What a Modern OMS Can Do For Your Business

You’re standing in your retail store, watching your team scramble. A customer just walked in holding their phone—"I bought this online, but I want to return it here." Meanwhile, your associate is on the phone with another customer wondering where their package is. The POS system is glitching, your warehouse is short-staffed, and you just realized the online inventory says “in stock” for an item that sold out yesterday.

Sound familiar?

If you've ever felt like you're juggling too many business functions at once,  you're not alone. Modern retail isn’t just about having great products or flashy storefronts anymore. It’s about seamlessly connecting every step of the customer journey, from online click to curbside pickup—and doing it at scale, without losing your sanity.

Welcome to the world of Order Management Systems (OMS)—the backbone of the modern retail experience.

An Order Management System, or OMS, is essentially the command center for your entire retail operation. It’s the system that quietly (but powerfully) makes sure every order your business touches—whether it’s placed online, in a store, through an app, via a third-party marketplace, or some combo of all of those—gets where it needs to go, accurately, and without delay.

In this guide, we’re going to break down what an OMS really is, why it’s critical to your business, and how it can completely transform how you operate—while delighting your customers in the process.

So… What Is an Order Management System?

An Order Management System quietly manages the journey of every order—whether it starts in a store, on your website, through a mobile app, or a third-party marketplace—and directs it through every system, warehouse, payment provider, and return center until it lands safely in the customer’s hands.

Order management encompasses everything from receiving and routing, to fulfillment, tracking, returns, and even customer notifications. It’s not just logistics—it’s customer experience orchestration.

But the real power of a modern OMS lies in its ability to zoom out and see the big picture. While your ERP or POS might show you slices of your business, your OMS stitches everything together. It becomes the brain that sees across channels, warehouses, stores, and systems—and helps you deliver a flawless experience no matter how complex your retail world becomes.

Why Is Order Management More Important Than Ever?

Let’s talk about pressure.

If you’re managing a retail operation in 2025, chances are you feel like you're being squeezed from every angle. Customers want more convenience, more speed, more flexibility. Your team wants better tools that actually work. Leadership wants better margins and fewer returns. Oh, and everything should be cheaper, faster, and automated.

Here’s the thing no one likes to admit out loud: retail has changed so fast over the last few years, most systems haven’t caught up. And let’s be honest—most businesses haven’t either.

One day it’s all brick-and-mortar hustle, and the next it’s BOPIS, BORIS, endless aisle, click-and-collect, ship-from-store, same-day delivery. Your customer doesn't see channels. They see one brand—you. And they expect it all to just… work.

So here’s the million-dollar question: Can your current systems actually deliver on that expectation without burning out your team or breaking your operations?

That’s where a robust, modern OMS makes all the difference.

So why is proper order management more important than ever? Two reasons: Your product and your customer.

You could have the best product in the world, but if it’s late, damaged, or your customer can’t get their hands on it without a hassle… it’s game over. Nearly half of consumers say a single bad experience is enough to make them abandon a brand forever.

Today’s shoppers are omnichannel, and they expect your systems to be omnipotent. They want to browse in-store, buy online, pick up curbside, return in person, get real-time updates, and not repeat themselves three times to your customer service team.

Order Management Systems make that possible. Without one, you’re duct-taping your experience together—and that tape peels fast when volume spikes or channels expand.

Retail Pain Points That a Good OMS Solves

Modern retail is complex. It’s omnichannel, multi-location, real-time, and increasingly customer-first. Customers don’t care about your backend struggles—they just want to know their order will show up on time, in one piece, and that you’ll handle it like a pro if something goes sideways. A real OMS exists to make sure that happens. And not just once. Every. Single. Time.

Getting retail right is hard. But OMS exists to quiet the chaos. Here’s how:

1. Customer Chaos... Calmed

We’ve all been there—customer hits “buy” and realizes they shipped it to their old address. Or they picked the wrong color. Or they panicked and ordered two. If you don’t have a system in place that allows for grace periods or immediate changes... Guess who’s calling support? And guess who’s annoyed?

• A modern OMS lets you set rules around cancellations and changes—automatically. Less frustration, less refunding, and less apologizing.
• When something shows up broken, your customer doesn't want excuses about warehouses being out of stock. They want a replacement—fast. A smart OMS gives you access to alternative inventory points so you can get that new item out the door before the complaint escalates into a one-star review.
• Buy online, return in store? Buy online, pick up curbside? These aren’t perks anymore—they’re expectations. If you can’t offer them, or worse, you offer them but can’t execute them smoothly, your customers notice. A good OMS handles all that complexity behind the scenes so your experience feels simple, even if it’s not.
• You’ve got customers standing in your store, ready to buy—but the product isn’t there. “Can we order it online?” they ask. You scramble to check, only to find conflicting inventory numbers and no clue when it’ll ship. Online-only product needed today? Endless aisle it.
• The moment a customer doesn’t know where their stuff is, your brand starts bleeding trust. An OMS delivers real-time order tracking and proactive notifications—no more “let me check on that and call you back” nonsense. Want updates? Automated tracking notifications.
• Customers want you to remember them. They want the system to know they’ve returned that item before. They want appeasements, refunds, replacements—without having to explain their life story to three different reps. Your OMS should unify all of that.

2. Operational Headaches… Handled

• Fraud flags? An OMS with fraud flagging and exception workflows can automate those suspicious order checks—so your ops team can focus on high-value tasks instead of playing detective.
• Store Associates fielding way too many inventory calls? You didn’t hire them to be switchboard operators. With a unified OMS, customers can check inventory online, get notified of restocks, and stop blowing up your stores for basic info.
• Adding new channels or partners? You need system-agnostic flexibility. Whether it’s Amazon, a mobile app, or your new DTC site, adding a new channel shouldn’t feel like you’re rebuilding a whole new operation from scratch. A modern OMS helps you plug new platforms into your workflow without bringing your operations to their knees.
• Need a tech stack that won’t collapse in five years? Future-proof it. You’re building a business for the long haul. You need an OMS that doesn’t just “integrate with everything”—you need one that actually evolves as you do.
• Wasting high-paid talent on low-level tasks? If your smartest team members are spending their days copy-pasting tracking numbers and updating inventory spreadsheets, you're doing it wrong. Automation through an OMS frees up your people to do actual strategy, not grunt work.
• Custom orders? Routed with alerts.
• Call center overload? Consolidate systems, reduce calls.

That’s what a modern OMS delivers—a fluid, connected, intelligent experience that anticipates issues before they even hit your radar.

The Business Benefits of an Order Management System

Alright, so let’s say you’re considering getting an OMS—or you’ve got one that technically exists but feels like it was designed in the flip phone era. What’s in it for you if you upgrade to something that actually works the way your business does today?

Let’s dig into what this actually means for your bottom line, your customer relationships, and your sanity.

1. Total Control Over the Customer Experience

If I asked you right now, “What happens after someone places an order on your site?”—could you map out every step, every system, every possible hiccup?

No?

That’s not your fault. Most retail ecosystems are tangled webs of guesswork, spreadsheets, and tracking down lost orders in your fulfillment centre.  

But your customer experience is your brand. It’s the one thing your competitors can’t copy. So why wouldn’t you want complete control over it?

Your OMS gives you the tools to shape every step of the post-purchase experience. Routing logic, tracking, returns, inventory management—it all flows through one hub. That means you’re in control, not your software, not your courier, and definitely not fate.

• You want to delight customers with quick fulfillment? Route from the closest warehouse.
• Want to keep them updated without drowning your support team in “Where’s my order?” calls? Automate tracking messages at every stage.
• Want to surprise a VIP shopper with next-day shipping from a store location? Done.

With a good OMS, you become the architect of your own Customer Experience, not a hostage to the limitations of legacy tech.

2. Lower Fulfilment Costs

OMS platforms with distributed order management (DOM) don’t just fulfil orders—they optimise them.

Instead of defaulting to one warehouse, your system can check multiple fulfilment centers, ship-from-store locations, or third-party partners—and pick the fastest, cheapest route. It’s like having a shipping strategist on payroll 24/7.

3. Increased Visibility

Imagine a giant spotlight shining on every single order, across every channel, in real-time.

That’s what an OMS provides. Your finance team sees exactly what was fulfilled and when. Your customer service team has all the order details in one place. Your IT team doesn’t need to build expensive customised integrations. Everyone’s on the same page—for once.

4. Greater Inventory Accuracy

Ever sold an item that was actually out of stock? Yeah. Not fun.

An OMS prevents this by constantly syncing available-to-sell inventory across channels. The moment a unit is sold or returned, your numbers reflect it. That means no more backorders, awkward phone calls, or disappointed shoppers.

5. Next-Level Fulfilment Options

Want to do ship-from-store? Split shipments? Preorders? Subscriptions? Delayed payment capture? 

Your OMS needs to handle complex journeys like:

• Curbside pickup
• BOPIS and BORIS
• Preorders and backorders
• Subscriptions and loyalty discounts
• Split shipments
• Multi-payment checkout flows
• Custom product rules (alcohol, regulated goods, etc.)

All of these require careful orchestration—which is an area where  OMS really shines.

6. Automation That Actually Frees You Up

Without automation, your associates are stuck in the weeds—manually routing orders, updating statuses, and juggling exceptions. With automation? Those things just… happen.

Tasks you can automate with an OMS:

• Order routing
• Returns/exchanges
• Customer communication
• Payment capture and reconciliation
• Exception workflows (fraud, flags, VIP handling)
• Bulk updates across thousands of orders

Let your team do what they do best: serve your customers, not babysit your systems.

Choosing the Right OMS for Your Business

Here’s the catch—not all OMS platforms are created equal. And not every OMS implementation is suitable to the particular needs of your business and market. 

That’s why choosing the right OMS for your business requires analysis and a well thought-out strategy.

Step 1: Understand Your Goals & Objectives

Before you look at a single platform, take an honest look at your current business operations and ask the following types of questions:

• What do we actually need to solve?
• Where do we feel bottlenecked right now?
• What do we want our customer experience to look and feel like in 1 year? 3 years?

Knowing your goals helps you prioritise features. Are you trying to:

• Move from traditional retail to D2C?
• Expand internationally?
• Scale from 3 SKUs to 300?
• Launch your own marketplace?
• Stop haemorrhaging time from manual fulfilment workflows?

Get specific. Because you’re not just buying a tool—you’re laying the foundation for your future infrastructure.

And remember, your OMS doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It’s part of your larger commerce ecosystem. So if your long-term plan is omnichannel dominance, you need an OMS that plays well with the rest of your tools—today and tomorrow.

Step 2: Assess the Complexity of Your Business

How many warehouses do you use? Are there multiple order types, workflows, or regulatory concerns? Do you need to integrate with loyalty systems or custom payment gateways? Map it all out.

Here’s how to evaluate your own operational complexity. Look at:

Your Distribution Network

• How many warehouses do you operate?
• Do you do ship-from-store?
• Any dropshippers or 3PLs in the mix?
• Are you fulfilling internationally or locally?

The more nodes, the more complexity—and the greater the need for intelligent routing.

Your Average Order Volume

Are you shipping 100 orders a day? 10,000? High-volume operations need automation and performance. Low volume can sometimes get by with simpler setups.

Your Order Workflows

Do you sell:

• Preorders?
• Bundled or kitted products?
• Subscriptions?
• Custom products?
• Regulated inventory (like alcohol, CBD, etc.)?

These require advanced fulfillment logic and layered decision-making. Translation? Basic OMS platforms might choke on this stuff.

Your Required Integrations

What systems must this OMS work with? ERP, CRM, marketing tools, loyalty platforms, payment processors? If you’ve got a constellation of tools, your OMS needs to serve as the gravity holding everything together.

Step 3: Partner with a Like-Minded Provider

The best OMS providers act like an extension of your team. Look for vendors who get your industry, share insights, and offer scalable tech—not just shiny dashboards.

Step 4: Consider Price vs. Cost

It’s tempting to go with the cheapest add-on, especially if it’s bundled with other tools. But that "quick fix" often costs more in the long run. Instead, choose a system that meets your future needs—not just your current pain.

What Should Your OMS Definitely Include?

Here’s your punch list of non-negotiables:

• Order Aggregation: Centralize all orders across channels
• Global Visibility: Track everything, everywhere, in real-time
• Full Lifecycle Management: From purchase to return to refund
• Omnichannel Fulfilment: Ship from anywhere, return to anywhere
• CS Portal: Full order access and modification tools for your support team

If your current tech can’t do this, it’s time to upgrade.

Conclusion

Let’s not sugarcoat it—modern commerce is brutal. Customers expect everything, everywhere, all at once. And the brands who win? They aren’t just faster or cheaper. They’re smarter, more connected, and more prepared.

Order Management Systems are no longer “nice-to-have.” They’re mission critical. They tie together your tools, your teams, and your customer experience into one smooth, scalable engine.

That's why it's high time for you to explore how a modern OMS can reshape your business. Because when your order management is smart, everything else gets easier.