Order Management has been greatly enhanced with the advent of the Order Management Software / OMS System which is an advanced order and inventory tool to automate much of the ordering and inventory management within a business that is stock heavy and has multiple suppliers.
What Does an OMS System Actually Do?
For a distributor or Retailer that has several suppliers and several sales channels the order management and inventory management processes can be very complicated, especially as stock count and SKU counts increase and order volume boom.
An OMS system integrates the point of sale whether retail, ecommerce or via non-EDI sources into the inventory and receivables system. This enables synchronization of the order process and inventory warehouses for end to end visibility of order processing for all parties. It also allows for integration of several sales channels. The software has the main advantages of reduce the amount of manual data entry, reducing errors and costs, and integrating EDI directly with other systems including accounting and back-office software.
Efficiencies Created by an OMS System
There are several efficiencies achieved by an OMS System. First of all there is improved inventory control and order management, through the synchronization of multi order types and inventory statuses to match customer demand and ensure accurate management of each order. Inventory is visible end to end for suppliers, distributors, retailers and even the end consumer placing a retail order on any sales channel. Inventory levels are real time and demand statistics, and sales data is easily reported to make decisions on new product lines or re-ordering of product lines. Inventory can be allocated so no duplicate orders cause problems. Product costs can be calculated end to end with costs allocated across the order system.
Order processing can be integrated with EDI to link order and inventory management with EDI solutions from several sources allowing for greater inventory control, efficiencies of scale and enhanced order processing. Manual data entry is reduced or eliminated by integration of the EDI data into accounting software. Customer fulfilment is optimised with end to end order management being more flexible to support bulk orders to commercial customers as well as single SKU fulfilment to domestic addresses. Inventory reports showing stock levels are available at any time.
Information available to any user can be filter or managed to show them what is necessary, important or permitted. Therefore suppliers and major customers can have access to the OMS system giving them direct access to monitor orders or even order themselves directly into the system. Documents can be shared with users as well as real time notifications sent to desktop, tablets or smart phones to inform a user of order status or stock levels for example. Filters can be applied to data so that the senior management team can assess trading partnerships, sales information and product profitability.
The result is a seamless shopping experience for the end consumer, a most cost efficient business model for the distributor, and a more profitable and easy to manage transparent system for the supplier.
