Like most EC software, the role of order management systems is becoming blurred, vendors and retailers tell Internet Retailer. While it once seemed clear that an order management system’s role was simply to manage the order, today, there’s a much broader understanding of the function it plays.
“Order management is the piece that ties the supply chain and the value chain together,” says David Himes, senior vice president of business process solutions for NewRoads. “It’s the centerpiece in how you satisfy the needs of a customer who has placed an order.”
To fill their role as the key link throughout a retailer’s system, order management systems must:
--perform the basic function of accepting and tracking an order,
--separate complex orders into their various components, such as sending an order for a personalized item to one fulfillment center and an order for a high-value item such as jewelry to another, more secure center,
--receive feeds from the inventory system so it can tell customers whether items are in stock,
--report stockroom replenishment needs to a warehouse,
--report sales to a supply chain system for re-ordering,
--feed customer activity into a customer relationship management database,
--report promotional campaign results into the marketing database.
“It’s no longer enough to take the order and tell the customer when she will receive it,” says Donny Askin, CEO of CommercialWare Inc., a supplier of order management software. “The order management system is a foundation for so much more.”
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