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Overcoming Omnichannel Challenges

Blog Post •
How do you integrate an OMS into your business operations without creating new problems? And how do you handle roadblocks when you meet them? We’ll unpack that here.
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It’s no secret that an omnichannel order management system is key to delivering top-notch customer experiences. But OMS solutions also come with a host of challenges, making it difficult for retail businesses to implement them and get a solid ROI once they’re up and running.  

So how do you integrate an OMS into your business operations without creating new problems? And how do you handle roadblocks when you meet them? We’ll unpack that here.

The Expense

When planning to implement an omnichannel solution, many retail businesses gravitate toward custom-built, on-prem solutions. The problem is, these types of solutions are often incredibly expensive — both in the short term and in the long term. Upfront, it can either require new hires or an outsourced development team to design and build the solution. And down the road, the maintenance required to keep the OMS running smoothly and scale the solution can cost a pretty penny. 

On the flip side, a cost-effective solution — like Radial — makes it possible for you to tap into a powerful (and scalable) OMS right from the get-go. Radial also offers you a lot more bang for your buck, as its customer support team handles IT issues and updates the system regularly to make it work better for you. 

Time to Implementation

Getting an omnichannel order management system up and running is incredibly time-intensive. So much so, in fact, that it can take nearly a year to be fully operational. Couple that with lack of expertise, and it’s no wonder 79% of retailers choose to outsource implementation of new technologies to vendors. 

Retail businesses can’t afford to lose a year to implementation. Customers are constantly looking for better experiences and more than 57% will take their business elsewhere the moment your fulfillment speed doesn’t measure up to your competitors’. 

However, with a solution like Radial, you can be up-and-running in less than 90 days, rather than 365. And Radial’s support team is available every step of the way to make implementation and employee onboarding as easy as possible. 

Customer Support at Scale 

Even eCommerce shoppers run into issues. They might need help returning a product, have a problem with their online shopping cart, or have a question about their account. Regardless of what the issue is, retail businesses need to respond to their customers quickly. And they need to be equipped to respond on multiple communication channels. But the fact is, most businesses don’t have the manpower, bandwidth, or established practices to do so. 

OMS solutions solve this by providing a built-in customer service team to act as an extension of your own. In fact, at Radial, they’re fully equipped to answer tough questions about your business and help customers solve critical problems by chatting on various channels, including text, email, chat, phone, and social media.

Complex Fulfillment Logistics

When you adopt omnichannel fulfillment, you eventually reach a point where you either need to bulk up your inventory in individual locations or create a better way to share products across your organization. 

While the second option is obviously more cost-effective, it does require you to have a clear understanding of where your inventory is. Otherwise, you can’t take advantage of fulfillment options like ship-from-store, in-store pickup, employee delivery, and dropshipping. 

But here again, an OMS like Radial can help you solve this problem by showing you where your inventory is located (be it a warehouse, a brick-and-mortar location, or somewhere in-between). And by delivering data on customer purchases, the right omnichannel order management system can also help you pinpoint the best locations to stock inventory and the cheapest (and fastest) way to ship an order to a customer.

Payment Fraud

As businesses scale their eCommerce operations with omnichannel OMS solutions, they open the door to a greater risk of fraud by way of online payments. Unfortunately, cracking down isn’t a clear cut answer for retail businesses, since it can also turn legitimate customers away. 

However, by relying on an omnichannel OMS, you can easily identify fraudsters without harming relationships with your customers. Using a combination of machine learning, human intelligence, and consortium data, Radial does this by verifying orders for you and protecting you with zero fraud liability. This effectively minimizes your risk and maximizes your sales. 

While omnichannel order management systems can come with a lot of challenges and roadblocks, you don’t have to settle for a long, expensive implementation process and a mediocre ROI. By choosing a cost-effective OMS with the right features and a quick implementation process, you can make your omnichannel operations successful in no time.