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Omnichannel Order Management: A Modern Solution for Inventory and Fulfillment

Posted by Julia Morrissey on Feb 7, 2022

Here’s what we already know: consumer expectations in retail have evolved. (Thanks, Amazon.) This is nothing new. The on-demand economy has contributed to a lot of these changes in consumer behavior. Instant gratification is the name of the game, ladies and gentlemen.

So, what can brands do to acquire and retain customers? That answer is plain and simple. Make shopping easy and deliver exceptional customer service, coupled with fast delivery and convenient fulfillment options.

Order management systems (OMSs) are at the foundation of a great retail experience, and today, it’s vital that OMSs are omnichannel and provide a view of the entire shopping journey. Omnichannel order management is the key to edging out other brands and staying at the forefront of the ever evolving world of retail.

What is Omnichannel Order Management?

Omnichannel order management is a software system that allows you to access customer, order, and inventory information across all channels. It orchestrates all orders across the enterprise while providing the relevant information needed for ecommerce and point of sale systems to operate efficiently.

The key features include omnichannel order routing, store fulfillment, and enterprise inventory. It’s also a customer service platform, allowing you to see a complete view of your business with real-time insights in a single, unified spot. 

In short, an omnichannel OMS allows customers to shop anywhere and return anywhere. A well-rounded omnichannel OMS powers both your employees and your customers.

How Does Omnichannel Order Management Work?

Regardless of which channel captures an order, it goes through various states and a series of steps that all live within the omnichannel order management system. No two orders are the same, and so the lifecycle of each order may vary—certain stages or steps may be extremely unique to that particular order.

Once a consumer hits the buy button, it’s game on. Time and transparency are of the essence.

What’s my order status? How fast will it be shipped? When will it be delivered?

These are the burning questions your customers want answers to.

The lifecycle of an order within an order management system

Let’s say a customer in Nashville places an order online for a few different products. Once the order is captured, the OMS determines the fastest way to get the order in the hands of the consumer is to fulfill it from the New York store.

However, it’s quickly determined there isn’t sufficient inventory for one of the items in that store. That triggers an exception because the whole order can’t be fulfilled there. In a matter of minutes, the order is rerouted for fulfillment from the LA store location.

It’s possible the order could have been fulfilled from a warehouse depending on available inventory and speed of delivery. However, in this scenario, the intelligent order routing determined the LA store to be the most efficient option.

The end result? A happy, satisfied customer because you didn’t have to cancel the order.

Benefits of Omnichannel Order Management

The benefits of an omnichannel order management system are abundant. Below we address the key advantages from reduced costs to improved customer satisfaction.

1. Reduced Labor Costs

Order management used to be entirely powered by employees. They would look over various shipping methods, attempt to figure out which one was the best based on metrics, and deliver that option to the customer.

An omnichannel OMS that uses cutting-edge technology and a powerful, intuitive UI removes much of the decision-making from the employee. Instead of asking the employee to route complex shipping methods, omnichannel OMSs do it instantly and provide suggestions to employees – freeing up their time to focus on things like selling and customer service.

2. Lower Shipping Costs

Simply put, omnichannel OMSs make shipping products more efficient. The system accounts for location, time and shortages, and ships products from overstocked locations to reduce discounting. It maps out suggestions based on metrics that are identified immediately and accurately. The end result is lower overall shipping costs for the retailer and a satisfying price for the customer.

3. Increased Customer Satisfaction

The impact of an omnichannel OMS on customer satisfaction is unparalleled. Key advantages include:

4. Employee Empowerment

With an omnichannel OMS, employees have the power to see real-time inventory, availability by location, and online shopper history. This helps employees cater to their customers’ needs more accurately and more thoroughly. Nothing is worse than not being able to answer a customer’s question or give them the information they need

5. The Power-to-Compete

One of the most challenging aspects of operating in the retail industry today is the competition from online-only businesses. Major competitors like Amazon and eBay have not only made the competition in retail fierce, but they’ve also made customers more demanding and less patient. 

With an inclusive OMS, you can deliver shipping and pickup methods that rival major online businesses, while retaining that in-store feel and experience.

Omnichannel order management systems give retailers a lot of power when it comes to product management. But most important is the power to compete in an age where shopping is customer-first and channel-agnostic.

Omnichannel Order Management In Action

Marine Layer is a San Franciso-based retail brand with nearly 50 stores in the U.S. specializing in absurdly soft and comfortable clothes that are enjoyed by all.

The company understood the importance of its stores for customers—they want to see and touch the products—as part of the overall brand and shopping experience. They also understood their customers were true omnichannel shoppers, buying both in-store and online. This meant the brand had to deliver a truly frictionless shopping experience for its customers.

Marine Layer chose NewStore to overhaul its retail operations and go all-in on omnichannel retail. By unifying its online and in-store business, the business could deliver modern shopping experiences while also helping grow the business and drive more revenue through omnichannel use cases like store fulfillment.

Since rolling out NewStore, 15% of all Marine Layer online orders were shipped from a store which lead to a 21% increase in sales. With a modern OMS, store fulfillment is easy—significantly reduced friction and pain for the customer because it gets into their hands faster, and more efficiently.

Modern Order Management is Vital to Success

The benefits of an omnichannel order management system are pretty clear. From reduced opex costs to increased customer satisfaction and beyond. Unfortunately, most legacy systems that brands use today are built on decades-old foundations that aren’t flexible enough to adapt to meet the needs of modern retail. These systems weren’t built to support complex customer journeys.

In today’s retail environment, to win and retain customers, brands must provide consistent and unified shopping experiences. An omnichannel order management system will allow you to orchestrate the entire customer shopping journey with simplicity and ease.

Integrate and share data with every solution in your tech stack. From inventory to customers to orders. With real-time intelligence, your teams will be empowered to provide superior experiences across all touchpoints, every time.

Contact us to learn how we can help make omnichannel retailing work for you.

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