Your business is ever-changing, as is the retail industry and your software and systems should be able to keep up with your business demands. Order management software is designed to enable you to seamlessly manage orders, whether you’re a multi-channel retailer selling your own products, or a 3PL that is fulfilling orders on a client’s behalf.
It can sometimes seem simpler to stick to what you know and ‘not fix what is not broken’; however, if your ambition is to grow your business and profit margins and your OMS is slowing you down, then it may be time to consider changing your OMS software.
Signs it’s time to change Order Management System Software
The following are the 5 most common signs that your order management system is outdated and that further efficiencies could be made to your order fulfilment processes. These signs may indicate that it’s time to look at a new OMS software:
1. You’re performing manual tasks
One of the primary benefits of order management software is reducing the need for manual tasks to manage your orders. If you’re still spending time keying in data, manually raising shipping labels or invoices for customers, this may signify it’s time to upgrade.
An OMS should help you automate the majority, if not all of your order fulfilment tasks, including:
- Collecting order data from your shopping carts and marketplaces
- Arranging shipping for every order
- Tracking costs such as shipping, to be passed on to your customers
- Producing pick lists for your warehouse staff
- Communicating order updates to the customer i.e. tracking information
2. Unable to manage multiple channels
To enable growth, ecommerce businesses typically sell across their own website and multiple popular marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay and OnBuy.
As mentioned, an optimal OMS should automatically collect order data from all shopping carts and marketplaces and collate your orders in one central platform for you to manage effectively. If your OMS does not currently support the integration of all your sales channels, it could prove efficient to begin researching alternative OMS software that offers connections to the channels you need.
3. The OMS is missing integrations
Sales channels are not the only important integrations you need access to via your order management software. To run your business efficiently, you will likely need to connect to additional integrations such as:
- Inventory management software
- Warehouse management software
- Couriers
- Multi-carriers
- Accounting systems
If you’re unable to centralise control of all of the systems you need, you may be finding yourself manually transferring data from one system to another to perform tasks such as raising invoices for your customers or updating inventory levels in your warehouse; which is far from the most efficient way to work.
4. No new features or developments
In the UK, over 80% of consumers are digital buyers, making ecommerce the most popular buying method in the country. Giant online marketplaces such as Amazon have set consumer standards as they now expect speedy dispatch and delivery such as same-day and next-day delivery.
Your order fulfilment must adapt and a key part of that is having an OMS that is continually updated and offers new features or developments that enable you to keep up with the changes in customer buying habits. For example, your OMS being able to work seamlessly with Amazon’s Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA) fulfilment method allows ecommerce businesses to utilise a recognisable and trustworthy existing network of warehouses and quick turn-around delivery services.
5. It isn’t scalable to your business needs
It is forecast that by 2025, over 90% of UK customers will make ecommerce purchases; therefore, business growth is inevitable and your OMS needs to be able to scale and grow with you.
If your current OMS is beginning to struggle with your ecommerce order volume or as a 3PL, it struggles to accommodate all of your ecommerce clients, it could be prudent to switch platforms before you outgrow your current system.
In both circumstances, it may seem like a lot of work to move your operations to a new OMS system; however, changing OMS software before you hit or exceed its maximum capacity means you can avoid an interim period of potentially poor service, which could damage relationships with your customers.
Is it time to consider cloud-based order management software?
As you’re considering whether it’s time to change your order management software, it may also be worthwhile to look at the benefits of a cloud-based OMS rather than a localised software solution.
Cloud-based software allows you to access the system and its data from any location, whether on-site or on the move – removing the need for paperwork or being logged into localised computer networks. It also means you no longer face the challenge of hosting capabilities, system storage limits, data security and loss of information as everything is stored remotely.
How can Mintsoft help?
Mintsoft is a cloud-based order management software that has been designed to help you streamline your order processing, whether you’re an online retailer or 3PL. It’s a great solution to manage all your orders from various online shopping platforms and multiple sales channels, and to integrate all of your systems, fully automating your dispatch process from picking, packing and shipping. Learn more about order management systems and how to choose the best OMS for your business.
Book a personalised demo with one of our product experts and we will show you why we think changing to our order management system is right for you.