In today’s fast-paced B2B eCommerce landscape, efficient order management is more than just a necessity—it’s a competitive advantage. As the B2B market continues to outpace B2C, the complexity of managing orders has grown exponentially. Many businesses rely on ERP systems to handle their order processes, but as these processes become more intricate, ERPs often fall short.
So, how do you know when it’s time to transition from an ERP system to a dedicated Order Management System (OMS)? Here are some key signs that indicate your B2B company may be ready for an OMS.
1. Your Order Process is Becoming Overly Complex
If managing your orders feels like navigating a maze, with approvals, custom pricing, and changes scattered across various systems, your ERP might be reaching its limits. An OMS can centralize and streamline your entire order process, ensuring consistency, reducing errors, and enhancing customer satisfaction.
2. Inventory Data is Delayed or Inaccurate
ERPs are notorious for lagging behind in real-time inventory updates, which can lead to costly stockouts or overstocks. An OMS provides real-time inventory visibility, allowing you to respond quickly to demand changes and avoid these pitfalls.
3. Customers Can’t See Accurate Inventory Availability Online
Today’s B2B buyers expect to know exactly what’s in stock before they place an order. If your ERP can’t present accurate inventory data online, you could be missing out on sales. An OMS ensures your customers always see up-to-date inventory information, no matter where they’re shopping.
4. Managing Multiple Warehouses is a Nightmare
With warehouses in different regions or countries, manual order routing becomes risky and error-prone. An OMS automates this process, optimizing for factors like proximity, shipping costs, and inventory availability, ensuring efficient and cost-effective fulfillment.
5. Scaling Your Omnichannel Strategy Feels Impossible
As your company sells through more channels—online stores, marketplaces, catalogs—the challenge of tracking and managing orders across these platforms grows. An OMS consolidates all orders into a single system, making omnichannel fulfillment seamless and efficient.
6. Buyers Are Requesting More Custom Orders
If your sales team struggles to provide accurate pricing and availability for custom orders, it might be time for an OMS. These systems facilitate order customization and can even handle split shipments, ensuring that every order is fulfilled to the customer’s exact specifications.
7. Your ERP Lacks Flexibility
ERPs can be rigid, making even minor changes expensive and time-consuming. An OMS built on MACH architecture (Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native, and Headless) offers the flexibility and scalability your business needs to adapt to market changes and customer demands.
8. Customer Experience is Suffering
If your customer service team struggles to provide timely and accurate information because they’re navigating clunky ERP interfaces, your customers are likely noticing. An OMS empowers both customers and service reps with self-service portals and a unified view of order data.
9. Integrations Are Costly and Time-Consuming
Integrating your ERP with other systems like CRM, logistics, and shipping can be a headache. An OMS with robust API integrations simplifies this process, ensuring seamless communication between all your business systems.
10. Siloed Data is Limiting Insights
Understanding order trends and customer behavior is critical, but if your data is siloed across different systems, gaining these insights can be challenging. An OMS breaks down these silos, providing you with the analytics and reporting needed to optimize your operations.
Conclusion: Is It Time for an OMS?
Recognizing these signs is the first step toward enhancing your order management process. If any of these challenges sound familiar, it might be time to consider implementing a dedicated order management system.
To dive deeper into the signs that your B2B company needs an OMS and to explore best practices for B2B order management, download our comprehensive eBook: 10 Signs Your B2B Company Needs an Order Management System Instead of an ERP.