Why a strong Order Management System matters NOW
Customers expect real-time updates and a promise that sticks. A mature order management system turns complexity into a dependable flow. Inventory truth stays in sync, routing follows business goals, and exceptions surface early. Teams ship faster, service calls plunge, and margin improves because decisions are made with live data, not hunches.
What is an Order Management System?
An order management system (OMS) centralizes multi-channel orders, validates payments, checks inventory, allocates intelligently, and keeps the order processing workflow moving. Modern OMS programs coordinate with warehouses, carriers, and service teams so every milestone is visible.
Tejas delivers this end-to-end through TOMS (Tejas Order Management System) and TWMS, with native support for distributed order logic, inventory availability, and live status events.
OMS vs WMS vs ERP: How They Work Together
- OMS: order capture, allocation, orchestration, order tracking, returns.
- WMS: pick paths, packing, inventory movements, and accuracy checks.
- ERP: financials, purchasing, master data, reporting.
TOMS ↔ TWMS runs the day-to-day, while ERP remains the system of record for finance and planning
What is Distributed Order Management (DOM)?
Distributed order management evaluates multiple fulfillment paths, like DCs, stores, drop-ship partners, and chooses the best route based on availability, cost, and promise dates. TOMS consolidates orders into a single view and applies routing rules you can explain and audit.
The complete Order Processing Workflow
Order capture → Inventory allocation & routing → Orchestration → Shipping & carrier → Customer order tracking → Returns
- Order capture and validation
Order Sync from Web Store, Marketplace, etc. Actual order capture will be there only. If the order is placed with payment transaction type 'capture' then, TOMS will allocate the order subject to the availability of inventory, whereas if the order was placed with 'Authorize' transaction, then TOMS will capture the payment with respective payment authorization token before further fulfilment of the order.
- Inventory allocation and routing
The OMS checks real-time availability and applies order fulfillment optimization rules (cost, speed, proximity, SLAs) to select the best node.
- Order orchestration
Order orchestration is the process of coordinating and automating all the steps needed to fulfill a customer order-from order capture, inventory check, payment, routing, and shipping, to final delivery-ensuring the order is processed smoothly across multiple systems, warehouses, and channels.
- Shipping and carrier management
Labels, rate shopping, and service selection are automated. Milestones post back for service and finance.
- Returns and exchanges
RMA flows, validations, and putaway rules keep returns fast and accurate; inventory is revalidated before resale.
12 Essential Order Management Best Practices
Here's the updated section with order data correctness and validation process included:
- Real-time inventory visibility Keep a single availability truth across channels and sites. Sync frequently; publish safe-to-promise quantities.
- Automated routing rules Drive order fulfillment optimization with policies for proximity, cost, cutoffs, and service tiers.
- Strategic order splitting Allow splits when they protect promises or prevent stockouts; measure customer impact and shipping cost.
- Multi-carrier integration Enable rate shopping and service selection by speed, reliability, and cost.
- Proactive exception management Alert on low stock, pick delays, address issues, and carrier misses. Fix early, message customers quickly.
- Flexible fulfillment (BOPIS, BORIS, ship-from-store) Use inventory everywhere; set guardrails to avoid store stockouts.
- Automated customer communications Standardize automated email alerts on order fulfillment statuses including order confirmation, ship notification, partial or full cancellation, return goods received alerts, refunds and appeasement notifications through branded communication templates.
- Order accuracy improvement Enforce scan-to-verify and pack checks; monitor error patterns and coach teams.
- Order data correctness and validation process Implement real-time validation for customer information, shipping addresses, payment details, and SKU verification to prevent fulfillment errors and delays.
- Data hygiene & master data Clean SKUs, addresses, units of measure, and locations; freeze IDs ahead of cutover.
- Peak readiness Capacity test, staff plan, and pre-book carrier capacity; rehearse peak playbooks.
- Security and compliance Access controls, audit logs, and data protection matter as much as speed. Review Tejas Security & Compliance.
Book a TOMS walkthrough to see these in action on real orders.
How to choose the right OMS
Pick the platform that matches your operating reality: SKU mix, nodes, channels, peak behavior, and service goals. Confirm that order processing workflow steps can be run using your data and labels in a small sandbox.
Essential OMS features checklist
| Feature |
Why It Matters |
Priority |
| Real-time inventory sync |
Prevents overselling; accurate promises |
Critical |
| Multi-channel order capture |
One customer/order truth |
Critical |
| Distributed order management |
Optimizes cost & speed |
High |
| Carrier integration |
Flexible shipping; rate shopping |
High |
| Returns management |
Full lifecycle; fewer tickets |
Medium |
| Reporting & analytics |
Continuous improvement |
Medium |
Integration requirements (keep it vendor-neutral)
- Leading ecommerce platforms and marketplaces.
- Tax Provider (like Avalara) integration for automated tax calculations, Payment processing for secure transactions, WMS for inventory and fulfillment operations, and Carriers for shipping and delivery.
- WMS (use TWMS or connect to third-party systems).
- Payment processors and fraud tools.
- Carriers/consolidators and tracking services.
Implementation timeline considerations
Choose a team with deep OMS/WMS cutovers and retail/omnichannel experience. Tejas Premium Salesforce Consulting and Implementation Partner has delivered enterprise order management best practices programs for 20+ years.
KPIs & benchmarks that matter
| KPI |
Solid Target |
Leaders Aim For |
| Order accuracy |
99.0–99.5% |
99.5–99.9% |
| Perfect order rate |
~90% |
95%+ |
| Order cycle time |
24–48 hours |
< 24 hours |
| On-time delivery |
~95% |
97–99% |
| Fill rate |
> 90% |
95%+ |
Track a short list: accuracy, cycle time, on-time, split rate, RTO/returns, cost per order. Tie improvements back to specific order processing workflow changes.
Request a Tejas OMS demo to see live dashboards and how teams use them daily.
Taking action on your order management strategy
Companies that invest in practical order management best practices win on speed and consistency. TOMS, TWMS, and myPOmanager integrate cleanly with your stack so every order follows a clear path.
Ready to move?
Start with a working session and a real data sandbox:
Key Takeaways
- An order management system (OMS) is the control tower that unifies capture, allocation, orchestration, customer order tracking, and returns in one flow.
- Real-time inventory plus rules-based routing drives order fulfillment optimization that cuts cost and protects delivery promises.
- Tight OMS ↔ WMS ↔ ERP integration keeps availability honest, picks accurate, and finance reconciled without re-keying.
- Proactive exceptions and standardized comms reduce support tickets while keeping customers informed at every milestone.
- Focus KPIs, like order accuracy, perfect order rate, cycle time, on-time delivery, and fill rate, tie daily improvements to revenue and CX.
FAQs
What is an order management system, and how does it work?
An OMS centralizes multi-channel orders, validates payments, allocates inventory, orchestrates fulfillment, manages end-to-end workflow processing, and handles returns. TOMS connects these milestones so operations, finance, and service share the same truth.
How do OMS, WMS, and ERP work together?
OMS promises and orchestrates; WMS picks, packs, and updates inventory; ERP handles financials and master data. TOMS ↔ TWMS keeps execution tight while ERP remains authoritative for finance.
What are the most effective order management best practices today?
Real-time availability, rules-based routing, multi-carrier setup, proactive exceptions, scan-verified accuracy, branded end-to-end order fulfilment tracking, flexible fulfillment, and a short KPI list reviewed daily.
How do you drive order accuracy improvement?
Use scan-to-verify at data validation mechanisms, slots to avoid look-alike errors, monitor error patterns, and coach teams. Close exceptions the same day.
How fast can an OMS go live?
Single-site SaaS baselines can move in weeks to a few months; multi-site and heavy automation extend timelines. Run a thin end-to-end rehearsal before cutover.
