Choosing the Right Solution in 2024

1. Summary

Order management systems (OMS) for enterprise businesses boast advanced features that simplify inventory and order management. A user-friendly interface, support for refunds and returns, optimized inventory visibility and controls, robust backorder and preorders capabilities, and support for omnichannel fulfillment are must-have features of a modern OMS. 5 must-know order management systems for enterprise retail include fabric OMS, IBM Sterling, Kibo Commerce, Manhattan Associates, and Fluent Commerce.

2. Introduction

Unless you spend your time living and breathing enterprise-level software-as-a-service (SaaS), it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what sets some order management systems (OMS) apart from other OMS solutions. Everything we’ve come to expect from SaaS vendors—great UX infused with clever features and critical functionality—is generally table stakes in the SaaS industry today.

Yet peel back the layers of a few given solutions and you’ll quickly find that feature sets vary widely across the board. While some companies offer some of the latest and most powerful capabilities out-of-the-box, others lack core functions that most modern enterprise businesses require. To help you cut through the noise, we’ll go over some of the must-have features to look for when evaluating OMS software for your business. We’ll also highlight some of the most powerful OMS software solutions for enterprise retailers today.

3. 6 Essential Order Management Features for 2024

An order management system (OMS) is a software solution that centralizes and streamlines order processing, inventory management, and order fulfillment. A distributed order management (DOM) system goes one step further and enhances order routing and allocation by intelligently managing orders across multiple locations and channels. When evaluating OMS software vendors, here are some key features to look for.

3.1 Order Management

OMS software needs a user-friendly interface to track and manage customer orders. Retailers often require the ability to update shipping dates or modify orders pre-shipment. The system should offer simple tools for swift updates or integrate with third-party customer service apps for order adjustments.

3.2 Refunds and Returns Support

Retailers often struggle with reverse logistics, but an OMS solution can streamline returns and refunds for efficiency. For instance, offering instant refunds enhances customer satisfaction by automating the return process. Clearly defined business rules for handling returns and refunds are vital for successful reverse logistics. An OMS should offer an easy way to establish returns policies for customers to adhere to.

3.3 Inventory Visibility

Every e-commerce business needs real-time stock information. An OMS should provide a clear view of on-shelf, in-transit, and on-order inventory globally, spanning distribution centers, stores, and suppliers. Available-to-promise (ATP) inventory is known as the projected amount of inventory a business has in stock that’s ready to sell and is not allocated for existing customer orders. An inventory availability storefront API can be used to show the exact amount of ATP inventory that’s available for customers to buy.

3.4 Inventory Controls

Inventory controls maintain balance in inventory management. In addition to categorization and organization, a modern OMS helps create custom attributes, define safety and low stock levels, and configure distinct inventory position tags (e.g. on-hand, backorder available and reserved). Moreover, the OMS enables companies to segment inventory and set aggregation rules by location, network, or channel.

3.5 Backorders and Preorders Processing

Avoiding stockouts is crucial for businesses. Backorders enable customers to order temporarily out-of-stock items. OMS solutions with backorder capabilities help capture sales and retain customers who'd otherwise abandon transactions. Pre-order features are also valuable. Allowing customers to preorder aids in demand forecasting and inventory planning for upcoming product launches.

3.6 Omnichannel Fulfillment Capabilities

For omnichannel retail, a DOM system is crucial to handle complex order fulfillment. Modern businesses aim to offer flexible fulfillment choices to customers, necessitating OMS support for various methods like same-day delivery, BOPIS, ship-from-store, ship-to-store, and direct-to-consumer (D2C).

An OMS that offers the ability to stand up and update Order Fulfillment Logic (OFL) is important for reducing delayed orders and shipping costs. Inventory segmentation configures tags to assign inventory to specific customer segments like subscribers, new customers, or VIPs. Also, prioritizing picking locations from the closest facility in stock or by rank can increase fulfillment speed and efficiency.

4. Additional OMS Software Features to Look For

The e-commerce tech stack streamlines sales, marketing, customer service, order fulfillment, returns, and payment processing. Thus, it's crucial for an OMS to seamlessly integrate with your warehouse management system (WMS), enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, customer service (CS) app, accounting, and other modern tech components.

Some companies use an ERP for order fulfillment; however, it’s not a substitute for a dedicated OMS that addresses challenging order management aspects.

Complex supply chains are becoming the norm. Between rising customer expectations for faster lead times, expanded products and services, and tailored experiences, enterprise brands are being pushed to support more unique orders across the retail supply chain. Today, managing supply chains requires collaboration with partners, improved inventory management with suppliers, and greater visibility and control of every part of the supply chain.

Enterprise OMS software can tackle many of these issues. For example, today's OMS solutions can integrate with multiple warehouses, route orders to optimal warehouse locations for fast deliveries, and allow retailers to offer in-store pickups.

5. 5 Feature-Rich OMS Software Solutions for Enterprise Retailers

5.1 fabric OMS

fabric OMS is a distributed order management (DOM) system that is purpose-built for enterprise retail brands to help deliver superior fulfillment experiences to their customers. With new state-of-the-art, multi-tenant cloud architecture built on Amazon Web Services (AWS), fabric’s modular and scalable order orchestration software has become more powerful, flexible, and cost-effective than ever before. fabric OMS is built to support modern distributed commerce models, including buy online pickup in-store (BOPIS), ship-to-store, and store fulfillment as mini distribution centers.

5.2 IBM Sterling

IBM Sterling's OMS is ideal for big businesses with sizable tech budgets and development teams. It's an order management platform that centralizes real-time visibility and control over inventory, orders, and fulfillment. Offered as cloud, hybrid cloud, or on-premises solutions, it's highly adaptable.

5.3 Kibo Order Management

Kibo order management is a modern platform for order management, inventory visibility, and fulfillment. It's recognized as a Strong Performer by Forrester and is especially suited for those prioritizing a commerce-centric approach to order management.

5.4 Manhattan Associates Active Omni Order Management

Manhattan OMS is hailed as “the most comprehensive solution” for enterprise retailers with complex needs and ample resources. The platform is feature-rich and backed by an array of customer case studies showcasing its reliability and capabilities.

5.5 Fluent Commerce

Fluent order management provides advanced inventory and order management for digital channels and stores. It's a cloud-native platform with an API-first approach that meets customer expectations for fulfillment options while retaining unique business processes.