RETAILRETHINK [ INSIGHT ]
by Kari Polson Senior Marketing Manager, Deck Commerce kari.polson@deckcommerce.com | linkedin.com/in/polsonkari
Order Management System+Online Store=The Best Customer Experience
A majority of buyers say they will abandon a brand after just one negative experience. Retailers must look at the entire purchasing process—from browsing and checkout through delivery and returns— as every interaction is crucial to developing a lifelong customer.
(for both the customer and retailer) to notifying customers of shipping, delivery, or any other order updates. Create omnichannel experiences. A dedicated OMS enables retailers to create a buy anywhere, ful ll anywhere, return anywhere model. By setting up automated work ows in their OMS, retailers can enable customers to select the ful llment option of their choice, while being con dent that they have the technology in place to ful ll on that promise. Make customer service interactions painless. An order management system empowers the customer service team with the data they need to easily look up orders to give credits or make line-item cancellations. Give customers the ability to change their minds on their ful llment location with grace periods before orders are sent to be ful lled. Make returns and exchanges easy. Giving customers the ability to self-initiate returns puts the consumer in control while giving the retailer the opportunity to incentivize consumers to make additional
Here are some pre, during, and post- purchase solutions an order management system (OMS), working in tandem with a retailer’s storefront, enables to create a seamless customer experience. PRE¯PURCHASE Display accurate inventory. With an order management system, retailers have visibility into their inventory across every channel—Amazon or other third-party retailers, as well as their own e-commerce site. They can display certain percentages of inventory to different channels and leverage safety stock, so customers see exactly what is available where. Offer preorders and backorders. Gain momentum (and line up revenue) for a new product launch by accepting preorders and displaying estimated delivery dates on your site. Accept backorders for out-of-stock products and highlight on the storefront when products are expected to be back in stock, giving customers the information they need to make a purchasing decision.
DURING PURCHASE Add high-converting checkout
options for payment and delivery. One of the best ways to increase conversions is to give consumers options that work best for them. With an OMS, retailers can let consumers choose their most convenient delivery method or pickup location, select their delivery date, or even accept multiple ship-to addresses. It also allows retailers to accept consumers’ preferred payment methods including credit, debit, and gift cards, e-gift cards, store credits, and buy now pay later options. POST¯PURCHASE Provide fast ful llment and frequent order updates. During the ful llment process, customers expect fast ful llment and to be noti ed every step of the way. That’s why retailers looking to optimize their entire customer experience rely on a dedicated order management system that can automatically process direct-to- consumer orders—from orchestrating the most ef cient ful llment location
purchases during the process. By using a dedicated OMS in conjunction with an e-commerce
storefront, retailers can be con dent they are using the right tools to create the ideal shopping experience. n
34 Inbound Logistics • August 2022
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