How to elevate customer experiences with omnichannel Order Management

Customer journeys are more omnichannel and less predictable. The lines between online and offline brand interactions are blurring.

Shoppers expect retailers to connect them to products they desire with the degree of speed, flexibility and choice they demand. But every customer journey is unique. And every trend and changing behaviour adds another layer of complexity and expectation.

Today, every shopper defines their own conditions, and it is the role of the retailer to meet those conditions to earn every sale. To adapt to the deep and diverging demands of modern shoppers, retailers must step up their Order Management solution (OMS).

From new fulfilment methods to complex cross-channel transactions, OMS makes modern customer experiences not only possible but profitable. Here's how.

Order Management's new look

If Merchandising is the eyes and ears of the customer experience engine, OMS is the brain.

Order fulfilment has become much more complex in recent years. Omnichannel fulfilment methods including Click-and-Collect and Buy-Online-Ship-to-Store (BOSS) — even Buy-Online-Return-in-Store (BORIS) — are increasingly common. New methods continue to seep into shoppers' preferences. All while delivery expectations become shorter and shorter.

Retailers are recognising the growing demand and what it means for customer experience: 60% of retailers list reduced friction between digital sales and store fulfilment as their top priority.

Meeting shoppers' order fulfilment expectations is table stakes for the modern retail market. But embracing up-and-coming methods can give retailers a competitive advantage. For example, we've seen as much as a 90% increase in omnichannel revenue potential when our clients offer ship-from-store fulfilment, whether the shopper bought online or added to their order at POS.

Without a modern OMS solution, connecting customers to products in a way that fosters market growth and customer retention is virtually impossible. Expectations are the highest they've ever been, and appear to be rising even higher. Retailers that fail to adapt to these heightened expectations in an efficient and cost-effective manner will be left behind.

Merchandising streamlines order management

With the real-time inventory insights provided by the modern Merchandising solution, stakeholders can fulfil orders in the fastest and most profitable way possible. A retailer can have access to data in their OMS to, say, ship an item from a local store versus a distribution centre to shorten delivery times and shipping costs — even increase profit on low-margin items.

How? With integrated Merchandising and OMS, retailers have the capability to optimise efficiency from the front office by setting new rules and best practices by the item. Retailers can also adapt these rules for temporary conditions like holidays and promotions.

OMS returns the favour

OMS helps reduce the need for safety stock. Because the right OMS sources inventory by the best and most readily available option, Merchandising is free to reallocate much more safety stock to sell.

Shoppers now expect the same seamlessness between channels as they do within a channel. Merchandising paired with OMS makes multi-store interactions like store-to-store transfer, ship-from-store fulfilment or pickup-at-another store possible and pleasant for the shopper.

Merchandising teams are more capable of working with Store Operations teams to adjust store layouts based on more precise customer demand and order fulfilment data. Planograms and assortment plans become more flexible and adaptable to changing trends and behaviours. Merchandisers can optimise stores for the ideal balance of sales and order fulfilment.

OMS and POS: the perfect pair

OMS and POS solutions are powerful in their own right. But they work even better together.

Many of the challenges that come with the rise of omnichannel retail — and ambitions of the retailer interested in Unified Commerce — can be solved with the pairing of OMS and POS:

• Associates can execute in-store fulfilment for omnichannel orders faster and easier, with worklists, communications and alerts integrated into their POS
• Mixed cart orders, including add-ons and upsells, are made possible - all within one transaction
• Store associates can order products from other stores on behalf of shoppers
• Inventory visibility reduces friction for Return-Online-Pickup-in-Store (ROPIS) orders

All managed straight from the retailer's POS, no new devices or unfamiliar UX required.

Connect customers to products easily with Aptos OMS

Omnichannel demands are too advanced for many retailers' technology stacks. Especially when store fulfilment methods like Click-and-Collect and Return-in-Store have become such a big part of modern shopper journeys.

Today, retailers need an OMS that can effortlessly accommodate omnichannel store fulfilment requirements. Aptos OMS does so and more, integrating natively with modern Merchandising and POS solutions to elevate customer experiences and achieve true Unified Commerce.

Want to discover how Aptos OMS can help you revitalise the relationship between your customers and products? Learn more about our industry-leading solution.