Everything You Need to Know About Order Management System

Synopsis:

For any business, having an efficient and simplified order management system is the key to success. Therefore, you need one for the success of your business, as it can easily work with online and offline channels.

An efficient order management system or OMS system entertains the entire process from order to fulfillment. You can integrate multiple payment methods, inventory management, delivery partners, and more.

This blog will take you through the entire process of OMS like what it is, how it works, challenges, benefits, and most importantly, some of the top-notch OMS providers in India.

order management system

Introduction

Order management is crucial for business success. In today’s world customer expectations are higher than ever. With the rise of eCommerce and omnichannel shopping, customers now expect fast, accurate, and smooth order fulfillment across all platforms.

This demand places immense pressure on businesses to keep up with increasing orders and manage inventory, shipping, and customer service with precision. To solve this problem, an Order Management System or OMS system was introduced to deliver excellence in the entire order lifecycle.

OMS can simplify your operations no matter whether you are a small business or global enterprise. In this blog, we will delve into everything that you need to know about Order Management software, how it works, and how it will help you overcome the challenges to stand out in the market.

What is Order Management?

Order management is the process of keeping track of orders from the moment a customer places the order to its delivery to their doorstep. But it’s not that simple, the entire process includes several steps like order placement, payment verification, inventory allocation, packing, shipping, and finally order delivery.

An efficient order management process helps in ensuring the right product is delivered to the right customer in the shortest possible time.

However, manually dealing with large volumes of orders across multiple channels can be a challenging task for businesses which can also cause delays, errors, and poor customer experience. Therefore, businesses need to adopt automated solutions to simplify their order management.

Now that you know what order management is, let’s progress toward the next step, the Order Management System.

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What is an Order Management System?

Order Management software or OMS system is a digital tool that automates the end-to-end process of managing orders. From capturing customer information to processing payments and shipping products, these software manages all.

OMS allows businesses to have a centralized platform to manage orders from multiple channels, whether from eCommerce platforms, marketplaces, or brick-and-mortar stores.

The Order Management System ensures the visibility of the entire order lifecycle. It gives businesses real-time insights into order statuses, inventory levels, and customer data. When you automate these processes through OSM, you minimize the chances of human error, optimize delivery times, and improve customer engagement.

How Does an Order Management Software Work?

Order Management Software operates by integrating with various systems like eCommerce platforms, payment gateways, warehouse management systems (WMS), and customer relationship management (CRM) tools. After integrating, the OMS captures order details and processes them through various stages:

Order Capture

1. Order Capture:

When a customer places an order, the OMS captures it from multiple sales channels.


2. Payment Processing:

The system verifies payment and ensures that funds are successfully transferred.

Payment Processing

Inventory Allocation

3. Inventory Allocation:

The system allocates products from the correct warehouse based on the available stock.


4. Order Fulfillment:

This process ensures the order is sent for picking, packing, and shipping.

Order Fulfillment

Shipment Tracking

5. Shipment Tracking:

The Order management system tracks the shipment and updates the customer with delivery details.


6. Post-Delivery Management:

Once delivered, it handles any returns or exchanges as part of reverse logistics.

This automated flow helps ensure all touchpoints of the order lifecycle are connected and efficiently managed.

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Post-Delivery Management

Challenges of Order Management System

Implementing order management software comes with its challenges. Therefore, you need to explore some of the common obstacles that businesses face:

1. Poor Order Picking Process

Inefficient order picking can lead to errors, such as picking the wrong items or incorrect quantities, leading to customer dissatisfaction. Inaccurate picks increase return rates, which impact operational costs.


2. Disoriented Sales Channels

It's difficult to keep track of incoming orders, especially when you are selling across multiple channels – online and offline. This can result in order overlaps, stockouts, or delays in order processing.


3. Delivery Routing Issues

Choosing the most efficient delivery route is the key to minimizing shipping times and costs. Without optimized routing, businesses face higher operational expenses and potential delays in customer delivery.


4. Lack of Choices for Customers

In today’s world, customers want flexibility in their shopping experience, such as options for delivery, payment methods, and returns. A system that does not accommodate these preferences could result in lost sales and poor customer satisfaction.


5. Communication Gap in Order Status

Transparency is what customers want. If they cannot easily track their orders or receive regular updates on shipping and delivery, it can lead to frustration and mistrust. A lack of communication during the order cycle is one of the key drivers of customer churn.

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Benefits of an Order Management System

Adopting order management software can simplify business operations and improve the customer experience. Here are some of the key benefits of OMS:

1. Order Tracking

An order management system permits businesses and customers to track orders in real-time. Customers can receive timely updates, while businesses can monitor the progress of their deliveries to ensure smooth order fulfillment.

 Order Tracking

Inventory Monitoring and Management

2. Inventory Monitoring and Management

One of the most important benefits of order management software is real-time inventory visibility. It tracks inventory levels across multiple locations, automatically updating stock counts as orders are placed. This prevents overstocking or stockouts to improve operational efficiency.


3. Encompass Reverse Logistics

An order management system also handles the reverse logistics process, which manages returns, exchanges, and refunds. By simplifying the reverse logistics process you can maintain customer satisfaction while reducing the complexity of managing returns.

Encompass Reverse Logistics

Accurate Forecasting

4. Accurate Forecasting

By using historical order data and sales trends, order management software allows you to generate accurate demand forecasts. This helps in preparing for peak seasons and prevents stockouts to ensure the inventory levels are always optimized.


5. Avoid Stockouts

Another crucial benefit of the order management system is that it helps ensure consistently monitored and updated inventory levels in real-time which reduces the chances of stockouts. When a product stock hits a low margin, automatic replenishment can be initiated to avoid lost sales.

Avoid Stockouts

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Features of Order Management Software

A strong order management software comes equipped with a variety of features designed to boost operational efficiency. Below are some essential features you should look for when implementing an order management system:


1. Multi-Channel Integration

An effective order management software seamlessly integrates with various sales channels, including eCommerce websites, marketplaces, and physical stores. This helps in ensuring that all orders are consolidated and managed from a single platform.


2. Real-Time Inventory Tracking

Having a real-time view of the inventory is critical for businesses that manage multiple warehouses or sell through various channels. An OMS keeps track of inventory levels to ensure that stock availability is accurately displayed across all sales platforms.


3. Automatic Ordering

With automatic ordering, the system can automatically place purchase orders for products that are running low on stock, helping you to avoid stockouts and improve inventory turnover.


4. Order Tracking

An order management system provides real-time order tracking, which allows businesses to track the status of customer orders from the moment they are placed to the time they are delivered. This ensures transparency and boosts customer trust.


5. Omnichannel Support

Omnichannel supports aid businesses that sell through both online and offline modes. This feature permits customers to order products from any channel and receive a similar experience across all platforms.


6. Analytics and Reporting

A strong order management system provides detailed analytics and reporting features that give businesses insights into sales trends, order performance, inventory levels, and more. This data is valuable for making strategic decisions and improving business efficiency.

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Top 5 Players of Order Management System in India

So, it’s time to address the elephant in the room, the top 5 order management software players in India. The right order management system (OMS) helps you streamline inventory, order processing, and customer interactions, all while minimizing errors and maximizing efficiency.

There are several top-tier OMS providers in India that address the diverse needs of your business (whether small or large). For your convenience, we have put together a list of top order management service providers in India.


1. UniCommerce

UniCommerce is the best SaaS-based order management software in India, designed to simplify operations for eCommerce, retail, and D2C brands. It supports numerous sales channels and offers smooth integration with marketplaces, payment gateways, and logistics providers.

Key Features
  • Multi-channel order management.
  • Real-time inventory tracking.
  • Smooth integration with 40+ marketplaces and platforms.
  • Centralized returns management.
  • Comprehensive dashboard for reporting.

Pricing – UniCommerce’s official website does not disclose any price. They offer custom plans based on your requirements and must contact their sales teams for a quote.

G2 Rating – UniCommerce has a rating of 4.5 out of 5.

Pros Cons
Customer Support Long waiting Time
Reliability Poor Chat Support
Excellent Integration Assess Issue
Support Multi-Location
Inventory Management
 

2. Zoho Inventory

Zoho Inventory is part of the Zoho ecosystem, which offers a robust inventory and order management system that fulfills the diverse needs of small, medium, and large businesses. It is the best order management software that helps manage sales and purchases, track inventory, and integrate with shipping providers. This makes it an ideal choice for businesses that are scaling their eCommerce operations.

Key Features
  • Multi-channel selling across platforms.
  • Shipping integration with major carriers.
  • Barcode scanning for quick inventory management.
  • End-to-end tracking of shipments and returns.
  • Built-in analytics and reporting.

Pricing

Plan Price (if Billed Annually) Price (if Billed Monthly) Plan Details
Standard $29 $39 Users- 2 | 500 orders/ month | 1 warehouse
Professional $79 $99 Users- 2 | 3000 orders/ month | 2 warehouse
Premium $129 $159 Users- 2 | 7500 orders/ month | 3 warehouse | 2000 bins / warehouse
Enterprise $249 $299 Users- 7 | 15000 orders/ month | 7 warehouse | 5000 bins / warehouse

G2 Rating – Zoho Inventory has a rating of 4.4 out of 5.

Pros Cons
Easy to Use Limited Customization
Reasonable Pricing Lack of Advanced Features for the lower tier.
Quick Customer Support Limited Third-Party Integration
Reliable Inventory Management  
Automatic Inventory Updates  

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3. Increff

Increff is a powerful order management and inventory optimization platform. It is designed to help your business in handling complex warehouse operations, especially for fashion and lifestyle brands. This best order management software specializes in ensuring rapid order fulfillment and accurate inventory visibility across all locations.

Key Features
  • Real-time inventory tracking across multiple warehouses.
  • Omnichannel order fulfillment.
  • Automated warehouse operations.
  • Deep analytics for sales forecasting and inventory optimization.
  • Smooth integration with ERPs and eCommerce platforms.

Pricing – Increff offers custom pricing based on your business needs. Therefore, you need to contact their team to know them.

G2 Rating – Increff WMS has a rating of 4.5 out of 5 but there is no data related to OMS.

Pros Cons
Great for large-scale operations. Costly for small businesses.
Highly accurate inventory tracking. Complex and cluttered interface.
Fast implementation and order processing.  

4. Shiprocket

Shiprocket is primarily known for its shipping carrier, but it also offers robust order management capabilities for small and medium businesses. This best order management software automates the order processing and handling process to make order management convenient.

Key Features
  • Integration with 17+ courier partners.
  • Real-time tracking and delivery management.
  • Automatic shipping label generation.
  • Smart order routing for faster deliveries.

Pricing – Shiprocket OMS is a part of their delivery platform therefore you do not have to buy it separately. The pricing plans are:

Plan Price (Starting Price) Details
Lite Rs 26/ 500 gms Best for social, small, and medium eCommerce sellers
Professional Rs 20/ 500 gms Suitable for sellers who sell on multiple marketplaces and websites
Enterprise Custom Exclusive plan as per business needs.

G2 Rating – Shiprocket has a rating of 3.9 out of 5.

Pros Cons
Easy to Use Poor customer support
Carrier Selection Carrier issues
Fast Shipping Limited features
Rational pricing Shipping issues
Real-Time tracking  

5. ClickPost

ClickPost is one of the fastest-growing post-purchase and order management platforms in India. They focus on delivering business with efficient shipment tracking and returns management to boost customer experience and operational efficiency. ClickPost is the best order management software for quick and reliable delivery.

Key Features
  • Unified dashboard for multi-carrier shipment tracking.
  • Real-time order status updates and customer notifications.
  • Wholesome returns management.
  • Robust analytics for shipment performance.
  • Smooth integration with ERP and eCommerce platforms.

Pricing – ClickPost did not mention any price for their services on the official website. Therefore, you must contact their sales team for details.

G2Rating – ClickPost has a rating of 4.7 out of 5.

Pros Cons
Excellent customer support Limited customization
Support automation Poor interface
Easy to use Limited features
Convenient integration  

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Wrap Up

Today’s competitive market needs you to deliver a smooth, fast, and efficient order fulfillment process to meet customer expectations. An order management system is the solution that automates the order lifecycle and improves inventory management, delivery process, and overall business efficiency.

Supporting these features like real-time tracking, automatic ordering, and multi-channel integration further ensures that your business can keep pace with the growing demands and deliver exceptional experience.

If you wish to scale and optimize your operations to the changing trends and want a powerful OMS system, then we can help you. Contact our team today and gain a competitive edge in the market.

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