Unified Order Management Systems: A 2018 Imperative

By 2018, 250 percent more retailers will combine disparate or multiple platforms into one single, centralized order management system (OMS) to better achieved a unified omnichannel experience and improve internal processes, according to a survey by Boston Retail Partners (BRP), a retail and eCommerce consulting firm.

A centralized system combines in-store point-of-sale (POS), desktop shopping and shopping via mobile and tablet – with a seamless, cohesive experience for customers that shop via one or multiple channels.

Embracing Change

When the rise of eCommerce happened very quickly during the dot-com boom, many retailers rightfully rushed to get on board with the trend. The newly crowned retail royalty – buying online – proved to be lucrative for many brands. The quick growth of the market and quickly developed systems for OMS and warehouse management were difficult hurdles, however. Many companies on homegrown systems or other platforms quickly outgrew their platforms, and either augmented them with additional systems or overloaded their current system. This has made many retailers currently unable to keep up with the demands and pressures being placed on the OMS today.

Back orders and out-of-stocks are customer experience killers – finding the right OMS to bring all business units together in one centralized location with accurate inventory counts are crucial to staying competitive.

Finding a Forward-facing OMS

“Retailers need a single commerce platform to eliminate channel silos and a unified order management system may be the best answer.” – Ken Morris, Principal, Boston Retail Partners

Features like buy online, pickup in-store (BOPIS) used to be reserved for the big box retailers – the ones with the deepest pockets. But mid-market and smaller enterprise retailers are beginning to move to customizable order management systems, and learning that in-store pickup, and even in-store fulfillment, are no longer pipe dreams.  Not only are these features now accessible with order management systems like SmartStock360, they may save you operational costs and drive additional revenue. Fulfilling from physical store locations is like having hundreds of micro-warehouses. This can save revenue on warehouse space and manual labor – and give your customers the option to shop from every location from any channel.

The right OMS should also provide:

• Cross-channel inventory visibility
• Customer Experience personalization
• Supply Chain Visibility
• Flexible Delivery Options
• Flexible Framework for Customization

If you’re one of the 21% of retailers looking to implement a smarter order management system this year, let’s chat.