Canadian Retailer - Spring 2014 - 43

Retail OMS would play an important role in
the execution of their omnichannel strategy,
yet only half of retailers currently have an
OMS in place today. While it's easy to see
the majority of retailers have bought into
the concept of a Retail OMS and the role it
plays in powering omnichannel strategies, it
is clear many don't yet have the retail infrastructure to execute properly.
It's clear that most retailers are not in
a position to overhaul their entire retail
infrastructure overnight to support new
omnichannel expectations, but even if they
could, they would still lack the ability to
consolidate inventory and order data across
their entire organization. And certainly
the aforementioned quick fixes won't solve
these needs either. The Retail OMS is the
lynchpin to managing the order fulfillment
process and order data, helping improve
the overall shopping experience by providing transparency to customers concerning
when orders are ready to be picked up, when
orders have been shipped, a single view of
enterprise-wide inventory available, and
more. The Retail OMS' impact can also be
felt at the store level, passing on order deEffectively managing order fulfillment in an omnichannel world. tails to store associates to fulfill and complete the order via its own omnichannel
Traditionally, retailers have subscribed to interface or with integration into the POS. The true value of
reinvesting in ERP's and Warehouse Man- a Retail OMS is in its ability to immediately integrate with
agement Systems (WMS) for inventory and and work alongside legacy retail systems, enabling retaildistribution centres, and POS systems for ers to deliver a full and sophisticated omnichannel experiin-store retailing. The explosive growth of e- ence without having to replace multiple systems within an
commerce over the past decade has helped existing infrastructure.
solidify e-commerce platforms as another
According to "The Retail Order Management Imperative",
core system to fit into retail infrastructures. cross-channel fulfillment strategies such as ship-from-store,
As omnichannel retailing continues to ma- ship-to-store, and in-store pickup rank as their top omnichanture, Retail Order Management Systems are nel priorities today, while other omnichannel initiatives such
emerging as the critical technology to join as cross-channel loyalty and single view of customer profiles
traditional retail systems to support the ex- (combined online and offline purchase history) appear to be
pectations of the new age consumer.
more long term plays. As such, it is critical that retailers continue to invest in fit for purpose technologies such a Retail
The Critical Role of a Retail Order
OMS' that can help achieve their omnichannel desires in a
Management System
way that supports rapidly changing consumer needs today,
Simply put, the Retail Order Management and in the future.
System (OMS) is the technology layer sitting between retail systems and retail store- OrderDynamics provides e-commerce solutions to businesses
fronts, helping power a seamless omnichan- looking to grow their online sales channel. The success of
nel experience for the customer. According OrderDynamics is highly attributed to its ability to develop
to The Retail Order Management Imperative, lasting partnerships with its clients and enabling superior
a recent report by Forrester Research com- frontend website experiences with efficient backend operations
missioned by OrderDynamics, 82 per cent that help them grow sales. For more information about Orderof retailers around the world agreed that a Dynamics and its services, visit www.orderdynamics.com.

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Canadian Retailer - Spring 2014

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