As your business grows, one of the trickiest things to manage is the flow of information between all your sales channels, warehouses, and physical stores. It becomes apparent that an inventory/order management system that is able to handle this increased data flow is no longer a luxury, it is a necessity.
What items are essential for your OMS to be your single point of truth?
eCommerce Site Integration
In the year 2020, nearly every retailer has an online website. There are many platforms to use when creating your eCommerce site. It is imperative that you have an inventory/order management system that integrates with the software platform you chose for your eCommerce site. Integration should include pushing orders from the website into your OMS to be sent to fulfillment, and then sending tracking information back to the eCommerce site to send to the customer.
ERP Integration
An ERP system is an enterprise resource planning system. It can be a simple account package to track your accounts receivable and account payable. It can also be a software package that will actually do forecasting and reporting to help you plan your budget. Whichever version of ERP software you choose to use, you must ensure that it integrates fully with your OMS. All items entering and leaving the warehouse have a monetary value and need to be tracked for accounting purposes.
Multiple Warehouses
It is important to choose software that is able to manage inventory across multiple warehouse locations. Even if you currently only manage your inventory out of one location, if you want to scale your business, you need to choose software that will scale with you.
In-Store POS Integration
Many retailers have actual brick and mortar stores in addition to their online website. In order to keep tight control on inventory quantities, you need to have an overview of inventory both in your warehouse and in your retail store. Additionally, inventory can be shared between locations and will allow you to fulfill orders in the following ways:
Real-time Updates
Integrating your OMS with all of the above is pointless if you are unable to share the data in real-time. You don’t want a customer to purchase something online for pick up in store, and arrive at the store only to find that item is not actually in stock. This creates an unahppy customer who might not come back. To create happy customers, you need accurate real-time data. A happy customer is a repeat customer.
SkuNexus is a fully customizable commerce operations platform that was built to help you bridge the gap between your eCommerce site, ERP system, and your retail stores. SkuNexus will be the single source of truth that will update all your inventory information in real-time. All data will be easy to access and readily available to help you to make the best decisions for your company succeed.
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