Today’s get-up-and-go business environment is so fast that businesses require modern technologies to improve speed and proficiency, streamline the order fulfillment process, and lower expenditure.
Enterprise-level order management software (OMS) has essential benefits such as optimized order management, inventory visibility, automation, and enhanced customer experiences.
However, OMS becomes fun when you don’t have to sweat it out, skimming through many spreadsheets to get the right information. This comprehensive guide highlights some of the best tools to manage and track orders.
What is Order Management Software?
Before we understand OMS, we should know the process. Order management is a business practice that involves capturing, tracking, and fulfilling customer orders. OMS begins when a customer orders and ends when they receive their package.
Order management systems are computer software enterprises use to facilitate order entry and processing. An impeccable order means achieving the customer’s specifications while fulfilling them and delivering their goods according to the agreed terms and conditions.
OMS is designed to automate and expedite the order fulfillment process, reducing the time spent in the order-to-cash cycle while refining order process efficiency for wholesalers and suppliers.
Enterprises that use order management systems can enter and convert quotes or orders, put a tab on their stock levels, interrogate past invoices to discover trends, confirm shipping preferences, and modify prices in one stroke.
Modern order management systems are designed with different functionalities, including integrating features like billing software, subscription management, or CRM software.
However, the exact product you get will depend upon the services you’re interested in and what roles you want to fulfill. As a rule of thumb, a product qualifies to be included in the OMS category when it can:
- Offer real-time stock levels and inventory availability
- Facilitate order fulfillment via entering and converting quotes or orders
- Automatically appraise shipping preferences, including carriers and their rates or insurance options
- Track orders form to pick up, invoicing to delivery
Benefits of Using Efficient Order Management Software
Every enterprise worth the ink its name is written on needs an efficient and reliable OMS to retain a competitive edge and perform at the level the current market demands.
Implementing order management solutions offers different benefits for businesses operating in a market that is becoming increasingly digital. Among the most prominent benefits of using order management software include the following:
#1. Reduce Inventory Cost
OMS automates processes and simplifies the process of inventory management, meaning users can easily move stock from one location to another via simple scanning steps for replenishing.
The user only needs to set rules to automate orders during packing by specifying triggers like weight and value, delivery options, and others, thereby rendering manual processes and the long time spent on them irrelevant.
#2. Get Orders Quicker and Accurately
OMS eliminates the need to monitor orders manually, providing real-time updates received as orders are dispatched. The systems are cloud-based, allowing users to track the progress of their outstanding orders, thereby removing the need for hosting capabilities since they can retrieve the information from anywhere and at any time.
#3. Streamlined Warehouse Operations
OMS enables users to have a complete overview of their warehouse and the entire inventory creating an easy-to-use platform that’s accessible from anywhere, all the time, and provides real-time updates on all orders and shipments.
Some of OMS’s notable features include mobile barcode scanning, warehouse capacity maps, detailed inventory tracking, and multi-warehouse support.
#4. Eliminate Paperwork
Switching to cloud-based order management software that users can access from anywhere with internet connectivity means eliminating the need for paperwork. Once you digitize documentation, you work easier and save time and space, besides making the transfer of information easier.
Moreover, unlike manual paper systems, digitization eliminates the possibility of lost documents, thereby boosting security. Using OMS also means reducing or eliminating costs associated with buying paper, ink, printers, and postage in addition to employee time spent on repetitive tasks.
#5. Customized Reporting and Documents
Order management systems allow you to create comprehensive reports using flexible formats that are compatible with modern e-commerce channels.
The ability to customize your reports in line with your business requirements brings the confidence that only power reporting tools can avail of besides removing the lengthy traditional processes of sending and receiving reports.
#6. Avoid Stock-outs by Updating Channels
Poor inventory management is one of the main causes of stressed employees, unhappy customers, and a dent in profits. A good OMS can integrate stock levels with internal e-commerce channels meaning that sales channels remain up-to-date.
OMS platforms can integrate marketplaces and shopping carts, meaning users can manage all their e-commerce platforms on the same platforms.
#7. Straight Forward Invoicing
Manual billing and invoicing rank among the most tedious tasks for most enterprises, and using OMS introduces clear and transparent billing and invoicing systems.
Easy billing and invoicing that breaks down fulfillment, shipping, packaging, and storage costs enable partnering logistics and fulfillment while removing the risks of duplicating data entry. Moreover, order management software can also integrate accounting systems, facilitating seamless import and export invoicing.
#8. Simplify Complex Orders
With order management systems, there are no more complex orders because the best OMS are equipped with dashboards that help users perform the most advanced orders based on the present conditions.
The systems can simplify orders by carrying out tasks like creating personalized messaging, labeling specific goods according to size or geographical destinations, or holding orders for review.
Features to Look for in Order Management Software
Since OMS systems are meant to enable enterprises to manage the entire business fulfillment processes like collection, inventory, reporting to delivery availability and visibility, some of the features to look for should include the following:
✅ Automated sales processes: It should automate tracking of all aspects of sales, payments, and delivery status.
✅ Inventory control: Ability to automatically control inventory levels and reorder when stocks run low.
✅ Customer relationship management: Manages the entire customers journey from generation to retention.
✅ Sales automation: Can automate ordering products, handle payments and communicate with customers.
✅ Shipping and receiving: Offer visibility of receipts and shipments while providing real-time updates and alerts on emerging issues.
✅ Document tracking: Can track all documents as they move through the entire production and sales pipeline.
✅ Advanced reporting: Able to analyze performance reports on customers, orders, or sales channels and identify areas that need improvement
✅ Mobile apps: The availability of mobile apps means you can access OMS while moving.
Now, we will look into the best order management software.
Zoho
Considered one of the most versatile order management systems, Zoho offers a range of features, including payment processing, shipping tracking, inventory management, invoice management, batch and serial number tracking multi-warehouse management, and automation.
Zoho also helps users create back orders, purchase orders, and drip shipments, among other features.
New users are allowed to take advantage of the company’s free two-hour training and onboarding session that includes tailor-made demos based on individual businesses and workflow.
The OMS, most suitable for emerging and growing enterprises, comes with different paid plans beginning at $59 monthly but billed annually for up to 1,500 orders per month and $329 monthly but billed annually for up to 25,000 orders. Moreover, there’s a free plan for users who process less than 50 orders monthly.
Salesforce
The Salesforce OMS has all the basic features of an order management system. Since it’s cloud-based, it can effectively deploy all of its cloud products.
Among the popular processes, the tool facilitates automating manual order processing, synchronizing inventory checks, and managing shipping schedules and complex orders.
Better still, Salesforce OMS can track online orders, streamline order fulfillment, prevent out-of-sock issues, offer analytical reports for effective decision-making, and route orders to the nearest fulfillment center or warehouse.
Extensiv
With Extensiv OMS, you can unify your backend data from orders, points of sale, and inventory to sell directly to everywhere from one location, besides automating all labor-intensive tasks and receiving actionable data.
Extensiv users can integrate various sales channels and shipping carriers like Magento, BigCommerce, Shopify, eBay, USPS, DHL e-Commerce, Sears, Newegg, Fedex, and UPS Mail innovations, to name a few.
The cloud-based OMS brings all your enterprise-grade operations, including designating warehouses, printing shipping labels, fulfilling multi-channel orders, or rerouting orders from a single interface.
You can improve your expense control, revenue generation, and other operational efficiencies using real-time insights offered by the Extensiv OMS.
Aptos
Aptos OMS is renowned for its ability to unify commerce solutions from running orders to order management. The system’s core capabilities, especially for retailers, include increasing order volumes through enhanced order visibility, store fulfillment order routing and orchestration, and enhanced customer service.
Aptos provides a cloud-based solution that enables utilizing enterprise-wide inventory stock positions to prioritize customer-centered decisions leading to increased profitability.
Among the tool’s prominent features include a mobile store fulfillment app that matches escalating customer demands with store inventory and picks up in-store online purchases and store-to-store or ship-from-store orders.
VTEX
VTEX OMS is an omnichannel order management tool that specializes in virtually unifying a company’s stocks, thereby increasing the availability of products via mobile apps, tokens, physical stores, and virtual stores, among other channels, and eventually generating more sales.
Moreover, VTEX facilitates the creation of multiple fulfillment points in strategic stores such that there’s smoother delivery and a perfect shopping experience for customers.
Regarding integrations, VTEX OMS integrates stock from all your inventories to create an infinite shelf for customers, thereby increasing efficiency for the company’s logistics and trading operations.
The result is improved agility and efficiency for deadlines and better delivery from physical and online sales channels since customers can easily see your inventory before purchasing.
ShipStation
ShipStation is an OMS designed specifically for users that love simple tools without all the bells and whistles. While it’s mostly used for shipping and order fulfillment, ShipStation provides functionalities for basic inventory and order management solutions.
Among the key features of this software are enabling the importation and management of orders, sending tracking information to customers and sales channels, and printing labels.
Moreover, you can always request a tailor-made demo through their website, especially whether you’re just starting out in business or an old hand needing clarifications.
The OMS’ pricing plans begin at $9.99 monthly for at least 50 shipments per month to up to $229.99 for up to 7,500 loads per month.
Kyte
Kyte OMS is a dedicated point-of-sale app comprising an in-built mobile order-taking system. It enables users to create a digital catalog they can integrate into their social media platforms or send to customers. Whenever someone places an order, Kyte will send a push notification to a user’s phone so they can fulfill it immediately.
Moreover, the OMS user can also use the platform to map their operations or create statuses like “being prepared”, “confirmed”, or “ready for shipment” for each order.
The tool’s orders dashboard is designed to help users keep tabs on all their orders on a single screen with its numerous filters making it easy to create specific insights for tracking operations. Kyte is a perfect fit for businesses like restaurants requiring mobile POSs to sell directly to clients.
Orderhive
If you’re looking for a fast and easy-to-use order management tool for online orders, make Orderhive your destination. This platform is designed to facilitate the management of orders from all a user’s online sales platforms on one location as it integrates WooCommerce, Magento, Shopify, BigCommerce, Amazon, and Etsy, among others.
Orderhive is chockfull of amazing features, including sales tracking – you can view total revenue for all sales channels, inventory management – easily track suppliers and update them automatically, or set automatic reordering to activate as soon as inventory levels reach a pre-specified threshold.
QuickBooks Commerce
QuickBooks Commerce is a fully loaded multi-channel OMS designed to help online businesses combine point of sale, inventory management, marketing automation, customer relationship management, and more at one location. Most interesting is that the tool is easy to set up and run in a matter of hours.
QuickBooks Commerce features an intuitive mobile app that ensures users can manage their entire business while on the move and from multiple devices.
With this tool, you can manage existing orders and create new ones, invoice numbers, or a complete sales history for individual customers and their purchased products.
Kibo
Kibo OMS is your modern cloud-based order management platform if you’re interested in automating the process of running your business, as it helps with issues like inventory visibility, order management, and fulfillment orchestration.
Kibo OMS is still developing its distributed order management (DOM) capabilities to facilitate merchants’ desire to configure complex orders or aggregate suppliers at high speed and minimal costs.
The key features of Kibo include email notifications, label printing, a drag-and-drop interface, catalogue management, and trend monitoring, among others.
Moreover, the tool enables supervisors to give clients multiple shipping methods or use a built-in WYSIWYG editor to manage website content and tailor customers’ specifications as per their preferences. The tool also offers integrations with numerous third-party applications.
Final Words
We’ve interrogated several order management solutions, and since each one has its specific ups and downs, you want to choose one that helps you automate your manual, repetitive tasks.
After checking the features offered by every one of them, your best candidate should be the one designed for your specific business ecosystem, whether you’re a small or large enterprise, after analyzing your needs.
Next, check out the complete guide to eCommerce.
