Design a custom Order Management Solution
- March 1, 2023
- Posted by: Barry Blumenfield
- Category: Case Study
Challenge
A publishing subscription and e-commerce business was dissatisfied with many aspects of the OMS platform they were using. The top management is highly innovative but frequently could not proceed with potentially profitable plans or opportunities due to limitations of the existing platform. They performed a new vendor search but were not able to find any platform which would satisfy their current needs with sufficient flexibility to innovate and stay ahead of the competition. The business owner was a former client of BMI GlobalOMS (a custom software development firm which I sold in 2021) and asked if we could help them build an internal Order Management System.
Solution
We applied our experience and knowledge of the client’s business to first create a two page summary of all of the requirements. Once that was reviewed, modified and approved by all involved parties on the client side, we moved to a more detailed ten page document which described requirements with a significantly higher level of detail. Following approval and modifications, we moved to the final detailed system specifications. This included data and table definitions, API specifications, business rules, system processes/functions with all required Inputs, outputs and data updates, report design and details, integration with third parties, data migration (of over 2MM current and prior subscriptions) from the prior OMS, automation, PCI compliance and comprehensive testing and validation protocols to be followed pre-launch.
Results
The overall system took approximately eight months for build and launch. The system was tested exhaustively prior to launch and nearly all problems had been identified and corrected. They were able to convert out of the old OMS with less than 24 hours down-time for order processing and customer service, with no disruption whatsoever to new order acceptance. We continued to provide monitoring and recommendations for an additional six months, at which point the project was considered a success. The client continues to operate on the new platform and periodically retains Blumenfield Consulting to advise on new features.