OMS
Buyer’s Guide
What to ask, what to measure and what to ignore when you are choosing an order management system.
This is important info for you to know. We’re continuously updating our knowledge hub as OMS technology, AI, fulfillment models, sales channels, and your requirements evolve. Have a question you need answered on this topic?
Ask usWhat is an OMS Buyer’s Guide?
If you’ve landed here you’re already looking for an order management system. Or at least considering it. You don’t need us to tell you what one is. You want to know where to start and how to go about this process. There is a framework that has been used for a long time. Templates you can find, and steps you ‘should’ follow. It involves lengthy RFPs, overdone slide decks, over the top pitches, and nowadays AI talking to AI.
Think about it. You gather your requirements for what you need the new OMS to do. Maybe you ask AI to write those based on industry standards and what you do today. Maybe you copy an older ERP, WMS, or TMS RFP you have laying around and reuse it. Then you evaluate the vendor responses with AI, ask for summaries.
What if we skip all that? Chat human to human instead? Get to the point.
Yes, we can run the standard process, because we know some businesses need that. Things like this can be important to reference in the future.
But at Fluent Commerce we do things different.
What is a modern OMS Buyer’s Guide?
That’s the better question. Let us show you.
- 01
Gather Requirements based on today’s use cases
- 02
Create an RFP. Use an old one or ask AI to do it.
- 03
Ask multiple vendors to fill out this RFP
- 04
Evaluate vendor responses to RFP and invite them to demo use cases
- 05
Compare various demos of use cases with different stakeholders
- 06
Bring in more stakeholders, have more demos, more slides, more calls
- 07
Run out of time, pause project, maybe even cancel it (not saying this is how it always ends but you can see a lot of lost time in the above)
- 01
Get on a call with an OMS SME. Show your order flows on day one. Unload like you’re in therapy. Not just OMS pain, but all of your problems, what success looks like, an ideal timeline. Not sure if something is relevant? Share it anyways.
- 02
Have the vendor take that first call and turn it into your entire OMS plan. Day zero to launch and everything in between.
- 03
Do some data sharing, a few more calls, slides, talk to a real customer, the executive team. Whatever you need to be certain you’ve found the right vendor and long term partner. Feel like they’ve got you.
- 04
Get it done, go live fast, see ROI faster.
Four steps, not seven. Same certainty, months earlier.
We’re happy to do both. We like to meet prospects where they’re at. And we can take you through every step of either. An RFP template? We’ll share that. Demos of every use case you have? Easy. Show you why Fluent Order Management is the best, safest, and smartest option? We’ve got you.
Which OMS vendors should you evaluate?
We have a whole resource for that. See here.
But here is a quick TL’DR for reference:
What it is
This is whatever you have today to manage all things orders, inventory, and fulfillment. You just keep doing that.
Best if
You don’t think about your OMS, it causes you no pain today.
What it is
With this, you build your own OMS. Figure out your requirements, build out each capability. Maybe AI helps accelerate this process.
Best if
You have a highly technical team and are confident they can handle the security and risk while still innovating and handling data loads.
What it is
These solutions are older. They are typically part of large suite of products. They used to be on-premise only and have moved some capabilities over to the cloud or are deprecating OMS.
Best if
Not really anyone if we’re talking IBM, they’re deprecating Sterling in 2026. But the others are ok if you are already using their other solutions.
What it is
For these, they’ve focused just on one part of OMS. Maybe just orders or just inventory. Maybe your requirements (for right now) are what they offer.
Best if
Your only needs are what they are offering. And you don’t plan to have future OMS requirements outside of what they offer.
What it is
These solutions have a standard set of OMS capabilities. You map your requirements to what they offer, not the other way around. Rigid capabilities means rigid limits when it comes to volumes and growth.
Best if
You want a vendor with set capabilities and have no plans to grow beyond them.
What it is
These marry buy and build. With the capabilities offered by the other solutions but a modern architecture that enables you to go beyond OMS, outside of the box when you have unique requirements.
What are key questions to ask in an OMS buying cycle?
Cliche or not, there is no such thing as a bad question. Ask everything. Ask yourselves, ask the vendors, don’t stop until you have every bit of information you need. To get you started, we created this. Beyond table stakes so you can find what will be most important for longevity.
| Questions to ask yourselves | Questions to ask the OMS vendors |
|---|---|
Why are you considering an OMS evaluation? | How fast is your real-time inventory? On the PLP/search, PDP, in an LLM? |
What are your biggest pains, challenges, problems with how OMS is done today? | Do you have responsive sourcing? Can I A/B test live sourcing decisions? |
What’s the TCO of what you do today for OMS? | How long does a typical integration take? Out of the box or otherwise? And what about the entire implementation? |
What is your timeline for this project? Ideal or necessary go-live date? | How are upgrades handled? Or capabilities I need that are outside of the box? |
How will you measure success? Don’t leave a stone unturned. Here are 39 KPIs related to OMS to get you started. | How do you handle scale? Peak season? Flash sales? What have been your highest order volumes per minute? hour? |
Other than copy and paste what you do today for OMS capability. What is outside of that? What is everything that would fulfill your order management dreams? | It used to be what is your roadmap? But you need a partner that adapts to change in a fast environment. Ask to see their most recent innovations, what they’re exploring next and why. |
Some of these are broad, see how you and your teams respond. See how the vendor responds. You want brainstorming and problem solving. No OMS project is alike, and shouldn’t be. Because you don’t look like every retailer or business that uses one.
Have a question you need answered on this topic?
Ask usWe love good questions. We loathe bad answers.
(aka our FAQ)
What should an OMS be used for?
All things orders, inventory, and fulfillment. And if it’s a good one, a whole lot more beyond OMS. That’s where having an OMS platform is key. It should be extensible and innovative. At no point in time you should have to look for another tool because what you need doesn’t come ‘out of the box’ or fit ‘inside OMS’
What isn’t an OMS?
This question is here because we get it a lot. In different ways. ‘Why can’t I use my ERP to do OMS?’ Sound familiar? Your ERP can do OMS if you are a small business. To keep it short (but our team can provide the long answer if needed. If you have growth goals of any kind (and we hope you do) and don’t want angry customers (surely not). Well then, your ERP, commerce platform, or homegrown tech can’t do OMS.
Do you need an OMS? Or a new one?
If you’re here, probably. Here is a quick self assessment you can do:
- New integrations take months
- Every change require customization and cost
- Inventory isn’t available in real-time
- Scale of any kind is hard (regions, M&A, etc.)
- Your OMS can’t scale during peak events (black friday, flash sales, viral social selling)
- IT is spending more time on maintenance than innovation
Also, dive into Legacy OMS Modernization for more information if that shoe fits.