As a business involved in order fulfilment, you’ve likely heard of and used both order management and inventory management solutions. These systems offer unique advantages and disadvantages for the order fulfilment process, but they also have overlapping features that can cause confusion when deciding which software best suits your needs. In this article, we’ll compare and contrast order management and inventory management systems to help you understand how they can work together to streamline processes and deliver excellent customer experiences.
Order Management Software
Order Management Software (OMS) is a silver bullet for companies that manage a supply chain, whether selling directly to consumers or fulfilling orders for another business. OMS provides a centralised platform for orders from any channel and drives efficiencies at all touchpoints, from order creation to delivery fulfilment. The key benefits of using an OMS include:
- Streamlined order processing and tracking
- Improved accuracy and reduced errors
- Enhanced customer communication and service
- Increased efficiency and productivity
An OMS plays a crucial role in managing the entire sales process, ensuring that orders are processed quickly, accurately, and cost-effectively. To learn more about the benefits of using an OMS for order fulfilment, check out this article What Is an Order Management System? Exploring the Fundamentals.
Additionally, if you’re interested in how an OMS can help your ecommerce business grow, read How to Identify the Optimal Order Management System for Ecommerce Growth.
Inventory Management Software
Inventory management software is essential for any business that manages physical stock. It provides unrestricted visibility on product volume and availability, helping to streamline reordering processes. When integrated with other supply chain and administrative systems, such as accounting software, inventory management software can enhance all inventory-related processes across the business. The key benefits of inventory management software include:
- Real-time visibility of stock levels and location
- Improved accuracy and reduced stockouts
- Automated reordering and replenishment
- Better forecasting and planning capabilities
By optimising inventory levels and ensuring that the right products are available when needed, inventory management software can help businesses reduce costs, improve efficiency, and enhance customer satisfaction. To learn more about how inventory management can help with stock upkeep, explore No More Out-of-Stock Woes – How NetSuite Enhances the Customer Shopping Experience.
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Similarities between Order Management and Inventory Management
| Similarity | Order Management | Inventory Management |
| Better visibility means better control | Enhanced view of sales processes, stock levels, and fulfilment functions | Enhanced view of stock levels, stock movement, and opportunities to streamline processes |
| Increased efficiency means greater productivity | Automation of order processing, dispatch, and stock updates | Automation of reordering, replenishment, and stock tracking |
| Integrations mean a single view of your stock | Centralised platform integrating accounting, courier, marketplace, and shopping cart systems | Centralised platform integrating with other supply chain and administrative systems |
Differences between Order Management and Inventory Management
While there are some crossovers in terms of the data you can see in both systems, such as stock levels, the key difference lies in their focus:
Customer Satisfaction VS Internal Processes
An OMS aims to drive customer satisfaction throughout the entire sales process, from payment to shipping and customer engagement. In contrast, inventory management software focuses on ensuring the right amount of product is in the right place at the right time, prioritising internal processes.
Present VS Future
OMS concentrates on the present, dealing with how each order is processed, picked, packed and shipped. Inventory management, on the other hand, straddles both the present and future by managing purchasing and working on forecasting. This ensures that your business has enough stock to meet customer demand, especially during peak trading periods. For further reading on the benefits of inventory management, consider reading Benefits of Inventory Management and Inventory Management Systems
Synergy between Inventory and Order Management Software
Whether you’re looking to improve the order process, inventory management, or both, solutions are available that can enhance your business. The best case scenario is deploying a solution that can do both.
Utilising both software types in your supply chain will produce insights that can predict seasonal peaks and help with forward planning. Combining data from across the business will enable you to identify key areas of growth, develop improvements, and expand profitability.
More importantly, popular items will always be in stock, avoiding customer disappointment due to lack of availability or delays. This reduces cancelled orders and ultimately boosts the customer experience.
In Summary
The strategic integration of order management and inventory management systems is pivotal in refining the order fulfilment process. While they share certain functionalities, each system is uniquely designed to enhance different segments of the supply chain, with order management aiming to boost customer satisfaction and inventory management focusing on streamlining internal processes and enhancing forecasting accuracy.
Opting for the right solutions that align with your business objectives is crucial. A cohesive integration of order management and inventory management systems can yield a synergistic outcome, elevating operational visibility, bolstering efficiency, and enriching customer experiences. To navigate these complex decisions and harness the full potential of integrated systems, consider partnering with Jcurve Solutions. Our expertise in providing comprehensive solutions can help you achieve a seamless operational flow, ensuring your business not only meets but exceeds expectations. Jcurve can be the catalyst for your operational excellence and drive your business towards unparallelled growth.
