability and fulfillment terms, and accepting payments.

You also need to take into consideration any additional instructions like gift wrapping and synchronize deliveries in case of multiple orders from the same user. All of these aspects need to be taken care of at the time of order confirmation, and an OMS ensures that all steps involved in the processes are executed with a high degree of accuracy.

Inventory Management

As discussed above, inventory management is closely linked with order processing as you need to make sure that you will be able to fulfill the order satisfactorily before committing to do so.

Your OMS needs to be closely integrated with the inventory management software to pool stock-related data along with the time required for back ordering the concerned item. Also, it aids in providing facilities like notifying the customer regarding the product’s availability if it was out of stock when the initial purchase attempt was made.

Thus, inventory management plays an important role in making your order processing efficient, and OMS solutions ensure that all inventory-related data exchange is well executed.

Warehousing And Fulfillment

It is no secret that a significant number of businesses own multiple storage facilities while others use shared warehousing spaces and even Amazon FBA. Therefore, it becomes necessary that the order management solutions consider warehousing and respective stock insights while accepting orders. This includes deciding which storage facility will be able to fulfill the order at optimal costs and timing.

Order Shipping

This involves coordinating with the logistics partner under the agreed shipping terms to ensure timely delivery of the purchased items. Your order management system provides a window to synchronize data from the shipper end to the customer and facilitates processes like order tracking.

This aspect also deals with the recipient of payment in the case of COD, and hence coordination of such transactions is also a part of the process.

Customer Relationship Management

Last but not least, customer relationship management is another aspect that is benefited immensely by implementing OMS. For instance, if a customer raises a query for a product not being delivered on time, the data from OMS can be used for scrutiny. At the same time, it can also provide notifications to the customers regarding the delivery status and any payment-related concerns.

In today’s times, distributed order management is a necessity, and you definitely need to use dedicated order management software to remain at par with the other players. Implementing automated systems on your back end will enable you to bag every sale you can make without error or delay. We hope that this article enables you to understand what an order management system is and how it is one of the basic necessities for online stores in today’s market.

Benefits of an order management system

Here are some top-notch benefits of order management system:

Smooth order management

The whole order management process begins when any customer places an order, and it is finished when the order is received. The purpose of the ordering system lies in making this process as seamless as it can to avoid any problem from customers’ point of view.

The method of ordering any product from start to finish involves many intermediate steps to finish accurately. If any problem occurred in the middle of the ordering process, then you may upset your potential customer. All these can ruin your business’s reputation, and you can also lose your potential customers. That’s why it is crucial to keep your order management system smooth from start to end.

Enhanced efficiency and performance

Updating stock manually is always a tedious and time-consuming task which is always at risk of errors. If you are unaware of inventory updates all over the marketplaces can boost the chances of overselling products. An order management system offers you a joined-up view of all the channels and performs it as an automated link between all of them. It means you will get fewer errors, quicker-updated inventory and fast order turnaround, and improved customer intercommunication.

Real-time order status

There are so many benefits of order management but offering real-time order status is one of the top benefits. An order management system offers real-time updates on the status of all your current orders and inventory. This way, the responsible managers will have the current information on hand, and then you can pass that information on to the company’s customers.

There is no need to wait for a package; customers can get automatic updates for finding out when to get the shipment. It will lead to enhanced customer service and an improved experience for customers.

Reduction in cost by order accuracy

Increased accuracy of order leads to significant cost savings. These cost reductions get extended to the expenditures of both labor and inventory. All these savings begin with the order management system for paying in the first few months of utilization. It happens when it is about cost reduction that is related to incorrect or late orders.

See all your marketplaces all together at one dashboard

Retailers with various marketplaces and couriers keep track of what is going where and who is ordering what. With the help of a dashboard, you can see a display of all the marketplace and different courier channels in one place. Ensure not to miss anything that means you can have complete control of your business all the time.

Process orders 24*7*365

With an order management system, you can make full surety on your marketplaces that are staffed, even though you are not present. It means that orders coming in after you step away from your computer are beginning to get fulfilled by updating your inventory, obtaining payment, and building shipping labels. An order management system permits your business to build a strong reputation in the market with the help of order fulfillment speed and its availability.

How To Streamline Order Management With Cin7

It is no secret that repeat business is the biggest revenue stream for any organization regardless of its size and domain. This stands equally true for ecommerce, and quality of order fulfillment is one of the major drivers of customer loyalty.

There is hardly any physical interaction between consumers and retailers when it comes to ecommerce, and the delivery is where you can make or break customer loyalty. This is due to the fact that pricing and all other aspects are clearly defined, but despite making the payment, there is a waiting window before the customer actually receives the product.

Hence, you need to streamline all your orders to meet the fulfillment targets accurately, punctually, and of course, keep the product intact. You would also need to keep the buyer in the loop since tracking items ordered online is a standard feature across all leading online stores. That’s quite a huge number of processes on the backend, and there’s no way we can handle the operations manually.

Right from confirming the availability of the concerned item to confirming the shipping time and rate, reserving the item at the concerned storage facility, accepting payment, generating invoices are all basic prerequisites for order fulfillment. Providing data for order picking, product bundling, enabling real-time order tracking, and ensuring controlled environment conditions for certain items are also among the core order fulfillment process.

You might have noticed that each of these processes need to be in complete synchronization with each other, and they follow a cascading order. Thus, using an automation tool is essential for keeping your operations on track and providing an excellent customer experience.

If you are an ecommerce store looking forward to optimizing order management, Cin7 can help you streamline insights, processes, and people. Let us explore how Cin7 can boost your order fulfillment capabilities through its comprehensive set of features and functionalities:

How Does Cin7 Order Management System Work

Cin7 is a powerful ecommerce automation software with a comprehensive order management system (OMS) as a part of its feature-rich suite. It helps automate all order fulfillment processes and generates insights for future optimization purposes. It is integrated with other modules and your store frontend to facilitate gated data transfer among all stakeholders and the customer.

In the below section, we will have a look at its features to understand how Cin7 helps online retailers make the most of their businesses:

Cin7: Analyzing Its Order Management Features

To begin with, Cin7 keeps an updated track record of various insights within the organization. This includes inventory data, sales-related data, manpower availability at the picking and packaging stations, and coordination with the shipping partners. Along with these aspects, Cin7 also interweaves shipping, returns, and payment policies for the concerned item.

When a customer places an order on any of your selling channels, be it social selling, through affiliate programs, or through your ecommerce store, it is captured by Cin7. Our solution supports collecting customer information, and thus, you can generate user-centric insights for any special offers or add ons.

After successful payment processing, the item is removed from the available inventory, and the concerned warehouse staff is prompted regarding the sales details. Also, the customer is provided with the invoice and a tracking code for their shipment.

The storage facility staff is provided with a proper breakdown of the ordered items (in case of multiple orders), and if the items are located in more than one location, they are processed separately on both ends. If the customer prefers to receive them together, necessary provisions are made, but in case no such demand is made, they are shipped individually according to the respective delivery schedules.

Our OMS also considers any special packaging and handling requirements. Next, the delivery status is reflected on the customer’s profile under the section where their purchase history is mentioned. The OMS also keeps the shipping partner updated in case the customer has canceled their order.

However, you are given an option to either process the return request manually or through the automation workflow. The order management system also integrates with the software that handles customer reviews to generate feedback regarding the order fulfillment process.

An order management system is indeed a basic necessity for online sellers as they grow their business. As a rule of thumb, the complexity increases in direct proportion to your sales volume. Having an automation tool like Cin7 OMS helps scale up without any turbulence and helps nourish sustainable growth.

Order Management FAQs

Inventory management software moves ahead with uncomplicated record-keeping to offer the information and report required to make the best decisions. Inventory management software is used to reduce the cost of inventory and enhance customer service. Its primary goal is to assist in moving the right amount of stock at the right place and at the right time, and that too at a low cost.

Below-defined are some top frequently asked questions:

What are your business goals, and how will OMS assist you in winning them after you go live?

The flow of your order management process is streamlined and organized. But if you take a deeper look, you will get a complete understanding of what you will get in terms of benefits. Having full integration with your order management system will impact every part of your business, i.e., from order processing to CRM, inventory management, forecasting and purchasing, and complete customer experience. Point out the critical benefits, disadvantages, and difficulties for ensuring that you can obtain all of these goals without facing any hurdle.

What is inventory management software?

Inventory management software is a standalone software for keeping a count and tracking of inventory level, sales, shipping details, deliveries, and more.

Inventory management software covers replenishment and forecasting modules too. Forecasting helps balance the target service level or the awaited demand with the inventories kept in the incoming and stock supplies.

Replenishment feature in the software assists in finding out the safety stock levels required at points on the distribution chain for satisfying orders at the present fill rate. A subset is famous as an inventory optimization software that uses complex algorithms for recommending what is needed to stock and quantities for satisfying demand over the whole supply chain or at a particular location.

What are the primary order management process steps?

The primary steps of the order management process are defined below –

Availability of inventory

The sales team or customer checks whether the inventory is available or not by reviewing different services and products.

Order

Customers place orders over various channels like mobile, web, call center, marketplaces, stores, etc.

Verification

The sales team member or an automated system checks with the customer whether the order is placed and collecting or recording the date for the order, i.e., name, contact number, address, promotional codes, and email, etc.

Inventory promising

Team members or systems match the service or product for fulfilling the order.

Fulfillment

The team or product gets dispatched via a distribution channel like a ship-from-warehouse, distribution center, pickup-in-store, ship-from-store, online download, or a sales person that gives the item. Also, the fulfillment gets verified, and customers sign off for completing the service.

Service

Creating an appointment, exchanging or returning product, scheduling installation or delivery services. It may be your first step in the new business process, but it is also associated with order management.

What trends are connected with order management that makes the process complex?

Multichannel

Multiple locations or physical stores, call centers, online or digital channels for business and managing orders. Customer interactions and transactions are distinct to one and all channels.

Omnichannel

Customers seamlessly navigate across different channels for conducting business and the organizations’ ability to adjust processes for addressing customer expectations. For example – when a customer is buying on the web, changing the order for a call center and picking up the order in the physical store.

Computerized OMSs are evolving for handling the growing complexity and helping process orders efficiently and profitably.

What is distributed order management?

An order management system is the shared order management (DOM) capability, which allows an OMS to intelligently route orders to the optimum targets or resources for fulfillment. The document object model (DOM) is crucial for managing the business processes related to an order and delivering a smooth customer experience on different channels.

What strategies are you using for enhancing the customer experience for your business and brands?

Your order management system offers support beyond your omnichannel business for enhancing the customers’ outcomes. It may be through the error loss in accounting, delivery, shipping, and optimization in the availability of the inventory and order orchestration. It can assist in improving the turnaround times and boost the time spent on the CRM ( Customer Relationship Management).

How do you intend to lessen down your costs and enhance your margins in your business?

Your order management system provides you the tools for taking your savings one step ahead. Which of these savings offers you the best in your profitability drive?

  • Error loss by allowing more dynamic inventory availability and fulfillment optimization focused on the promise of the customer.
  • Software cost-cutting consolidates financial settlement triggers, customer service, inventory management, shipping, and marketing tools in a single package.
  • Diminish returns and losses via real-time data for explaining the current trends in product returns or failures.
  • Utilizing data for assessing your fulfillment and all types of shipping expenses for reducing the customer cost.