Boosting E-commerce Agility with Composable OMS Solutions
A look at how an OMS can improve business performance and best practice tips for ensuring success.
In the rapidly evolving landscape of e-commerce, where customer expectations and market dynamics shift at a breakneck pace, businesses must leverage technology to remain competitive. Central to this effort is the Order Management System (OMS), a critical component that orchestrates the entire order lifecycle. Traditionally, OMS solutions were monolithic, with all processes tightly interwoven into a single, often inflexible system. However, as the demands on e-commerce infrastructure grow more complex, the limitations of these traditional systems become increasingly apparent.
Our modern e-commerce environment is marked by the rise of new sales channels, including online stores, marketplaces, social commerce, and brick-and-mortar locations. Each of these channels requires seamless integration with inventory, shipping, and customer management systems to provide a cohesive customer experience. This is where a composable OMS, like OneStock, comes into play. Unlike monolithic systems, a composable OMS is built using modular components that can be independently developed, deployed, and scaled, offering unparalleled flexibility and agility in managing orders across multiple channels.
How a composable OMS contributes to business agility
Business agility (the ability to quickly adapt to market changes, customer demands, and technological advancements) is crucial in a competitive e-commerce landscape. A composable OMS significantly contributes to this agility by providing the modularity, scalability, and interoperability needed to thrive in a dynamic environment.
Modularity and flexibility: A composable OMS is built on a foundation of modular components, each responsible for a specific function such as Ship from Store, Delivery Promise, or Business Intelligence. This modularity allows businesses to pick and choose the best-of-breed components that fit their specific needs, rather than being locked into a single, inflexible system. For instance, if a pure player needs to improve its inventory visibility and associated fulfillment times, it can easily integrate a Delivery Promise module without overhauling the entire features of an OMS.
Scalability: As e-commerce businesses grow, so do their order volumes and the complexity of their operations. A composable OMS scales effortlessly to accommodate this growth. Whether it's expanding into new markets, adding new sales channels, or handling peak shopping periods, the modular architecture of a composable OMS allows businesses to scale individual components as needed, ensuring that their order management capabilities keep pace with their growth.
Interoperability: One of the most significant advantages of a composable OMS is its ability to integrate seamlessly with other systems, including CRM, ERP, -WMS, and more. This interoperability is achieved through standardized APIs and microservices, which facilitate smooth data exchange between systems.
Improved customer experience: In addition to operational benefits, a composable OMS directly impacts the customer experience. By providing a real-time view of inventory and enabling more precise order fulfillment, businesses can meet customer expectations for fast, reliable, and flexible delivery options. Whether it’s offering same-day delivery, enabling Click and Collect services, or facilitating easy returns, a composable OMS empowers businesses to deliver a seamless customer experience, which is essential for customer retention and brand loyalty.
Best practices: Tips for maximizing the benefits of a composable OMS
We’ve delivered over 70 omnichannel projects at OneStock, and from that depth of experience we’ve identified five best practices to ensure any business can fully leverage the advantages of a composable OMS:
1 - Define clear objectives and KPIs: Before implementing a composable OMS, it’s essential to define it. Whether the goal is to reduce order fulfillment times, increase inventory accuracy, or improve customer satisfaction, having well-defined objectives will guide the selection of the right components and ensure that the OMS implementation delivers tangible business benefits.
2 - Prioritize seamless integration: The true power of a composable OMS lies in its ability to integrate with other systems. Businesses should prioritize selecting components that adhere to MACH (Microservices-based, API-first, Cloud-native, and Headless) principles to ensure smooth interoperability. Seamless integration enables real-time data sharing between systems, which is critical for optimizing order management and providing a unified customer experience.
3 -Focus on scalability: As e-commerce operations grow, OMS must be able to scale accordingly. Businesses should choose components that can handle increased order volumes, additional sales channels, and expanded geographic coverage without compromising performance. Scalability should be a key consideration during the selection and implementation phases.
4 - Invest in training and change management: A composable OMS introduces new processes and technologies that may require changes in how teams operate. Investing in training and change management is crucial to ensure that all stakeholders, from IT to customer service teams, understand how to use the system effectively and are aligned with the new workflows.
5 - Monitor and optimize continuously: Once the composable OMS is in place, continuous monitoring and optimisation are essential. Businesses should regularly review performance metrics, gather feedback from users, and make necessary adjustments to the system. This iterative approach allows businesses to stay agile and responsive to changes in the market or customer behavior.
A composable OMS such as OneStock provides the adaptability, scalability, and interoperability that modern e-commerce businesses need to thrive. By enabling businesses to integrate best-of-breed components, scale operations seamlessly, and deliver superior customer experiences, a composable OMS is not just a tool for managing orders, it’s a strategic asset that drives business growth.
As businesses continue to navigate the complexities of omnichannel retail, the adoption of a composable OMS will be instrumental in enabling them to meet the demands of today’s consumers while staying ahead of the competition. By following best practices and focusing on continuous improvement, businesses can maximize the benefits of their composable OMS and achieve greater agility, efficiency, and customer satisfaction.
Florence Bolo
Head of Content Marketing, OneStock
Florence has over 10 years of experience as a digital marketing professional, specializing in content and branding. She currently leads the development of strategic, data-driven content that underscores the importance of omnichannel technologies for retailers, pure players, and B2B organizations.