An Order Management System (OMS) is a must-have tool for businesses to track orders (from placement to delivery), centralize data, and cut errors. It simplifies inventory management, order fulfillment, and customer communication by creating a structured workflow—reducing rework and boosting efficiency. Whether you’re fulfilling online orders, shipping in-store purchases, or scaling from a small retailer to a large enterprise, OMS adapts to handle complex order flows seamlessly. Learn how OMS works to unlock data-driven decisions, elevate customer experience, and drive business outcomes without the chaos.
What is OMS
An Order Management System (OMS) is your go-to tool for handling orders from start to finish—purchase, delivery, returns, you name it. It cuts errors and delays by keeping everything (like inventory and shipments) in one place. It’s a lifesaver for pure-play retailers: manage online orders, ensure packages arrive on time, and simplify brick-and-mortar returns without headaches.
OMS plays nice with e-commerce platforms, payment gateways, and logistics providers—no more juggling tools! Need real-time stock checks? It syncs with your warehouse system (WMS). Want happy customers? It shares live tracking updates via shipping partners. Whether you’re a small shop or a big player, OMS keeps your workflow smooth.
Key Features of OMS
A good OMS will provide real-time order tracking, complete visibility into inventory, and real-time updates. When used effectively, these place-keeping tools allow businesses to take back some control over their future. Additionally, real-time data becomes crucial in managing these inventories, allowing organizations to make swift changes to prevent stockouts or overstocking.
For example, a wholesaler might use an OMS to track available inventory across various warehouses and quickly adjust to shifts in demand.
The easy-to-navigate dashboard takes first prize, however. Businesses can fulfill orders from various channels—like e-commerce sites and brick-and-mortar stores—from one central dashboard. That level of consistency is key to keeping those complex operations running smoothly and keeping pace with ever-growing customer demands.
Symphony OMS seamlessly integrates regulatory compliance into your workflow—no extra steps, no headaches. Like a trusted co-pilot, it runs pre- and post-execution transaction checks using industry standards such as the FIX protocol (Financial Information Exchange). Imagine it quietly double-checking every order for you, ensuring rules are followed, audits stay painless, and your team can focus on what matters: growing your business with zero compliance worries.
How OMS Works
Understanding how an Order Management System (OMS) operates can clarify its impact on streamlining business operations and improving customer experience. Below, we’ll outline the process and its key steps to discuss its most essential elements in depth.
Order Placement Process
The order management process begins with customers, who place orders through multiple channels. They can complete their transactions through a website, a mobile app, or in-store kiosks.
During this step, the OMS records essential order information, including the products, quantities, and customer information. It also ensures that everything is logged correctly.
After that, the OMS checks the order specifics to reduce mistakes. This involves scanning for incorrect shipping addresses, partial payment details, or product availability discrepancies. Better and more thorough validation upfront means less friction and more efficient processing.
Gathering customer data is critical at the time of placement. The user’s contact information, preferred delivery method, and payment details are safely stored. This information is used to tailor communications and experiences and provides a consistent, trusted line of communication from start to finish.
Order Tracking and Fulfillment
One of the best features of an OMS is that consumers can track the status of their orders, from confirmation to delivery. For instance, an online shopper can track the status of their package shipment right from the retailer’s website or mobile app.
Beyond automating order processing, OMS systems help automate the fulfillment process, making tasks like picking, packing, and shipping more efficient and faster. Automation minimizes human error, so orders reach customers quicker and more accurately.
With shipping notifications, you can help build a positive, transparent, and trustworthy customer experience.
Inventory Management Integration
An OMS integrates easily with inventory systems, giving you and your customers real-time visibility into stock levels. It notifies companies when inventory is getting low, avoiding potential stockouts.
Secondly, it helps sync order volume with inventory level to prevent overstocking. If a warehouse runs low on stock, the OMS can reroute orders to a different location with more stock.
Combining all inventory and order data in one system allows for more thoughtful analysis. Retailers can identify demand trends, better manage inventory levels, and have true visibility across all sales channels and fulfillment/stock locations.
Some OMS solutions—including Manhattan Active Order Management—reach 99% or higher inventory accuracy rates.
Benefits of Using OMS
The advantages of utilizing an Order Management System (OMS) for e-commerce businesses are numerous and help to drive accuracy, efficiency, and customer satisfaction.
Here’s a closer look at how it makes a difference:
Improved Order Accuracy
An OMS reduces the risk of manual errors by automating critical process steps from order to fulfillment. For instance, the system automatically receives and processes order information from the sales channel. This removes the burden of having staff enter the data manually.
Automated validation checks ensure orders are complete and accurate before they move forward in the pipeline. This method eliminates many issues like incorrect shipping addresses or items not showing up.
This precision establishes trust with customers, knowing they will get exactly what they ordered with no surprises. Over time, repeat, reliable service helps build your reputation and customers’ confidence in you.
Enhanced Customer Experience
With an OMS, customers can get real-time updates on the status of their orders. This means order status updates, like confirmation emails, shipping notifications, and in-transit delivery tracking.
This transparency reduces customer service queries, streamlining the shopping experience and adding to the bottom line. Crucially, OMS supports a variety of fulfillment methods—order online, pick up in-store, return anywhere—meeting customers wherever they are in their shopping journey.
A seamless experience builds long-term loyalty, leading to more repeat purchases and word-of-mouth referrals.
Streamlined Business Operations
An OMS makes managing orders from every channel easy, bringing them all together within a single platform. Automation handles repetitive work, continuously updating inventory and rerouting orders to optimize f. This allows staff to focus on more strategic endeavors.
The system also contributes to more efficient resource use by improving demand planning and stock management. By minimizing mistakes and streamlining processes, companies can increase cash flow and boost profits.
Common Components of OMS
An Order Management System (OMS) has many different components. These pieces increase efficiency across order lifecycles, order accuracy, and customer satisfaction.
Here’s a closer look at its most essential components with real-world benefits and real-world uses.
| Component | Description |
| Order Processing Module | Automates order entry, tracking, and updates. |
| Inventory Management Module | Monitors stock levels and ensures accurate fulfillment. |
| Analytics and Reporting Tools | Tracks performance, trends, and operational insights. |
Order Processing Module
It handles the entire process, from receiving purchase orders to providing customers with order status updates and tracking shipments. By automating these steps, this module saves a significant amount of time, up to 30 minutes per order, by reducing costly and time-consuming manual entry errors.
When a restaurant customer orders online, the OMS goes to work. It immediately logs the information, verifies inventory counts, and provides confirmation notifications. This improvement allows customers to receive the items they want when they want them, contributing to a better customer experience.
Inventory Management Module
This powerful module eliminates 100% inventory guesswork regardless of the channel by syncing real-time stock levels. It also connects holistically with distribution centers, brick-and-mortar stores, and digital commerce to mitigate overstocks and understocks.
When a customer chooses to pick up an item in-store after ordering online, the OMS instantly verifies that stock. This guarantees a seamless, more efficient experience for the customer.
Today’s customers want this flexibility and seamless buying, receiving, and returning experiences.
Analytics and Reporting Tools
Analytics tools included with an OMS give businesses a clearer picture of performance metrics such as order trends, delivery times, customer preferences, and more. Businesses can locate potential bottlenecks, forecast demand, and enhance operations.
For example, a retailer can use reporting data to stock more popular items during peak seasons, ensuring faster fulfillment and higher customer satisfaction.
Types of OMS
Standalone OMS
A standalone Order Management System (OMS) is entirely separate from any other system, only managing orders independently. It’s excellent for companies with simple requirements like order tracking, inventory management, and return processing.
For example, a small online retailer might use a standalone OMS to handle orders from their website without integrating it with external platforms. These systems are simple to implement and operate. They provide a cost-effective option for enterprises with fewer technical capabilities.
However, they may lack the advanced features to support complex operations like multi-channel order fulfillment or real-time inventory updates.
Integrated OMS
A truly integrated OMS goes beyond this and connects seamlessly with other systems. This means Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and other warehouse operations.
This OMS is essential for larger enterprises running complex operations across multiple channels. For instance, a retail chain can use an integrated OMS to sync online orders with in-store inventory, ensuring accurate fulfillment.
Here, distributed order management (DOM) is a backbone, operating on order fulfillment logic (OFL) to streamline processes and maximize efficiency. For instance, it can filter inventory by distance or stock levels to simplify order fulfillment.
Other platforms, like IBM Sterling and Manhattan OMS, provide strong solutions, but their expense typically limits them to larger enterprises.
Cloud-Based OMS
Cloud-based OMS platforms offer increased flexibility and scalability, making them an ideal option for businesses of any size or industry. They enable users to work from any location anytime, enabling remote work and global business operations.
These platforms are already loaded with state-of-the-art features. With real-time reporting, companies can better monitor critical performance indicators (KPIs) and improve delivery times.
An agile, cloud-based OMS gives omnichannel e-commerce businesses the tools they need to compete with same-day delivery. In reality, 41%-61% of consumers are willing to pay more for such a service.
Additionally, store associates can fulfill and ship store orders directly, creating efficiencies in the process. This flexibility makes them an excellent option for businesses experiencing increased logistics demands.
Choosing the Right OMS
Assess Business Needs
Take the time to figure out what your business needs. If you have an ecommerce business, you can simplify your ecommerce operations with an Order Management System (OMS). It streamlines manual processes, takes orders, and seamlessly manages the supply chain and order fulfillment.
This reduces errors, sure, but more importantly, it saves time. Whether you sell thousands of different products or millions of SKUs, an OMS gives you visibility into your best-selling products and SKUs. That knowledge allows you to bring in new stock to maximize your returns.
Determine if you need to integrate with third-party logistics (3PL) providers. Your decision here will significantly impact your ability to scale down the road. Mapping out each feature you want upfront will ensure your chosen OMS can grow with your business.
Compare Features and Costs
Each OMS offers unique features and pricing tiers. Look for one that integrates seamlessly with your existing systems, including your CRM and any third-party fulfillment center you may use. Without this integration, you’ll struggle to provide your customers with timely, nearly real-time updates.
Giving them advanced notice is key to keeping your customers happy and well-informed. According to Narvar’s research, 72% of shoppers consider on-time delivery an essential factor in deciding where to shop. See how brands like Dove and Brompton Bikes use tools like Veeqo to remain competitive by providing reliability and efficiency.
Keep cost vs. Value in mind to prevent unnecessary spending.
Evaluate Scalability and Support
Just like your business, your OMS needs to be able to grow alongside it. Scalability becomes essential to increase your product offerings, add warehouses, or reach new markets. Consider whether the system is built to manage intricate logistics like 3PL partnerships or is more equipped for basic operations.
Reliable customer support is equally vital. A difficult-to-diagnose OMS can grind your operations to a grinding halt. Seek out vendors with proven experience and success in bringing businesses to a higher level of operation with less friction.
Challenges in Implementing OMS
Integration with Existing Systems
Another major challenge in rolling out an OMS is integrating your existing systems. You have to ensure that all of these moving parts play nicely with each other. Most companies are still operating on siloed data and ERP systems that are not integrated.
On the operational side, you may have one tool for inventory, another for shipping, and another for customer service. When these systems fail to connect, it results in unnecessary inventory, expensive backorders, and disruption of timely shipping.
Training Staff for New Systems
Implementing an OMS isn’t just about getting one; it’s about training your team to make the most of it. This is a lot to digest for staff with more manual processes or legacy systems.
Without the proper training, errors such as missed orders or wrong entries are bound to multiply, resulting in more returns and unhappy customers. A customer used to two-day delivery may get their delivery after it’s due.
This late arrival is a future purchase deal breaker for 69% of shoppers. Proper training with practical implementation makes all the difference in avoiding these pitfalls and keeping things running more smoothly.
Managing Data Migration
Migrating data from an old legacy system to an OMS is detail-oriented. These errors during migration lead to significant inventory discrepancies, which most retail brands already deal with.
Consider the example of a retailer trying to track stock by hand and then moving to an automated solution. If this data isn’t properly cleaned or migrated, it can result in stockouts or overselling.
Enterprises must audit applications, validate data, and phase the migration to prevent business interruption. This is a significant undertaking, but when properly and thoughtfully migrated, an OMS provides the platform for new efficiencies in the years to come.
Future Trends in OMS
AI and Automation in OMS
Now, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing how order management systems (OMS) function. AI-powered tools help improve a firm’s ability to manage complexity. They enable inventory allocation across different warehouses and control rules for selling and returning bundles of products.
For example, predictive AI can anticipate demand patterns, allowing companies to optimize their inventory distribution to better serve customer demand. Automation further streamlines workflows, allowing merchants to eliminate manual errors and increase the speed of more complex processes like order routing and returns management.
The ability to pivot and adapt is essential in a composable commerce environment. The right AI-enabled Order Management System (OMS) acts like the nerve center, keeping everything running efficiently while providing better-than-ever customer experiences.
Mobile-Friendly OMS Solutions
Given the increasing importance of mobile commerce, OMS solutions should be built with robust capabilities that operate efficiently on smartphones and tablets. Cloud-based, mobile-friendly systems help businesses track and manage orders on the go, wherever they are.
For instance, sales reps can view inventory or monitor shipments from their mobile devices. This accessibility allows businesses to respond nimbly and proactively to customer demands for quick and trustworthy service.
With a mobile-first approach, customers are kept in the loop with real-time information, such as a shipping notification, which helps build loyalty and satisfaction.
Real-Time Data Synchronization
Seamless, real-time data synchronization is a modern requirement in OMS platforms. It helps ensure that everything, from e-commerce engines to back-end inventory tracking systems, stays accurate in real time.
For example, if a customer orders a product online, real-time syncing can immediately update inventory levels at every location to reflect this sale. This degree of omnichannel precision avoids costly problems like overselling while helping businesses protect customer loyalty and trust.
Easy integration to current systems, like ERP software, makes moving to scalable, composable commerce architectures seamless.
Conclusion
Order Management Systems (OMS) make it easier for companies to manage orders. They help you stay organized, prevent mistakes, and save you time. By automating processes such as inventory management, order management, and customer notifications, OMS allows businesses to operate more efficiently. It’s the only enterprise-class tool that scales like you do, providing the flexibility and efficiency required whether you have a few operations or many.
Choosing the right OMS like Symphony, might seem like a leap of faith, but you should take it. Find one that best serves your current needs, furthers your long-term goals, and positions you to respond to inevitable future shifts in the market. You benefit from increased control and enhanced customer satisfaction by implementing the right system.
Invest the time to consider your choices and begin developing a more productive pipeline tomorrow.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is OMS?
OMS is short for an Order Management System. It is software that enables businesses to automate and orchestrate the entire order lifecycle—from order placement through fulfillment—delivering a seamless omnichannel customer experience.
How does an OMS work?
An OMS centralizes order data, regardless of sales channel, ensuring payments are processed quickly and accurately, inventory is tracked across warehouse locations, and shipping is coordinated seamlessly. Automating workflows reduces manual tasks and errors, boosting productivity and precision.
What are the benefits of using an OMS?
Automation – An OMS automates and streamlines order processing to reduce or eliminate manual errors, improve inventory visibility and management, and enhance customer satisfaction. It allows businesses of all sizes to scale operations much more efficiently.
What are the common components of an OMS?
Order tracking Inventory management Payment processing Shipping coordination Reporting and analysis tools
These features combine with intelligent optimization to maximize your order fulfillment.
What types of OMS are available?
OMS types range from standalone software to cloud-based solutions and integrated systems within larger platforms such as ERP. Your choice of option depends on your business’s size and needs.
How do I choose the right OMS for my business?
Consider your business size, available sales channels, budget, and how advanced you want or need to be. Pay special attention to scalability, integrations, and user-friendly features to ensure the OMS coincides with your operations.
What challenges can occur when implementing an OMS?
High costs, integration, and employee training are prevalent challenges. However, these obstacles can all be addressed with proper planning, well-defined goals, and vendor buy-in.
