Good is no longer good enough

Customers expect the convenience of seamless integration of all touch points such as online store, store and call center as well as an end-to-end omni-channel customer experience. This requires new business processes such as drop shipment, click and collect, click and reserve, or ship from store. And these must be designed so flexibly that they can be changed at short notice (or even dynamically).

This makes the task challenging for IT. In principle, there are two different approaches to building an omni-channel infrastructure: either the further development of several distributed solutions that were never designed for the actual purpose of order management, or the introduction of a central order management system (OMS).

How an OMS helps

Without central order management, the omni-channel functionality must be programmed into all the peripheral systems involved. In the case of an SAP landscape, this includes SAP ERP, S/4, CAR for merging customer, sales and inventory data, the add-on OAA for sourcing, a Commerce Cloud (Hybris) for e-commerce and the respective call center application. 

An OMS helps with complex orders for products or services when different processes are involved in the assembly, shipping and transport, and this across the boundaries of the system and company. The same applies to complex or subsequent changes to the processes involved in sourcing. Or with the inclusion of transfers in pick-up processes. Then there is an ongoing and significant programming and maintenance effort. This would make a comprehensive SAP OMS a complex development project.

You can implement the omni-channel processes much more flexibly with a central OMS. The OMS connects the customer processes with the settlement processes in the background and controls all omni-channel orders. The OMS knows all stocks (across all channels such as online, store, warehouse, in transit) and orders and ensures a smooth process. It decides which order should be fulfilled from which warehouse, store or drop-ship partner. 

Without coding

The fulfillment of the given delivery promise is automated and the actual added value of a complex supply chain is fully utilized. Once the OMS has analyzed the received order and involved the optimal warehouses, suppliers and parcel companies, the further order flow is monitored. As soon as this plan is threatened by external influencing factors, such as a damaged delivery to a pick-up location or a suddenly discovered shortage, the OMS looks for and initiates the next best option and keeps the customer and the retailer informed. In the meantime, should the customer stop by the store or call the call center, the employee will immediately provide them with the latest information and provide them with the best possible service. These OMS capabilities are configured interactively and continuously adapted to current needs. Coding is not necessary.

Good is no longer good enough. If you want to offer your customers a state-of-the-art omni-channel shopping experience, you can supplement your existing SAP landscape with central order management. S/4 supports the basic processes for retail. CAR enriches ERP with near-real-time analytics and manages PoS data. The trio also includes an OMS that orchestrates the delivery of customer orders across all channels, systems and organizations.