Modern customers make purchases online. Not only enterprises and small businesses engaged in digital trade find this convenient, but ordinary people as well. This gives them significant advantages: a wide range of products to choose from, the comfort of staying at home, and speed of delivery. Logistics companies help vendors and buyers with this. However, to make everything in the best possible way and enjoy the process, one needs a solid order management system.
Key peculiarities of the best order management systems
An OMS is a digital solution to handle orders. It covers all stages of the entire process, from placement to after-sales support. It’s an important link between the parties and an indispensable tool of contemporary trade.
If your company needs such software, pay attention to the best order management systems for small businesses. They have all the necessary features to consider when building a new solution. When thinking over the functionality of your future software, make sure it provides for the possibility to:
- seamlessly and securely make purchases;
- handle inventory and stock;
- track vital processes;
- manage returns whenever necessary;
- be integrated with marketing and CRM solutions;
- generate reports and safely keep financial data;
- automate key processes.
OMSs don’t stand still and enhance their capacities over time. Their development is directly related to the global socio-economic situation. Thus, the COVID-19 pandemic triggered drastic changes in logistics, and its impact on digital solutions of this type was huge. IBM mentions an impressive surge of curbside pickup (208%) in April 2020 because of lockdowns. Changes in customers’ behavior made companies search for new ways of efficient omnichannel fulfillment (online purchases, BOPIS, etc.).
Therefore, IT companies keep a watchful eye on major changes in the industry to implement innovations for the good of both businesses and end users.
Major benefits of the order management systems for small businesses
You may have a small business, but you should dream big. You need to grow, acquire clientele, and keep up with rivals. Sometimes it’s a tiresome fight, but the results are rewarding. In a world where most business processes are digitalized, you should find available and trustworthy application that will help you successfully carry out these tasks. Let’s see what best order management systems offer users.
- Multipurpose approach
This is what such applications are made for – to serve all purposes, not just certain logistic processes. With them, small businesses don’t need to maintain several solutions and constantly switch between them. All data is kept in one system. All information is at hand.
- Transparency
Both managers and clients appreciate this feature. Employees can check the availability of certain goods in the warehouse, trace their movement to the point of destination, or assess the quality of transportation. All this gives them valuable insights into the functioning of the supply chain. Such knowledge allows firms to foresee potential problems and introduce the necessary changes. In turn, customers can track their purchases and estimate the time of arrival.
Top order management systems provide for enhanced visibility – this is what logistics firms worldwide are searching for.
- Real-time management
With an efficient OMS, you can see everything in real time and evaluate the state of your warehouses, the condition your inventory is kept under, and the availability of certain goods. The latter is one of the major challenges for any eCommerce firm: you need to be aware of your stock to trade successfully.
A robust application facilitates work. A complete map of purchases is in front of you: the ones that are waiting to be shipped, the ones that have already left the premises, and those that are approaching the destination. No more tiresome paperwork, no more records made manually. You can exclude situations when a client has paid for a product that is out of stock.
- Automation
You may be a guru of Excel or Google Sheets, but the more data you enter in a spreadsheet, the higher the possibility of errors. Furthermore, you may forget to modify certain details (changing the number of items in stock, for example) or overlook some important information when making plans for the next season. The best order management systems for small business provide for the full automation of vital processes.
But let’s be more specific and see a successful example.
Cubyn: a comprehensive logistics solution with OMS functionality
Sometimes, eCommerce firms get custom all-purpose logistics solutions. Such applications help them cooperate with transportation and freight companies and wholesale and retail traders. For these ambitious projects, they turn to experienced IT service providers. One of such examples is Cubyn, an efficient platform for a European eCommerce network.
- Objectives
The client needed a top-notch solution to modernize and optimize the workflow and take their business to the next level. The software development company in charge created a product that improved the accuracy of data by 20%. The speed of delivery showed considerable growth and brought business value and convenience to end-users.
One of the best features of the platform is making multichannel deliveries seamless and rapid. The company boasts of considerable outcomes.
- App functionality
Like most order management systems for small businesses, this digital solution ensures users full-scale handling of stock, warehouses, inventory, and shipments. If someone needs to reorder a shipment, they will get a timely notification. Everything is accomplished in real time, everything is transparent and visible.
You can get valuable information concerning the current state of affairs, trace updates or crucial transportation changes, and have permanent access to shipment stories. Product quantity, cost, weight, routes, destination – you can easily handle all data.
The application shows impeccable automation: order placement triggers availability check and subsequent fulfillment (assembling, packing, etc.). The platform suggests the most appropriate transportation company, the shortest and easiest route, and predicts possible hindrances.
Cubyn has efficient embedded analytics. You can see the big picture and assess the overall performance. If you need to delve into details, all the necessary data is available at a mouse-click. You can see the dynamics of purchases, the number of clients, and the frequency rate. By analyzing your current expenses, you can predict what’s ahead for you in the next quarter or year.
Conclusion
A perfect OMS is an indispensable tool for any small business striving to grow. It gives immense flexibility, takes off burdensome tasks off employees, and helps to reduce critical errors when dealing with documentation. If you want to get to the top, you need to develop such a platform. You’ll see impressive results and make your staff and partners happy.
With the best order management systems for small businesses in mind, you can elaborate an efficient development strategy. Consider the functionality mentioned above. Include it in your product, but don’t blindly follow your predecessors. If you show creativity when building your platform and come up with even more useful features, sales will skyrocket, and your clients will turn into recurring customers. Cooperate with the best IT experts who will turn your business ideas into reality.
