OMS Retail Business Processes From The Inside

Time makes shopping convenient. In 2020 US buyers spent over $860 bln for online purchases. The omnichannel trend is heading for the last several years. Business becomes client-centric. Order management system software is an instrument that helps retailers to move this way, boosting the e-commerce sector. JEVERA strives to discover how order management solutions work when anybody buys a coffee machine or something like that at an electronic store. Here goes!

The Choosing Stage Is The Hardest

Do you remember Mike? He's that guy who helped us to learn more about internal retail processes. Today we'll try to analyze how he had bought a huge TV and what the OMS does to support that purchase.

A wide assortment always makes people confused. Fortunately, Mike had chosen a few items and decided to buy one of them in L-store.

He logged in on the website and opened a catalog via the smartphone to learn it accurately. It was well-designed, so Mike quickly found the items he needed. He was surprised by a real-time delivery calculator feature. Not every store can boast of such a fast tool. Using Mike's geolocation, the calculator provided him with the time and cost of delivery at once our customer had opened each product details. That software was integrated with the warehouse management system and received data about stock goods in the closest depositories.

The shorter the distance from a buyer's home to a storeroom, the faster a delivery will be. But what if all company's transport is unavailable? The calculator interacts with different third delivery and courier services. Of course, the delivery price and time may vary depending on the supplier, but the purchase will be received on time.

Let's back to Mike. Our customer selected a TV with suitable delivery details and added it to his cart. But he is so accurate buying such things, so it's not enough for him to look at the picture to buy "here and now". The above delivery calculator also showed Mike in which stores he would find that item to evaluate it one more time.

Let's Visit A Brick-And-Mortar Store

Following eMarketer, in 2020, US e-commerce sales increased up to 14.5%. Anyway, the rest 85.5% of sales are still made by offline stores. Yes, people often need to see and touch a thing before purchasing. So, the buyer quickly got to the nearest L-shop.

The in-store consultant, Joe, saw Mike near the TV section and hurried to help him. So, our visitor opened his online cart and showed Joe the desired TV-model. The employee warned Mike that his choice has significant technical weaknesses. But it was not a big deal. Joe showed our customer alternatives and gave great feedback about one TV.

That's why Mike decided to change his order immediately. He opened the online cart and replaced the existing item with the new one. The delivery calculator showed him a bit longer time and higher delivery cost, but it was minor. At last, Mike found the best TV ever and wanted to get it.

Here you can see how the OMS provides buyers with quick access to their cart from any place. The system saves all the information about an order at any stage, and a client can edit it. If a buyer had used an app for making a purchase and added some items but hadn't bought them, the order management system would send him reminders to confirm the purchase within a few next days.

The Second Stage: Ordering

Don't think that Mike has bought a TV at the brick-and-mortar store. He is pragmatic and makes decisions slowly. Our buyer just changed his order at the offline store, but the final research was ahead. He backed home and opened the laptop to discover more about the TV's features. For several days he had been wondering if the new choice was worth it. And yet he made up his mind to buy the advised TV.

So, Mike opened a website via computer, logged in, and hurried up to open the cart. The chosen SKU was still there. But the delivery details were changed: the cost and time were reduced. So Mike gladly placed his order.

Here you can also admit that the OMS provides omnichannel order management. A client can create an order via smartphone and continue via laptop or other devices that support an Internet connection. All the data will be saved within the next several days. It's so convenient for those who need some time to decide "to be or not to be". The order management system considers everyone's needs. It runs the e-commerce order management process flow, impacting the rest of the store systems' operations. For instance, if Mike had wanted to change the order details, nothing would stop him. All the systems would be tailored to the customer's demand to ensure his impeccable experience. It would be arduous to perform without the OMS.

Confirmation And Purchase

Often when people place an order, a store representative calls them back to confirm a purchase. So Mike waited for a call from the agent to complete the order. The call-center specialist Kylie called him in 10 minutes.

Earlier, Kylie suffered from switching between dozens of tabs during a conversation with each client. Her job is to know everything about everybody to provide a high-quality customer approach. It's not easy when a store has a wide audience. So, routine work and lots of mistakes in communication supported Kylie's burnout.

The order management system made her life easier due to the one-stop-shop interface. Now it's enough for her to enter some core data during the talk, and the systems will give it necessary tips in one window. Moreover, the software also integrates with a loyalty system. It helps to gather information about all the discounts and send updates for operators to make efficient upsales.

So, Kylie called Mike for the order confirmation. She knew everything about his purchase and previous experience. Mike was glad to feel that the store took care of him that way. So, during the conversation, Kylie got a tip about the 20% discount on the PlayStation. She told Mike that he could use it, buying a TV. Our client loved the games, so he decided why not to take the full set.

Thus, Kylie did her job perfectly. She could find an appropriate approach to the buyer. All the data was in one place, so she didn't get distracted. Moreover, the system helped the employee to make an upsell, offering Mike precisely what he wanted.

In turn, the buyer was pleased with the result of the conversation, expecting not only TV but also PlayStation.

He asked about the installer services. Kylie got these data and placed them into the system.

So, the OMS changed the order details immediately, adding PlayStation and installer services. When they were confirmed, the system shared information with ERP, HR management, logistics, and CRM.

ERP got a request to generate relevant transaction documents for 3 items (two goods and one service). The HR management system has to send one of the craftsmen to Mike's house on a specific day. The logistics department had to organize timely and fast home delivery. And CRM systems received new data about client activity.

All those processes were done in a matter of seconds. So, Mike paid for the purchase and received an invoice in his email right after the conversation with Kylie. This way the order management system impacts other ones to provide high-level, fast services for each customer.

Quick Response Is A Must

Mike got all the purchases and services from installer Harry on time. But unfortunately, the employee was new in this job. That's why something went wrong, and TV stopped broadcasting images a couple of hours after Harry left. Mike immediately called the L-store's call-center. Kylie picked up the phone and got ready to help him. So, Mike told her what's happened in a nutshell and required a repeat service from an experienced craftsman for free.

How is a customer order management process performed here? The OMS has to provide a rapid company's response to claims. It's easy when a buyer just asks to send a more experienced installer. But what if he also wants to get back another purchased item or use a guarantee to replace it? It takes much more time to deal with non-standard requests, and not every order management system helps to fix such issues quickly. But speed is vital for retail. Companies should prevent any complicated claims or develop scenarios on how they should act in each case. One negative feedback can be offset by 12 positive ones. A delayed response can damage a company's reputation.

But let's back to Mike and his issue. L-company was lucky because it had a robust OMS. So, Kylie placed a request in a few clicks, and ERP and HR management systems received new data. The first one had to change fiscal reports. The HR department needed to figure out the incident with Harry and send a more qualified person to help Mike.

That problem was fixed within one business day. So, Mike stayed glad, and the failure didn't spoil his customer experience. In turn, the HR department received valuable feedback about the staff qualification and admitted a need to train installer Harry better.

Your Opinion Is Important For Us

A good store always takes care of the impression from communication. So, L-company was not an exception. Mike enjoyed the new TV and PlayStation. Despite the recent incident, he liked that store and even had loaded its mobile application for convenient usage. OMS was integrated with messengers and apps for more convenient interaction with clients.

So, one day Mike received a notification from the L-app. It was a questionnaire about the level of his satisfaction with services and goods. The store needed to know how exactly Mike evaluated it. Our customer wrote positive feedback and admitted he had been impressed by the quick response to his claim. It mattered for him even more than other fascinating company's features.

Sure, our customer ordered and still orders electronics there. L-store tries to get better, and the OMS helps it to grow.

The Bottom Line

Can you imagine how many processes in retail depend on the order management system? Mike launched multiple communication channels (website, app, phone, and email) across multiple devices. Moreover, CRM, ERP, logistics, loyalty, HR, and warehouse management systems were actively involved in ordering. Analyzing Mike's purchase process, we can make sure that OMS is worth business attention. It ensures fast and error-free ordering, makes monolithic systems more flexible and provides seamless integration between departments. Thanks to its advantages, the system facilitates the staff work, allows a company to respond to complaints quickly, and ultimately satisfies the client.