How to Pick the Best Order Management System for Your Ecommerce Store

Undoubtedly we can say that eCommerce has made online shopping experiences swift, simple, and convenient. Products available worldwide are now merely a click away and can be accessed from the comfort of your own home. But what is the procedure at the backend of an eCommerce store, from the time an order is placed until successful delivery?

Well, there are many set of logistics involved in providing a seamless shopping experience to a customer. An eCommerce store owner must ensure that products reach customers precisely and safely. An order management system facilitates this impeccable management flow within customer orders and delivery.

Historically speaking, order management depended on those clunky ERPs and manually-updated lengthy spreadsheets. These outdated processes, however, cannot support the demands of today’s brands and suppliers. Gone are the days of balancing customer orders through individual channels and communicating across departments in a scattered fashion.

To remain competitive, brands require flexible and scalable and highly adaptable solutions – the sort of operational technology that can scale according to demand and industry shifts. This is where an order management system plays a prime role.

Ecommerce order management is the backend process that manages and fulfils online orders. This entails everything from order routing and printing shipping labels to returns and even subscription management.

Order management systems (OMS) warrants automation and integration – across every action of the order course empowering brands to achieve uniform customer experiences on every channel. Ecommerce order management systems also facilitate operators to handle orders from multiple sales channels and go out of recurring fulfilment points. It enables automation between service providers and accumulates data inside a particular interface. Real-time data is at the centre of an efficient order management strategy.

An order management system aims to get a product into the customer’s hands as seamlessly as possible and maintains each item ordered by the customer. Starting from the time it goes into their cart to the moment it arrives on their doorstep – and any returns that may occur.

Few of the activities that are tracked and handled by an order management system include:

•  Accepting orders and process payments
• Updating the accounting system, generating invoices, looking after the various accounting transactions
• Assigning a warehouse the responsibility to deliver based on the location and proximity of the customer
• Providing order details to warehouses
• Updating inventory levels across different channels
• Tracking orders for the customers
• And forecasting stock levels based on current order frequency to avoid any shortage in the future

How to Decide the Best Order Management System for Your Business

Determining the most suitable order management system eCommerce can be challenging, and it must not be taken lightly if you don’t want to waste revenue. Consider the following points in mind when you are choosing the best Order Management System for your business:

• Integration – Your OMS must integrate with your eCommerce platform seamlessly, and you shouldn’t need to alter your website’s backend structure just to fit into the system. Usually, most order management systems are intended to integrate with all eCommerce platforms out there quickly.
• Supplier Consideration – Your OMS should make purchasing your products from suppliers more relaxed and clarify complex supply chain procedures. Your inventory and records should get updated soon after products have been received.
• Scalability – As an eCommerce company develops, its sales, suppliers, need for inventory, sales channels, etc. advance. An OMS system should supervise all these aspects if your online store needs to expand. It is crucial to determine what functionality your business necessitates now and what could change in the future.
• Automation – The entire purpose of getting an OMS is to automate tiresome order management tasks so that you can focus on advancing your business. An OMS helps automate manual tasks like sending orders to warehouses, updating reports, generating invoices, tracking orders, etc.
  Make sure to properly read through your OMS’s features and estimate how many are automated tasks and how many will have to be done manually.
• Reports & Forecasting – Besides sending orders and updating information, an OMS should communicate your revenue trend. It should anticipate and recognize issues that you could face (such as stock shortage) so that you’re able to plan for them ahead of time.
• Customer-centric Activities – Many e-stores deliver to customers worldwide, so surely there will be differences in language, taxation procedure, etc. An OMS can minimize any difficulty in handling all these differences and support all to contribute to a more enjoyable customer experience.
• Production Process – Often production processes are very likely to alter. Maybe you realize that a particular order model is more suitable for the holiday seasons, or perhaps you start offering unique products for customers who’re searching for more customization.
  Despite your production flow change, you need a system that can adapt to your business, and support you in whichever way you drive your business. A flexible order management system makes it straightforward to transform your business processes, handle inventory and custom orders while allowing you to make edits to customers’ demands on the move.
  An order management system is a direction to the future in the eCommerce world. It’s the most reliable method for providing a faster, more personalized, and an error-free order fulfilment experience customers have come to expect.

Conclusion

As an eCommerce retailer, you continuously have to think faster and more streamlined. That goes for not just your Order Management System but also for the various customer touchpoints on your e-commerce website itself. Allow our team of experts today at Anblik Web Development Company to provide a consultation to discuss your e-commerce website requirements!