How to Integrate Distributed Order Management System with Shopify Plus?

Retail brands scaling their brick-and-mortar operations with eCommerce on Shopify must invest in a robust Omnichannel Order Management System (OMS) for success. When you combine all of that with Shopify, this system can lead to vastly improved customer experiences across the board.

Key Features and Benefits of OMS Integration

Store Mode: On the product listing page, the "Store Mode" feature redirects the customer directly to stores with available stock locally. It also shows a full pick-up selection for every item, making purchasing even easier.

Express Shipping: The OMS can ensure that retailers fulfill orders with express shipping when there is inventory available at a nearby fulfillment location, whether in-store or within an upstream warehouse.

Automated Product Listings: The OMS prevents retailers from having to manually list and de-list pre-order products on the site in real-time as purchase orders arrive for future inventory.

Challenges in OMS Integration

Integrating an Omnichannel Order Management System has been a tedious process, requiring difficult integrations between legacy systems within the retail stack. In retail, the implementation of these systems may need consultation with an OMS integration service provider.

Steps to Integrate a Distributed OMS with Shopify Plus

Initial Setup

1. Products: The OMS fetches all product information from Shopify and maintains a master catalog in its system. This step helps the OMS process and manage orders placed by customers accurately.
2. Inventory: When integrated with the retailer's ERP system, the OMS gets an inventory count from ERP every morning. Merchandisers may also import individual product counts directly into the OMS.
3. Orders: The OMS pulls all open orders from Shopify, allowing retailers to control how much order history is downloaded. Retailers can choose to download outstanding orders from the last month to six months.

Day-to-Day Setup

1. Product Data: Including main pieces of information such as Shopify ID, SKU, and UPC numbers, product imagery, and descriptions improves order accuracy and user-friendliness. The OMS should request new products every 15 minutes.
2. Order Data: Every new order coming into Shopify is downloaded to the OMS. New orders should be fetched at least every 15 minutes. The OMS communicates with Shopify via API connection every 30 minutes to bring all updated placed orders, reflecting any changes like item additions or removals by users. The OMS updates the status of fulfilled orders in Shopify through batch processing every 30 minutes.
3. Inventory Data: The OMS becomes the single source of truth for real-time inventory information. Shopify should seek its inventory directly from the OMS, which uses physical quantity on hand and reduces it by safety stock, threshold inventory level, and brokering queue orders. This ensures eCommerce promises are not overrated.

Inventory Syncing Scenarios

1. Online Store Orders: For new orders, inventory is deducted based on the default fulfillment location for eCommerce. The OMS routes them to optimal fulfillment locations and updates inventory levels accordingly.
2. Shopify POS In-Store Sales: Inventory updates are automatically made to Shopify POS. The OMS should subscribe to the Shopify webhook in real-time to know once a sale is made and automatically deduct inventory.
3. Returns at Warehouse: The OMS reads the inventory feed for all products at every location each morning from ERP to process returns.
4. Inventory Receiving: This app allows store associates to log all receiving from inter-store shipments, returns, or purchase order shipments, automatically updating inventory in the OMS.
5. Damaged/Found Inventory: Damaged or found inventory should be noted in the OMS Inventory Counting App, ensuring correct inventory levels and updating Shopify via batch.

Best Practices for Synchronizing Data

Batch Processes: Shopify webhooks are used to keep records of product, inventory, or order information in sync. However, webhook delivery is not guaranteed, so regular data syncing with Shopify via reconciliation jobs is necessary. Batch downloading and updating of data through Shopify APIs is desirable to handle more data and prevent missing or delayed updates.

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These approaches ensure Shopify merchants can effectively distribute responsibilities and apply their omnichannel strategies. OMS vendors may require custom development, usually taking a minimum of three months to build necessary apps and complete end-to-end testing. However, businesses can leverage Shopify development services or an advanced OMS for Shopify, enabling retailers to go live with their omnichannel Shopify strategies in a few days.