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Ecommerce Order Management System
Features, Integrations, Benefits, Costs
ScienceSoft applies 21-year experience in ecommerce and 12 years of expertise in building supply chain management software to help businesses design and develop effective ecommerce order management solutions.
Ecommerce Order Management Software: The Essence
Ecommerce order management software (OMS) helps streamline the full cycle of order management workflow, from initial order processing to order execution control and return management. Such solutions enable automated aggregation and processing of customer orders and payments across multiple online selling channels. Ecommerce OMS supports analytics-driven planning and optimization of order fulfillment procedures to ensure accurate and timely order delivery to customers. The software enables real-time monitoring of ecommerce order fulfillment progress.
- Necessary integrations: an ecommerce platform, warehouse management software, transport management software, an accounting system, etc.
- Implementation time: 7–12 months for a custom ecommerce OMS.
- Development costs: $200,000–$400,000, depending on the solution complexity.
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Did You Know That OMS Can Actually Impact Your Profit? Around 37% of global consumers admit they are more willing to purchase products when offered a next-day delivery. With a proper OMS, it’s much easier to organize fast order processing and shipment and add an extra incentive to buy with you. |
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Key Features of Ecommerce OMS
Since 2012, ScienceSoft has been creating order management software with unique functionality closely bound to our clients’ objectives. Here, we have summarized OMS features commonly requested by our clients from the ecommerce sector:
Order processing
- Real-time aggregation of order and customer data from available online selling channels (a company’s ecommerce website, online marketplaces, social networks, etc.).
- Setup of order processing rules (e.g., automated order confirmation and approval for shipment if the required number of items is in stock and the order is fully paid).
- Template-based creation of sales orders.
- Real-time tracking of order processing status.
- Notifications on new orders.
- Bulk order processing (confirmation, cancellation, etc.).
- Automated detection of fraudulent orders.
- Order modification and cancellation upon a customer’s request via any channel.
Order fulfillment planning and optimization
- Rule-based customer order fulfillment prioritization based on customer value, order date, product category, service level, and more.
- AI-based analysis of stock availability across storage locations, delivery destinations, product type, fulfillment costs, and suggestions for optimal order fulfillment schemes:
- Optimal order fulfillment locations.
- Optimal order consolidation or splitting for shipment.
- Preferred transportation providers for particular item categories and user locations, and more.
- Template-based creation of order execution schedules with key milestones like order packing, pickup, arrival at particular points, etc.
Order execution management
- Order routing to an optimal ecommerce fulfillment warehouse.
- Automated requests on inventory reservation for a customer order.
- Analytics-based assignment of an optimal transportation provider to ship the order.
- Template-based creation of shipping labels and package slips.
- Real-time monitoring of order execution status (picked, dispatched, in transit, delivered, etc.).
- Notifications on goods dispatch, shipment milestones, delays, etc.
- Calculating the expected order delivery time based on the lead time specified by a transportation provider and current order shipment status.
- Support for different order execution scenarios, such as next-day delivery, same-day delivery, BOPIS, dropshipping, etc.
- Support for partial order fulfillment.
Payment processing
- Real-time payment processing via a custom payment gateway or third-party payment gateways (e.g., PayPal, Stripe, Amazon Pay).
- Support of multiple payment options, such as credit and debit cards, bank transfers, paying cash upon delivery, gift certificates, split payments, etc.
- Multi-currency payments, including cryptocurrency.
- Payment data encryption in accordance with PCI DSS requirements.
- Notifications to sales managers on received payments.
- Automated generation and submission of invoices and receipts to customers.
- Cash refund/chargeback to the customer’s original payment method.
Return management
- User-defined return policies to authorize return, exchange, and warranty cases.
- AI-powered validation of return claims against the existing return policies.
- Rule-based order return routing to a fitting warehouse.
- Real-time tracking of return order processing status.
- Automated calculation of the refund amount based on the return policy.
Analytics and reporting
- Customizable dashboards for sales managers and customer service managers showing a full history of orders, order fulfillment KPIs (e.g., fill rate, orders completed per day), essential customer-related metrics (AOV, CLV, etc.), and more.
- Scheduled and ad hoc sales reports, order fulfillment reports, and customer reports (by period, selling channel, customer segment, product, etc.).
- Customer demand forecasting based on historical and real-time order data.
Essential Integrations for Ecommerce OMS
ScienceSoft recommends implementing the following integrations to get end-to-end visibility into customer orders, as well as streamline and speed up order processing, fulfillment planning, and execution tasks for involved employees:
OMS + online selling channels
(e.g., a company’s ecommerce website, social networks, third-party marketplaces).
- For accurate order fulfillment planning and execution.
- For the automated input of relevant data when generating sales orders, invoices, shipping documents.
- To provide customers with up-to-date information on order status and location.
OMS + warehouse management software (WMS)
- To plan optimal order fulfillment locations with a view into stock availability across warehouses.
- To timely and accurately prepare the ordered products for shipment.
- For data-driven inventory planning across storage locations.
- For facilitated tracking of order execution progress.
OMS + transportation management software (TMS)
As an alternative to TMS, e-retailers that rely solely on outsourced order shipping can integrate their OMS directly with shipping carriers’ systems.
- For accurate transport planning, timely order pickup at a specified location and delivery to customer.
- For facilitated tracking of order shipment progress.
OMS + accounting software
- To record customer payment and invoice data in the general ledger and ensure timely and accurate revenue recognition and reporting.
OMS + BI solution
- For facilitated analytics and reporting of sales, customers, and order fulfillment insights.
OMS + payment gateways
e.g., PayPal, Stripe, Amazon Pay, or a custom payment gateway.
- To process online payments and support various payment options.
Knowing how much order delivery speed impacts customer experience and loyalty, we recommend integrating your OMS with several shipping couriers even if you consistently work with a particular one. This backs you up in case of force majeure and helps keep the quality and speed of order delivery high during peak seasons.
Success Factors for Ecommerce Order Processing Software
Relying on 21 years of expertise in digital commerce, ScienceSoft’s consultants have defined important factors that can draw maximum value from ecommerce OMS implementation.
Order aggregation from all available sources
To enable end-to-end visibility of customer orders across multiple selling channels, such as a company’s ecommerce portal, online marketplaces, partners’ websites, social networks, and more.
Maximized automation
To eliminate time-consuming, error-prone manual tasks, such as order confirmation, generation of shipping documents and customer invoices, returns validation, etc.
System scalability
To accommodate the growing order processing needs, e.g., associated with a product line extension or demand spikes during particular events (e.g., seasonal sales, promotions, new product launch).
AI-powered prescriptive analytics
To get intelligent recommendations on the optimal order fulfillment location, order delivery provider, order consolidation and splitting for shipment, and more.
Smooth integration with business-critical systems
For seamless data flow between ecommerce OMS and a company’s online selling channels, WMS, TMS, accounting software, etc.
Mobile access
To enable sales and customer service employees to manage the required order-related tasks on the go.
Implementation Costs and Financial Returns for Ecommerce OMS
The cost and duration of order management software implementation vary greatly depending on:
- The number and complexity of a solution’s functional modules, including the degree of automation.
- The volume of data that needs to be migrated from the spreadsheets and/or existing OMS.
- The number and complexity of integrations (with a company’s ecommerce website, WMS, TMS, an accounting system, etc.).
- Required application types – web-based, mobile, desktop – and a number of platforms supported (for mobile).
- Ecommerce OMS availability, performance, security, latent capacity, and scalability requirements.
According to ScienceSoft’s experience, custom order management software for ecommerce requires $200,000–$400,000 in investments.
Want to know the cost of your ecommerce OMS?
Key benefits of ecommerce order management software
How to Choose Ecommerce Order Management Software
1
Summarize key business characteristics impacting your order management process:
- Selling channels you get orders from.
- An average number of orders per day, per week, per month.
- Delivery options you offer (e.g., standard/expedited, door-to-door, BOPIS delivery).
- Your order fulfillment model (in-house, drop-shipping, outsourced).
2
Analyze your order management process and decide on:
- Your desired order cycle time.
- Key steps of the order cycle you need to maintain.
- Recurring issues and inefficiencies in your current process that you want to overcome.
3
Compose a high-level specification of functional and non-functional requirements for your perfect order processing system.
4
Plan what business systems your OMS will be integrated with. List not only the system type (e.g., a warehouse management system) but also a specific platform you use (e.g., SAP Extended Warehouse Management) or indicate that you have a custom solution.
5
Explore market-available OMS platforms: study their websites, clients’ reviews, license costs, pre-set integrations; watch demos. The research will give you a general understanding of whether you can go with a platform or better opt for custom OMS development.
6
In both cases, your next step is to find an experienced technology partner that will drive the process further: select the best-fitting OMS platform and customize it to your needs or build a custom OMS following your business-specific requirements.
Off-the-Shelf Ecommerce OMS ScienceSoft Recommends
IBM Sterling Order Management
Description
- Automated capture and processing of orders from e-selling channels.
- AI suggestions on optimal order fulfillment scenarios.
- Real-time monitoring of order execution progress and stock availability across fulfillment locations.
- Trend-based demand forecasting.
- Automated processing of omnichannel returns.
- Cloud-native integration points for online sales channels.
Cautions
The software requires complicated and costly customization to smoothly integrate with legacy corporate systems.
Best for
Midsize and large omnichannel retailers.
NetSuite Multichannel Order Management
Description
- Automated order capture from the e-selling channels and data validation.
- Analytics-based order routing to the most economically or geographically feasible fulfillment location.
- Support for complex order fulfillment scenarios, such as dropshipping and split shipments.
- Real-time monitoring of customer orders, inventory availability across fulfillment locations, order shipment status, and more.
- Scheduled sales and order fulfillment reports.
Cautions
The product requires substantial customization efforts to meet unique ecommerce order management needs.
Best for
Midsize and large enterprises involved in international ecommerce.
Cloud Commerce Pro Order Management
Description
- Rule-based order routing to different domestic and foreign fulfillment locations.
- Real-time stock monitoring across order fulfillment locations.
- Ecommerce order fulfillment analytics.
- Automated processing of returns.
- Plug-and-play integrations with popular ecommerce marketplaces (Amazon, eBay) and payment gateways (PayPal, Stripe, etc.).
Cautions
The system requires continuous support and maintenance to operate smoothly.
Best for
Fast-growing ecommerce businesses.
Should You Opt for a Custom OMS?
Answer a few simple questions and find out whether a custom order management system is a better option for you than a ready-made platform.
Do you need an OMS with specific functionality that OOTB platforms lack, e.g., customizable order processing rules or an AI recommendation engine?
Do you need an OMS to manage all aspects of ecommerce fulfillment, including inventory, warehouse, and transportation management?
Do you want an OMS to be easily scalable and extensible?
Do you need to integrate an OMS with custom or legacy systems?
Do you have a large team involved in order management processes and assume that paying subscriptions to market-available platforms is costlier in the long run?
Oops...
Sorry, we can't provide the results, unless you answer the questions.
You’ll surely benefit from a custom OMS
ScienceSoft can help you plan the functionality of your tailored OMS and provide you with a custom quote.
Your situation is not obvious
You have serious reasons for a custom OMS. ScienceSoft can help you proceed with a thorough feasibility analysis to see if the benefits outweigh the challenges of custom development.
A ready-made platform will work fine for you
Market-available OMS can perfectly meet your needs. ScienceSoft can help you select smartly, factoring in your requirements, system scalability and performance, as well the pricing options.
Implementation of Ecommerce OMS with ScienceSoft
In ecommerce since 2003 and in supply chain management software development since 2012, ScienceSoft helps companies build reliable ecommerce order management solutions.
Ecommerce OMS consulting
- Analysis of your ecommerce order management needs.
- Suggesting optimal features, architecture, and tech stack for ecommerce OMS.
- Preparing an integration plan with an ecommerce website, WMS, TMS, accounting software, a BI solution, etc.
- Implementation cost & time estimates, expected ROI calculation.
Ecommerce OMS implementation
- Ecommerce order management needs analysis.
- Conceptualization of an ecommerce OMS.
- Architecture design.
- Development and testing.
- Integrating the solution with relevant corporate systems (ecommerce website, WMS, TMS, accounting software, a BI solution, etc.).
- User training.
- Continuous support and evolution (if required).
What makes ScienceSoft different
We achieve project success no matter what
ScienceSoft does not pass mere project administration off as project management, a practice that's unfortunately common in the market. We drive projects to their goals, mitigating risks and overcoming constraints.
About ScienceSoft
ScienceSoft is an international IT consulting and software development company headquartered in McKinney, Texas. We help organizations build reliable ecommerce order management software to ensure timely, accurate, and cost-effective customer order fulfillment. Achieving project goals in spite of time and budget constraints, as well as changing requirements, is ScienceSoft's top priority. You set goals, we drive the project to fulfill them.