Peer review can help when shopping for order management systems
Many online retailers are in the market for new order management systems that automate the process from order entry through fulfillment. Those retailers will want to make sure any system they buy can integrate easily with other internal systems and those of key suppliers. Another tip: talk to merchants like you before making a purchase.
Upgrading order management has become a priority as consumers increasingly expect good service from retailers, regardless of the channel they shop. A survey of retailers last year by AMR Research Inc. found 61% planned to evaluate a new order fulfillment system in the next 24 months, and 10% already were implementing a new system. A June e-mail survey of 195 e-retailers by Internet Retailer found 30% plan to replace their order management system within a year and another 14% within two years.
Because order management systems inevitably touch other systems a retailer uses, whether that’s an e-commerce platform or a delivery service, integration with the systems you use is a key requirement. For Cowgirl Creamery, a cheesemaker that ships exclusively via FedEx, easy data exchange with that carrier was essential, says Maureen Cornelia, mail order and online sales manager. When approached by a vendor whose system was not yet integrated with FedEx, Cornelia says, “that was the end of the conversation.”
The multi-channel retailer last year implemented the Mail Order Manager system from Dydacomp, which is integrated with FedEx. Cornelia says she found Dydacomp by asking other food retailers at a trade show which order management system they use.
For Coggins Promotional Advertising, which sells items like caps and umbrellas with corporate logos for marketing use, the order management system had to accommodate the many ways businesses pay. That can include setting up budgets that salesmen can draw on to buy items they need. Coggins chose InOrder from Morse Data Corp. because it offered that functionality as well as Coggins’ other requirements, which included an integrated system that handled an order from web shopping cart to warehouse pick and pack, says Paul Coggins, president of Coggins Promotional Advertising.
Donald Bizzaro, senior marketing representative for Morse Data, recommends that merchants ask for access to a vendor’s online user group when evaluating a system. “That’s where you’re going to learn what it’s like to own the package, because those people are totally honest,” he says. “If there are any dirty secrets, that’s where they’re going to be.”
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