Exploring Challenges Faced in Order Management

In a world where touchpoints and inventory locations have grown exponentially, we're faced with a factorial problem. Past order management systems have become convoluted with rules that aren't understandable after a decade or more of patching and changes. How do we change this complexity in a way that makes businesses improve their TCO and scale while meeting the expectations of your customers and internal stakeholders?

The Reality of Point-to-Point Integrations

Challenges faced:

• Legacy systems make it incredibly hard for organizations to connect.
• Most OMS are complex, take too long to implement, and cost way too much.
• Siloed decisions have resulted in a point-to-point architecture.
• Customers do not get a consistent end-to-end experience.
• Availability is challenging, especially when dealing with stores.
• The sourcing decisions do not follow specific rules; therefore, the margin and results are not optimal.

For decades, businesses have been aiming to achieve a simple goal: connecting shoppers with the products they need. This goal is central to creating an unbroken, satisfying experience for customers and is essential and profitable for companies.

OMS is the heart of this kind of connected customer experience, meeting your customers wherever they are. It's about far more than just being omnichannel; rather, it's about creating an interconnected retail experience. Here, commerce is unified, meaning inventory and fulfillment are connected, and customers can choose how they want to engage.

This unification can be complex. Gone are the days when order management systems with simple and mere afterthoughts for managing sales. With customized ERP and Commerce platforms, the equation has shifted to producing a "middle office" solution. Also, efforts are focused on adapting solutions to unlock value based on specific markets, locations, products, third-party integrations, general business goals, and, of course, customer experiences.

These trends for "middle office" solutions, and focus on unlocking values, together with the current unpredictable markets, have introduced so much complexity that the market for sophisticated Order Management Systems will greatly expand.