As of 2023, there are more than 2.64 billion online shoppers globally. That’d be more than 33% of the total population in the world, which is reason enough to get excited and interested in eCommerce. For retailers, however, the grim truth is that as more people grow comfortable shopping online, there will be an increased difficulty in managing orders. Not only that, but it’ll become increasingly vital to ensure that everyone who chooses to shop with you has a seamless experience.
One of the best ways to handle your orders and guarantee your customers the best shopping experience is to adopt an Order Management System (OMS). Here’s how to choose the best:
1. List Out the Functions That Matter the Most
The best starting place would be to examine your existing process and the tasks involved in each step. Make sure to study the entire order management process and make an exhaustive list of the tasks that should be changed or simplified.
The list of crucial tasks and business functions will help you determine the features that the OMS must have to offer a good return on investment. When picking the OMS, prioritize the features that are indispensable to your business over the ones that make the OMS look “nice” and “powerful”.
2. Ask if the OMS Supports Omnichannel Models
In this age, having a multichannel business model doesn’t do the trick, which is why most eCommerce businesses are switching to omnichannel models. By directing most of your attention to the customer and what they need, you will improve their shopping experience and increase their CLV.
As one of the best omnichannel-based platforms, Deck Commerce makes eCommerce order management easy by allowing you to customize your order management and fulfillment processes in a way that aligns with your customers’ needs.
3. Consider the User-Friendliness of the OMS
No matter how powerful an order management system is, it won’t make much sense if you spend a lot of time and money either to learn how to use it or to hire someone to manage it. An OMS is supposed to increase your efficiency, and that begins with ensuring that the system itself is easy to use.
It should be straightforward to figure out so that even new employees will spend minimal time learning the features.
4. Find Out How Easy It Is to Set Up
Some order management systems are easier to set up than others, and that can depend on a couple of factors such as the number of features you’ve requested. If you feel like it will be necessary to get some assistance setting up the system, find out if the provider offers a demo or tutorial to guide you through the installation and configuration process.
Other systems may even require IT assistance such as coding and customization, so keep that in mind when choosing yours. In such cases, it’s best to work with your provider so that they can help you if you ever get stuck down the road.
5. Pay Attention to Integration and Scalability
Two of the most important features that any OMS should have are integration and scalability. Integration is important because it helps to create an ecosystem where the flow of data isn’t limited, and communication is seamless. Integrating your OMS with the other systems you use gives you a single source of truth (data) and reduces the occurrence of errors since you’re not updating such data manually.
Scalability, on the other hand, guarantees you that the OMS will still meet the needs of your business even if they change as your business grows.
Advance Your Processes With Deck Commerce
Choosing the right OMS for your business is not the easiest thing to do, but the tips mentioned above should get you somewhere. Don’t hesitate to call potential providers and seek as much clarification as you feel is necessary, because this will be a great investment for your business.
As one of the top OMS options for eCommerce businesses, Deck Commerce has most, if not all the features you need for your business and a great support team.
