Order Management System Guide

Looking for order management system? Check this guide to find out why you need, benefits and features of order management system.

It is quite a stress and a challenge to complete the process of sending an order from the customer placing it to delivery. It is not easy to handle every step inside an order manually.

This is where the order management system becomes a gem. It allows the entire process to flow smoothly and both the parties are able to track the process easily.

Here’s a complete guide on the order management system that you really need to go through to make the work of your business or company more easy.

What is an order management system?

An order management system is a software that acts as a centralized hub which is designed to automate and manage the entire process of orders on an ecommerce business.

It has the ability of tracking inventory, processing orders, managing shipments, handling payments and invoices and providing real time analytics.

It is also integrated with different sales channels and also can handle stock management across multiple locations and warehouses automatically.

This system can also provide insights which is helpful in identifying areas to improve and take more valuable decisions on the business. The main goal of this is to improve the customer satisfaction by fulfilling orders in an accurate and a timely manner.

Features Of An Order Management System

Automated sales process

This feature is designed to automate all the steps of the order procedure. This feature uses the automated technology that allows the business to automate all the routines that will increase the efficiency. This also reduces the manual errors.

The customer management and lead capture capability of this process helps in updating the customer data. It also plays an important role in sales management by sending quotations, managing orders, tracking the transaction status and the shipping process.

It also provides real time insight of the sales performances that allows them to make positive decisions. By this, a business is able to track the sales trends, forecast the future sales and monitor the team.

Inventory

An OMS simplifies the inventory management while automating it. This is done by tracking the inventory levels in real time across different sales channels.

The real time inventory tracking avoids the stockouts and ensures that the products are always available to complete orders. The forecast of future demands can also be tracked by the historical records of the sales and trends.

Businesses are able to reorder products in advance by looking at the automatically updating inventory. This will save them from running out of things.

The barcode scanning integration of an OMS helps to accurately track the inventory. It is important as it reduces errors while saving time.

Customer Relationship Management

This is a key component of an OMS that is designed to improve the overall customer support.

The customer profiles can be managed in an automated system including the information such as contacts, ordering history, most bought products and how often they shop. By managing these details well, businesses can offer personalized support to customers where it helps to create a strong relationship.

This also helps to manage the order from the beginning to the end. This system will keep the customer informed about every single step. The automated communication systems such as email and sms can also be used to do this.

Sales Automation

Sales automation can automatically complete many manual tasks of the sales process and can help businesses to achieve significant time and cost savings.

The confirmation, invoicing and tracking is automated in this system. By this, the risk of errors will be reduced. This can also suggest products to customers when they make purchases. This is known as cross selling and it can be effective in increasing sales and profits.

It can also track revenue, conversion rates, and customer activity. From this, businesses are able to identify trends and patterns of the sales and adjust the strategies accordingly. The businesses are also able to forecast future sales and get prepared for the next phase of marketing.

Shipping and receiving

Increased customer satisfaction is the result of good shipping and receiving procedures, which guarantee that orders are delivered and items are received in a timely manner.

An OMS is able to integrate with different carriers where it is able to compare shipping costs and the delivery times. This will also create labels and slips automatically that reduces the errors and shipping times.

Customers can also track their orders and check the shipment status of their orders. On the other hand, this feature is also able to manage receivals and returns.

Tracking

An effective tracking system enhances the overall customer experience of a business. This also allows the business to internally track the orders. It provides an up to date information list from ordering to the delivery of the goods.

This feature can be used to monitor the progress of orders and identify and resolve any issues or delays that will help to increase the customer satisfaction and reduce the number of inquiries and complaints about the order status.

This has a dashboard where the status of all the orders are displayed. It gives a comprehensive view of all the orders and enables the business to take quick and effective decisions on orders management.

The customer will also receive automated emails on the order process and the estimated delivery dates. And the customer doesn’t need to panic if the shipment is a bit delayed.

Payment

An OMS integrates with multiple payment gateways to process the payments. This enables the business to accept payments from multiple sources and provides the customers with a selection of payment methods.

It also automates the payment processing automated payments and with real time authorization. It simplifies the process and reduces the manual data entry errors.

It also ensures a secured transaction process and helps reduce the risk of fraudulent transactions making it safe for both the business and the customers.

An OMS supports multiple currencies enabling the business to do international transactions. The payments will also be accurately recorded while reducing the number of errors in the process.

Reporting

A good OMS should allow businesses to create custom reports on different aspects of their operations such as sales, order completion, inventory management etc. It allows businesses to design customized reports based on their specific needs.

The reports can also relate to order management that can include status of the order, order volume, returns, cancellations and more. It can help a business to identify the bottlenecks in the order fulfillment process and identify areas that should be improved.

The revenue reports can provide businesses with insights into purchasing patterns and most popular products. This can be used in improving customer engagement and experience.

Benefits of an order management system

Implementing an OMS offers so many benefits to a business that allows it to be at a higher level in competition and keep up with the demands of the customers. Here are some of the benefits of an OMS.

Better customer experience

This system will provide a seamless and an efficient process by enabling a fast, transparent and an accurate purchase process. The other features like tracking and return process can enhance the customer experience and encourage return customers.

Improved inventory management

Tracking inventory and automating restocking processes of an OMS will help the businesses to maintain the inventory. This will reduce the risk of stockouts and overstocks. Both of these can negatively impact the profits of a business.

Multi channel order processing

An OMS can process orders from different sales channels within one place. Online stores, marketplaces, physical stores are some of the examples. It allows to merge the order management process, avoid duplicate orders and maintain inventory in an accurate way across all the channels.

Improved communication

Features such as automated updates, tracking orders and notifications of an OMS system can be helpful for a business to communicate in an effective manner with the customers. This will be helpful in improving customer satisfaction and also reduces inquiry support that are related to the orders.

Cost reduction

A business can reduce the operating cost by automating many processes that are done manually by using an OMS system. It can also improve operational efficiency, reduce excess waste and goods, reduce errors and minimize the maintenance cost of multiple systems that are used for inventory and order management.

An order management system in overall can bring so many benefits to any type of a business. It can be helpful in optimizing the order management process, improving the communication between customers and the business, streamline the order fulfillment, reduce cost and gain valuable insights.

With the increment of the demand for online shopping and multi-channel based sales this has become an essential tool for a business to thrive against the competition. Businesses are also able to offer a seamless customer experience, maintain inventory in an accurate level and reduce the errors by using an OMS.

Choosing the correct OMS for a business can be quite challenging. But with careful consideration of needs and the priorities, a correct platform can be found according to the requirements. Whether it’s a small business or a large business, an order management system can be helpful in so many ways.

Contact Blue Lotus 360 a leading ERP solution providers in UK if you are looking for order management system.