Over the past few months, I have explored international OMS and DOM solutions and how this technology is being applied in the Netherlands. What stands out is that OMS/DOM becomes most relevant when an order can be fulfilled in multiple ways inventory, location and fulfilment choices need to be balanced against each other.
An OMS/DOM then acts as the intelligence that orchestrates the complexities of demand and supply in real time.
A retailer operating stores, multiple distribution centers, marketplace channels, dropshipment, click & collect and international fulfilment faces a very different challenge from a retailer with a single central distribution center.
What does a modern OMS/DOM do?
A modern OMS/DOM environment orchestrates that complexity by determining:
- Where an order should best be fulfilled
- Which inventory is actually available and allocatable
- Whether an order should be split or consolidated
- Which fulfilment promise can realistically be made to the customer
- How to handle changes, shortages and returns in real time
A market of major and specialised players
The market now includes several established players: Manhattan Associates, IBM Sterling, Blue Yonder, SAP en Fluent Commerce offer specialised solutions for order management and order orchestration.
At the same time, the market is evolving rapidly with specialised European and local alternatives:
- Omnium: the Norwegian cloud-based OMS/DOM platform, with a strong focus on store fulfilment and split shipments.
- OneStock: the French DOM specialist with a strong real-time inventory and order orchestration engine.
- Kbrw: the other French, cloud-native DOM specialist, orchestrating complex international retail and B2B networks.
- Hardis OMS: the former OIL solution from Dutch company Magnus Black.
- EVA van New Black: a Dutch unified commerce platform with integrated OMS and Distributed Order Management (DOM) functionality.
Although the capabilities and architectural approaches of these platforms differ significantly, the key question remains the same: \
“What decisions can the system make autonomously regarding inventory, location and fulfilment?”
OMS/DOM never operates in isolation
An OMS/DOM solution never operates in isolation. It receives real-time information from webshops, marketplaces, stores, ERP systems and WMS platforms, and determines what should happen next with an order.
That explains why the quality of the surrounding systems and processes is so important. An orchestration engine can only make decisions based on the information available to it.
OMS/DOM in the Netherlands
Looking at the Dutch market, OMS/DOM can now be found in organisations operating complex omnichannel and fulfilment networks.
Rensa uses IBM Sterling as its OMS. Kramp uses Manhattan Active Omni as part of its omnichannel landscape. Rituals uses EVA from Dutch company New Black. Zeeman and Welkoop use Hardis OMS.
Van order management naar fulfilment orchestration
Anyone who looks at the OMS/DOM market purely through the lens of traditional order management misses the bigger picture.
The real value lies in the ability to orchestrate the growing complexity of modern fulfilment networks.
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