Terms

Order Management

Order management is the end-to-end process of capturing, tracking, and fulfilling customer orders, from the moment an order is placed until the customer receives their package. It involves the complex, behind-the-scenes coordination of people, software, and supply chain partners to ensure orders are fulfilled accurately and efficiently. This function is critical for ensuring customer satisfaction and maintaining operational control.

Key Components of Order Management

Effective order management integrates several operational pillars. It begins with order processing, where customer orders are captured and validated. This is followed by real-time inventory management to ensure product availability. The fulfillment stage then involves picking, packing, and shipping items to the customer.

Beyond logistics, customer communication and post-sales support are vital. This includes managing returns and exchanges smoothly to maintain satisfaction. Central to everything is comprehensive order tracking, providing visibility into the entire lifecycle for optimization.

Benefits of Effective Order Management

Effective order management is a cornerstone of modern commerce, delivering significant advantages that ripple across the entire business. By streamlining the journey from purchase to delivery, companies can unlock greater efficiency and build stronger customer relationships.

  • Satisfaction: Boosts customer loyalty through accurate, on-time deliveries and transparent communication.
  • Efficiency: Automates manual tasks and streamlines workflows, reducing errors and speeding up fulfillment.
  • Savings: Lowers operational costs by optimizing shipping routes and minimizing excess inventory.
  • Visibility: Provides a real-time, end-to-end view of the order lifecycle for better decision-making.

Order Management vs. Inventory Management

While closely related, order management and inventory management serve distinct, complementary functions within a business's operations.

  • Order Management: This end-to-end process covers the entire order lifecycle, from placement to post-sales support. It boosts customer satisfaction and efficiency but can be complex to integrate. Enterprises use it to manage omnichannel complexity, while mid-market firms adopt it to automate processes and scale efficiently.
  • Inventory Management: A focused subset dealing with stock levels, reordering, and availability. It helps control costs and prevent stockouts but lacks full process visibility on its own. Enterprises need it for supply chain optimization, while mid-market companies prioritize it to manage inventory costs and ensure product availability during growth.

Challenges in Order Management

Modern commerce presents several hurdles for effective order management, demanding precision and integration.

  • Complexity: Managing orders across multiple sales channels and partners creates operational silos.
  • Visibility: Lacking real-time inventory data leads to inaccurate fulfillment and broken delivery promises.
  • Errors: Manual processes increase the risk of picking mistakes and costly shipping errors.

Best Practices for Order Management

Adopting best practices is crucial for turning order management into a competitive advantage. By focusing on key operational areas, businesses can enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and significantly improve customer satisfaction.

  • Automation: Implement systems to streamline workflows, reduce manual errors, and accelerate order processing.
  • Integration: Unify order and inventory systems for real-time visibility and accurate stock levels.
  • Omnichannel: Provide a seamless and consistent customer experience across all sales channels.
  • Data: Leverage analytics to identify bottlenecks, optimize fulfillment, and make informed decisions.
  • Proactivity: Manage exceptions and post-sale interactions like returns efficiently to maintain customer trust.

Frequently Asked Questions about Order Management

How does an OMS differ from an ERP?
An ERP is a broad system managing core business functions like finance and HR. An Order Management System (OMS) is specialized, focusing exclusively on the end-to-end order lifecycle, from capture to fulfillment and returns, often integrating with an ERP for financial reconciliation.

At what point should a business invest in a dedicated OMS?
A dedicated OMS becomes essential when manual processes can no longer keep up with order volume, leading to fulfillment errors and poor customer experiences. It's a key investment for scaling operations, especially when expanding into multiple sales channels.

Can order management handle complex fulfillment like dropshipping or BOPIS?
Yes, modern order management systems are designed for omnichannel complexity. They can intelligently route orders to the optimal fulfillment source, whether it's a warehouse, a dropship vendor, or a retail store for Buy Online, Pickup In-Store (BOPIS) scenarios.

Other terms

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Customer Relationship Management Systems

A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system is a tool that centralizes customer data to help manage interactions and nurture relationships.

Customer Relationship Management Systems

Webhooks

Webhooks are automated messages sent by an app when a specific event occurs. They push real-time data to another app's unique URL.

Webhooks

Hadoop

Hadoop is an open-source framework designed for the distributed storage and processing of extremely large data sets across clusters of computers.

Hadoop

Sales Engineer

Sales Engineers blend deep technical knowledge with sales acumen, demonstrating a product's value and solving customer problems to drive revenue.

Sales Engineer

System of Record

A System of Record (SoR) is the authoritative data source for a specific type of data. It acts as the single source of truth for an organization.

System of Record

Responsive Design

Responsive design is an approach where a website's layout adapts to the user's screen size, providing an optimal experience on any device.

Responsive Design

Direct Sales

Direct sales involves selling products directly to consumers in a non-retail setting, such as at home, online, or person-to-person.

Direct Sales

Channel Partner

A channel partner is a company that works with a manufacturer or producer to market and sell their products, software, or services to customers.

Channel Partner

Account Mapping

Account mapping is comparing your customer list with a partner's to find common prospects and unlock new sales opportunities.

Account Mapping

Consumer Relationship Management

Consumer Relationship Management (CRM) is a strategy for managing all of a company's relationships and interactions with its customers.

Consumer Relationship Management

SEO

SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to your website through organic search results.

SEO

Dynamic Pricing

Dynamic pricing is a strategy where businesses set flexible prices for products or services based on current market demands and other factors.

Dynamic Pricing

End of Quarter

“End of Quarter” (EOQ) refers to the final weeks of a business quarter when sales teams rush to meet quotas, often leading to a flurry of deals.

End of Quarter

Lead Generation Software

Lead generation software helps businesses automate finding and capturing potential customers' contact information to build sales pipelines.

Lead Generation Software

Event Tracking

Event tracking is the method of collecting data on specific user actions, or 'events,' on a website or app, such as clicks or downloads.

Event Tracking

GPCTBA/C&I

GPCTBA/C&I is a sales qualification framework for understanding a prospect's goals, plans, challenges, timeline, budget, and authority.

GPCTBA/C&I

SAM

Serviceable Addressable Market (SAM) is the portion of the market your business can realistically serve with its current products and sales channels.

SAM

Predictive Lead Generation

Predictive lead generation uses data and AI to find prospects most likely to buy, helping teams focus their efforts on high-value leads.

Predictive Lead Generation

Sales Kickoff

A sales kickoff (SKO) is an annual event for a sales team to celebrate wins, align on goals, and get motivated for the upcoming year.

Sales Kickoff

Sales Intelligence Platform

A sales intelligence platform is software that provides sales teams with data and insights about prospects to help them sell more effectively.

Sales Intelligence Platform

Marketing Qualified Opportunity

A Marketing Qualified Opportunity (MQO) is a lead vetted by marketing as a genuine sales opportunity, ready for direct sales follow-up.

Marketing Qualified Opportunity

Cold Calling

Cold calling is a sales tactic where reps contact potential customers by phone who haven't previously expressed interest in their product or service.

Cold Calling

Buying Signal

A buying signal is any action from a prospect that indicates they are interested in making a purchase, helping sales teams prioritize leads.

Buying Signal

Competitive Intelligence (CI)

Competitive intelligence (CI) is the ethical gathering and analysis of market data to inform strategic business decisions and gain an advantage.

Competitive Intelligence (CI)

CRM Integration

CRM integration connects your CRM software with other tools, creating a unified system for all your customer data and business processes.

CRM Integration

Consultative Selling

Consultative selling is an approach where salespeople act as expert advisors, diagnosing customer needs to provide the most suitable solutions.

Consultative Selling

Behavioral Analytics

Learn about behavioral analytics, including implementing behavioral analytics successfully, & key metrics in behavioral analytics.

Behavioral Analytics

Revenue Forecasting

Revenue forecasting is the process of estimating a company's future revenue, using historical data and market trends to guide strategic planning.

Revenue Forecasting

Email Personalization

Email personalization uses subscriber data—like their name, interests, or past behavior—to create highly relevant and targeted email campaigns.

Email Personalization

Ramp Up Time

Ramp-up time is the period a new hire takes to get fully up to speed and become a productive member of your go-to-market team.

Ramp Up Time

Pipeline Coverage

Pipeline coverage is a key sales metric. It's the ratio of your total open pipeline value to your sales quota for a specific period.

Pipeline Coverage

Persona Map

A persona map visually outlines a target customer, detailing their goals, behaviors, and pain points to help your team build genuine empathy.

Persona Map

Marketing Play

A marketing play is a repeatable tactic used to achieve a specific marketing goal, like generating leads or driving engagement.

Marketing Play

GTM

A go-to-market (GTM) strategy is an action plan that outlines how a company will reach target customers and achieve a competitive advantage.

GTM

Product-Led Growth

Product-Led Growth (PLG) is a business strategy where the product itself drives user acquisition, conversion, and expansion.

Product-Led Growth

Average Revenue per User

Average Revenue per User (ARPU) is a key performance indicator that calculates the average revenue generated from each user or subscriber.

Average Revenue per User

Bounce Rate

Learn about bounce rate, including understanding bounce rate implications, key factors affecting bounce rate, & reducing your bounce rate effectively.

Bounce Rate

Buying Intent

Buying intent is the collection of online cues and behaviors that signal a prospect is actively researching and moving toward a purchase decision.

Buying Intent

AI Data Enrichment

AI data enrichment uses artificial intelligence to automatically enhance and update raw data, making it more complete, accurate, and valuable.

AI Data Enrichment

Lead Generation

Lead generation is the process of identifying and cultivating potential customers for a business's products or services.

Lead Generation

Retargeting Marketing

Retargeting marketing is a digital advertising strategy that targets users who have previously interacted with your website or brand online.

Retargeting Marketing

AI Sales Script Generator

An AI sales script generator is a tool that uses artificial intelligence to create personalized sales scripts for any outreach scenario.

AI Sales Script Generator

API

An API (Application Programming Interface) is a software intermediary that allows two applications to talk to each other and exchange information.

API

Warm Outbound

Warm outbound is a sales strategy for contacting prospects who've shown interest in your brand through prior engagement, like website visits.

Warm Outbound

Lead Scoring

Lead scoring is the process of assigning points to leads based on their attributes and actions to determine their sales-readiness.

Lead Scoring

Sales Development Representative (SDR)

A Sales Development Representative (SDR) is a sales specialist who finds and qualifies new leads, building a pipeline for the sales team.

Sales Development Representative (SDR)

Network Monitoring

Network monitoring is the continuous process of tracking a computer network's performance and health to detect and resolve issues proactively.

Network Monitoring

Headless CMS

A headless CMS is a back-end content repository that delivers content via API to any front-end, decoupling the content from its presentation layer.

Headless CMS

Cold Emailing

Cold emailing is sending unsolicited emails to potential customers you haven't contacted before, aiming to start a business conversation.

Cold Emailing

B2B Marketing Attribution

Learn about B2B marketing attribution, including challenges in B2B marketing attribution, & key metrics for effective attribution.

B2B Marketing Attribution

Intent Data

Intent data tracks a user's online behavior—like searches and site visits—to identify signals that they are ready to make a purchase.

Intent Data

Sales Enablement Content

Sales enablement content refers to the materials and tools that empower your sales team to engage prospects and close deals more efficiently.

Sales Enablement Content

Expansion Revenue

Expansion revenue is the extra money a business makes from its current customers via upgrades, new products, or additional services.

Expansion Revenue

Business-to-Business (B2B)

Learn about B2B, including what is it, its key elements, the benefits of B2B partnerships, the differences between B2B and B2C, and strategies for effective marketing.

Business-to-Business (B2B)

Awareness Buying Stage

The awareness stage is the first step in the buyer's journey, where a potential customer realizes they have a problem or an opportunity to explore.

Awareness Buying Stage

Account-Based Marketing

Account-Based Marketing (ABM) is a focused B2B strategy where marketing and sales collaborate to target and convert high-value accounts.

Account-Based Marketing

Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR)

Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) is the predictable income a company expects to receive from its customers over a one-year period.

Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR)

Closed Won

Closed Won is a CRM status for a sales deal that has been successfully concluded, resulting in a signed contract and a new customer.

Closed Won

Canary Releases

A canary release is a deployment strategy where new software is rolled out to a small user group first, minimizing risk before a full release.

Canary Releases

Sales Intelligence

Sales intelligence is technology that gathers and analyzes data to help salespeople find and understand prospects and existing clients.

Sales Intelligence

Closed Lost

Closed Lost is a sales term for a deal that didn't go through. The prospect decided not to buy, or the sales team disqualified them.

Closed Lost

Data Appending

Data appending is the process of adding new data fields to your existing database records to enrich and complete your information.

Data Appending

Lead Generation Funnel

A lead generation funnel is a systematic process that guides potential customers from initial awareness of your brand to becoming qualified leads.

Lead Generation Funnel

Product Recommendations

Product recommendations are a marketing strategy that uses customer data to suggest relevant products, boosting sales and customer engagement.

Product Recommendations

Content Management System

A Content Management System (CMS) is software for creating, managing, and modifying website content without needing specialized technical skills.

Content Management System

Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR)

Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) is the predictable, recurring income a business expects to receive each month from all active subscriptions.

Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR)

Lead Enrichment

Lead enrichment adds third-party data to your raw lead lists, creating fuller prospect profiles for more effective and personalized outreach.

Lead Enrichment

B2C2B

Learn about B2C2B, including how B2C2B transforms sales, key strategies for B2C2B success, & differences between B2C2B and B2B2C.

B2C2B

Account-Based Sales

Account-Based Sales (ABS) is a focused B2B strategy where sales and marketing teams treat high-value accounts as individual markets of one.

Account-Based Sales

Outbound Lead Generation

Outbound lead generation means proactively reaching out to potential customers who haven't yet expressed interest to introduce them to your brand.

Outbound Lead Generation

Marketing Mix

The marketing mix is the set of marketing tools a company uses to sell products, defined by the 4Ps: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion.

Marketing Mix

Generic Keywords

Generic keywords are broad search terms that lack specific details like brand or location. They attract a wide audience with less specific intent.

Generic Keywords

Marketing Attribution Model

A marketing attribution model is a framework for assigning credit to the marketing touchpoints that lead a customer to convert.

Marketing Attribution Model

Lead Enrichment Tools

Lead enrichment tools are platforms that automatically add missing data to your leads, like contact info, firmographics, and buying signals.

Lead Enrichment Tools

Single Sign-On (SSO)

Single Sign-On (SSO) is an authentication method allowing users to access multiple applications with one set of login credentials.

Single Sign-On (SSO)

Salesforce Administrator

A Salesforce Administrator is a certified professional who manages and customizes the Salesforce platform to meet a company's specific business needs.

Salesforce Administrator

Feature Flags

Feature flags let you remotely control features in your app without new code. This enables safe testing, gradual rollouts, and quick rollbacks.

Feature Flags

Email Verification

Email verification is the process of confirming that an email address is valid and deliverable, which helps improve campaign performance.

Email Verification

Firmographics

Firmographics are descriptive attributes of organizations, used to segment companies by characteristics like industry, size, and location.

Firmographics

Account Management

Account management is the post-sales practice of building and nurturing long-term relationships with a company's most valuable clients.

Account Management

B2B Intent Data Providers

Learn about B2B intent data providers, including evaluating intent data quality, leveraging intent data for growth, & B2B intent data: key providers comparison.

B2B Intent Data Providers

Logo Retention

Logo retention is a key B2B metric that measures a company's ability to retain its customers, or 'logos,' over a specific period.

Logo Retention

Sales Methodology

A sales methodology is the framework that guides how your sales team approaches the entire sales process, from prospecting to closing deals.

Sales Methodology

Sales Partnerships

Sales partnerships are strategic alliances where two companies co-sell products to expand their reach, generate new leads, and increase revenue.

Sales Partnerships

Audience Targeting

Audience targeting is the process of segmenting consumers into specific groups to deliver more personalized and relevant marketing messages.

Audience Targeting

Sales Prospecting Software

Sales prospecting software automates the process of finding, contacting, and tracking potential customers to help sales teams build their pipeline.

Sales Prospecting Software

Contact Discovery

Contact discovery is the process of finding accurate contact details for potential leads, including names, emails, phone numbers, and job titles.

Contact Discovery

Customer Data Platform (CDP)

A Customer Data Platform (CDP) centralizes customer data from all sources to create a complete, unified profile for each individual customer.

Customer Data Platform (CDP)

Request for Information

A Request for Information (RFI) is a formal process for gathering information from potential suppliers before issuing a more detailed proposal.

Request for Information

Account-Based Selling

Account-Based Selling is a B2B strategy where sales and marketing treat high-value accounts as markets of one, using personalized outreach.

Account-Based Selling

Sales Development

Sales development is the process of identifying and qualifying potential customers to create a pipeline of sales-ready leads for closers.

Sales Development

Closed Opportunities

Closed opportunities are potential deals that have concluded. They are categorized as either 'closed-won' (a sale was made) or 'closed-lost'.

Closed Opportunities

Channel Partners

Channel partners are third-party firms that help market and sell a company's products or services, acting as an indirect sales force.

Channel Partners

Demand Generation Framework

A demand generation framework is a strategic process for creating awareness and interest in your product, ultimately driving new business.

Demand Generation Framework

Revenue Intelligence

Revenue intelligence is the process of collecting and analyzing customer data to provide insights that help sales teams make smarter decisions.

Revenue Intelligence

Gamification

Gamification applies game mechanics like points, badges, and leaderboards to non-game activities to boost engagement and motivate users.

Gamification

Sales Lead

A sales lead is a potential customer—an individual or organization that has shown interest in your company's products or services.

Sales Lead

HubSpot

HubSpot is a customer relationship management (CRM) platform with tools for marketing, sales, and service, all aimed at helping businesses grow.

HubSpot

Firmographic Data

Firmographic data is information used to classify firms. It includes attributes like industry, employee count, location, and annual revenue.

Firmographic Data

Lead List

A lead list is a curated database of potential customers (leads) with contact information and other key data for sales and marketing outreach.

Lead List