Order Management

An Order Management System (OMS) streamlines and automates a company’s sales and services process, from order creation and fulfillment to delivery and after-order support. As a standalone solution or an integrated application, an OMS provides non-inventory-carrying companies visibility into all transactions, available inventory, costs, order times, vendor relationships, and more. An OMS—as part of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution—can seamlessly integrate with a customer relationship management (CRM) application, allowing easy management of all customer-related activities, including converting opportunities into sales.

Today’s consumers not only have plenty of products and services from which to choose, but they also have plenty of shopping options. Brick-and-mortar stores and online sellers or physical stores that also sell via a website—also known as “omnichannel selling”—compete for their business, and retailers and distributors must be able to receive, fulfill, and monitor their sales orders quickly and accurately. With an OMS, they can.

An OMS provides businesses with a centralized platform for managing sales activities, whether from a single selling channel or from multiple selling channels. All sales orders enter a single portal, triggering a pre-set and automated order process.

Though simple in explanation, the order process has many moving parts and behind-the-scenes requirements. Efficiently and managing these requirements (e.g., inventory control, requisitioning, cost allocation, approvals, invoicing, reporting, sales orders, and more) in one place is possible with the right OMS.

The benefits of implementing an OMS stretch from the initial ease of taking an order through enabling smooth after-sales support. Specific OMS benefits include:

• Reducing Order Times: Automated sales order processing and shipping order generation eliminates errors, simplifies data entry, and improves order timeframes, as do predetermined rules for returns, credit limits, and more.

• Simplifying Pricing and Discounts: Pricing rules and polices established within the system, including setting up quantity and volume discounts by percent or amount and in single or multiple currencies, simplifies the pricing and discount process.

• Saving Time with Automation: With one click, users eliminate paperwork and save time by utilizing an OMS to automatically generate purchase orders, turn an approved quote into a sales order, verify credit limits, email vendor requests, convert opportunities into sales orders, consolidate invoices, check delivery status, and more.

• Knowing True Costs: Real-time information and comprehensive reporting—with drill-down capabilities—assists in tracking and controlling costs across the entire supply and distribution chain.

• Managing Activities from a Centralized Solution: With role-based dashboards, sales and purchasing managers and shipping and receiving clerks have the information they need to manage their specific activities. Side panels provide them with direct access to customer, vendor, items, and order detail information.

Altogether, the benefits of an OMS add up to a productive and profitable business that meets—and exceeds—customer expectations.

“Because our inventory system is in the same system as our distribution [Acumatica], we are able to receive products in real time and then sell it the second we receive it. Order cancellations and order edits all happen in that very moment. And distribution is a lot smoother because we have one place for everyone to go to get all the answers they need. How much stock do we have? How much did we ship? How much product did we receive this month? We’re able to get that data really quickly.” – Jessica Yutrzenka, Supply Chain and Operations Manager, Clive Coffee