This is where the Omnichannel Order Management System (OMS) comes into play.

It can help your business streamline operations, boost customer satisfaction, and stay competitive.

An omnichannel OMS integrates various sales channels—whether that’s in-store, mobile, online, or other platforms—into a single cohesive solution.

It helps businesses deliver a seamless customer experience, from order placement to fulfillment.

But how does it work, and why should your business consider implementing one?

This article dives into omnichannel order management, how it differs from the multi-channel approach, and its key features and benefits.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

What is omnichannel order management?

To understand omnichannel order management, we first need to define what “omnichannel” means.

The term refers to an integrated approach where all customer touchpoints work together to create a seamless experience.

This means your customers can browse, order, and receive products across any channel in a smooth and unified way.

In the context of order management, this approach is critical to meeting customer expectations and running a smooth operation.

An omnichannel OMS connects all your business sales channels and back-end systems to create a single, unified order- management process.

This system ensures that inventory, order data, and customer interactions are synchronized in real-time, no matter where or how the order is placed.

Whether your customer buys online and picks up in-store, orders from a mobile app, or purchases in-person, the omnichannel OMS is designed to make sure the right product is available and delivered quickly.

All while keeping your records and systems accurate and up-to-date.

Omnichannel versus multichannel order management

Omnichannel and multichannel order management systems are often confused.

It’s understandable, as both manage orders from various sales channels, but the key difference lies in how these channels are integrated.

Multichannel order management system

A multichannel order management system tends to product-focused.

It allows you to manage orders for products from various different sales channels, but each channel operates independently.

For example, an order placed online may be treated differently from an in-store purchase, meaning inventory and related data isn’t always shared across both channels.

This can lead to issues like stockouts or order fulfillment confusion when customers switch between channels.

Omnichannel order management

Omnichannel order management, on the other hand, is more customer-focused.

It integrates all channels into a unified system, allowing for real-time inventory visibility, seamless order routing, and a more consistent experience for customers.

An omnichannel approach means you can offer customers flexibility—like allowing them to order online and pick up in-store—while keeping your order and inventory information aligned.

In short, while a multichannel approach works in silos, omnichannel unifies them into a smooth, cohesive process.

This means that an omnichannel OMS is often a more efficient and customer-friendly option for modern businesses juggling many different sales channels.

Key features of an omnichannel order management system

An omnichannel OMS doesn’t just manage orders; it provides a full-featured platform designed to support the complexities of a multi-touchpoint world.

Here are some of the key features that make omnichannel order management solutions so effective:

Centralized inventory management across all channels

An omnichannel OMS allows you to centralize your inventory data so you can see in real-time what stock is available across all channels.

This eliminates the need to track inventory separately for online and in-store operations, which can often lead to stock discrepancies and missed sales opportunities.

With centralized inventory, you can avoid stockouts, make better restocking decisions, and ensure that customers can order from any channel without issue.

Real-time order tracking and fulfillment

Real-time order tracking is one of the standout features of an omnichannel OMS.

It allows you to monitor the status of every order—whether it’s in the process of being fulfilled, on its way to the customer, or ready for in-store pickup.

This transparency enables better communication with your customers.

It provides them with timely updates and helps minimize the number of customer service inquiries you receive related to order status.

Customer data integration for personalized experiences

With an omnichannel OMS, your customer data from various touchpoints is integrated into a single system.

This means you can deliver personalized experiences across all channels, boosting customer satisfaction and building loyalty.

For example, if a customer has previously bought a product using your website, your system can use that information to suggest similar products when they shop via a mobile app.

Seamless order routing between channels

One of the most powerful features of omnichannel order management solutions is their ability to route orders seamlessly between channels.

Say an online order needs to be fulfilled from a physical store, or a customer places an in-store order but wants it shipped.

No problem.

Your omnichannel OMS can intelligently route the order to the right location for fulfillment.

You’re meeting your customer’s needs while optimizing fulfillment efficiency by tapping into available inventory across all locations.

Flexibility in managing returns and exchanges across channels

Managing returns and exchanges can be a logistical challenge for businesses operating across multiple sales channels.

An omnichannel OMS simplifies this by allowing returns from any channel to be processed through any other channel.

For example, your customers can return an online purchase in-store or vice versa.

This streamlines the return process and improves customer satisfaction, as they have more options for returning or exchanging products.

Benefits of omnichannel order management

Adopting an omnichannel order management system can brings several key benefits to your business.

Below are some of the most significant advantages:

Improved customer experience

With an omnichannel OMS, your business can offer a more consistent, personalized, and convenient shopping experience.

Whether your customers shop online, in-store, or through a mobile app, they can expect seamless service across all touchpoints.

This consistency fosters brand loyalty, as your customers appreciate not having to jump through hoops to complete their purchase or return a product.

Increased operational efficiency

Another primary benefit of an omnichannel OMS is improved operational efficiency.

By centralizing inventory, streamlining order fulfillment, and automating many processes, your business can reduce the risk of human error and make better use of resources.

This means fewer stockouts, faster order processing, and a smoother experience for your customers as well as your staff.

With an omnichannel system in place, you can optimize your fulfillment operations, cut down on waste, and improve resource allocation.

Higher sales and customer retention

Offering customers flexible options for order fulfillment, such as buying online and pick up in-store, makes the shopping process more convenient and can help drive higher sales.

Customers are more likely to return to your business if you offer a fast, reliable service across multiple channels.

An omnichannel OMS can help you achieve this.

If implemented and managed well, it will empower your business to meet customer expectations about delivery times, real-time stock availability, and the flexibility to shop in whatever way suits them best.

Real-time insights and better decision-making

An omnichannel order management solution integrates with other business systems and collects data from across all sales channels.

It gives you real-time insights into your customers’ preferences, order trends, and inventory performance.

With access to this information, you can make better decisions in relation to stock levels, marketing strategies, and sales forecasting.

This data-driven approach will also help your business stay agile and responsive to changes in customer behavior or market conditions.

How an omnichannel OMS improves operational efficiency

The efficiencies gained from implementing an omnichannel OMS go beyond just customer experience—there are significant operational benefits that can help improve your business’ overall bottom line.

Reduces manual workload

Updating inventory, processing orders, and checking stock levels manually can be very time-consuming and lead to human error.

With omnichannel order management, many of these tasks are automated.

For instance, when an online order is placed, the system will automatically update inventory levels immediately, preventing overselling.

Similarly, order routing can be automated, directing orders to the most optimal fulfillment location, whether it’s a warehouse or a retail store.

Streamlines inventory management

An omnichannel OMS makes managing inventory across multiple channels easier.

The system provides a centralized view of your inventory, minimizing the risk of stockouts and making sure inventory levels are reflected accurately across all channels.

It also makes it easier to track stock movement.

This, in turn, will help you elevate your restocking strategies and make sure that high-demand products are always available.

Integrates seamlessly with other systems

Effective omnichannel order management solutions integrate seamlessly with other enterprise software, such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems.

This integration allows for better coordination between sales, inventory, and customer data, leading to more efficient and accurate operations.

It makes sure that information flows smoothly across your various departments, eliminating silos and paving the way for a more cohesive business operation.

How to choose the right omnichannel OMS for your business

Selecting the right omnichannel OMS will help your business handle its order management needs more effectively.

Important factors to consider

Business size

Larger businesses with more complex needs will want to consider an advanced solution with robust customization options.

Smaller businesses, on the other hand, might benefit from a simpler system.

Sales channels

Consider the channels you currently use (e.g., online, in-store, mobile) and make sure the omnichannel order management solutions you’re looking at support integration across all of them.

Ease of integration

You’ll want a system that integrates well with other software solutions, like your ERP or CRM.

The OMS you choose should offer strong integration capabilities or work well with APIs that can link your existing systems.

Key features to prioritize

Scalability

The OMS you choose should be able to scale with your business as it grows and adapt as your operations expand or shift priorities.

Real-time inventory management

Accurate, up-to-date inventory data is crucial to keeping your stock levels healthy and empowering you to deliver fast order fulfillment.

Reporting capabilities

Look for a system with strong reporting tools that offer easily digestible, actionable insights into sales trends, inventory performance, and customer behavior.

Common challenges and how to overcome them

As you’ve seen, there are many benefits to investing in an efficient omnichannel OMS, but there are also challenges to consider when implementing it:

Overcoming initial setup complexities

Implementing an omnichannel OMS can be complicated, especially for businesses with complex order management needs and existing software.

Proper planning and a phased implementation approach should ease the transition.

You can also help make the setup as smooth as possible by working with an experienced OMS vendor and appointing a dedicated project team.

Overcoming resistance to change

Some of your employees may resist new technology and change, especially if they are accustomed to manual processes.

As part of your implementation strategy, make sure you give your team the training they need on the new system.

You can also encourage adoption and boost staff morale by opting for a user-friendly system and clearly showcasing its benefits.

If you can demonstrate that the new software is going to make your team members’ lives easier in the long run, they’re more likely to get on board.

Final thoughts

As businesses strive to meet the evolving demands of today’s connected customers, an omnichannel order management system can prove an essential tool for success.

If your business deals with multiple sales channels and you want to stay competitive in an increasingly customer-centric market, investing in powerful order management software is a smart move.

It will elevate your operational efficiency and give you the tools you need to offer your customers the seamless, personalized experiences they expect.

With the right omnichannel order management system, you can deliver a better, more flexible customer experience while boosting your bottom line.

Learn more with Sage.

The post Omnichannel order management system: What it is and its benefits appeared first on ERP Today.

The Client

Our customer is a prominent multinational high street fashion retailer headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. With a substantial workforce of over 72,000 employees spanning 16 countries, and a global presence of more than 400 stores, their mission revolves around offering affordable choices for every customer, from stand-out styles to everyday essentials.

The Challenge

Before partnering with Inetum UK&I, the customer relied on a ticketing toolset to manage incidents and workflows. However, gaps in software functionality and processes resulted in reduced staff productivity and unnecessary overheads. The absence of basic capabilities such as reporting, automation and ease of search severely hindered efficiency as users simply could not get what they needed in time.

The customer aimed to transform their Service Management function by developing a new set of processes and migrating to ServiceNow, with two key objectives:

• aligning Service Management with the company’s overarching digital transformation strategy – with a core driving force of enhancing employee experience
• remove labour-intensive, manual procedures that consumed substantial time and human effort, which were spread across multiple platforms like Word and SharePoint

According to the company’s internal research, a notable 81% of their users expressed a need for a swift, efficient tool to tackle their concerns, while a significant 88% of users sought an instant chat functionality. Additionally, quite a few of them voiced concerns about an inundation of email notifications. These have prompted us to earnestly confront these issues, aiming to elevate user experience and shorten resolution times.

Additionally, quite a few of them voiced concerns about an inundation of email notifications.

The solution

Process Evaluation

• thorough examination of the customer’s existing ITSM operation, encompassing the platform, the processes and the users
• engaged in extensive interviews with key stakeholders, from tech and infrastructure teams to security personnel
• identified critical areas of concerns e.g. process inefficiencies, platform performance gaps and user experience

Roadmap Construction

• defined processes and capabilities that best fit the organisation’s workflows
• conducted a series of interactive design workshops to foster collaboration
• determined the scope, including: Incident and Problem Management, Incident Triage, Change Management, Service Reporting, Performance Analytics, Service Portal, Knowledge Management, Virtual Agent, Internationalisation, Integration Hub

Implementation

• unfolded over 6 releases for a phased transition
• comprised 42 hours of training
• listened and responded to every feedback for absolute clarity and satisfaction

The ServiceNow implementation showcased a true, one-team collaboration between our customer and the Inetum UK&I team.

The Benefits

ServiceNow has replaced unstructured work processes, leading to the efficient streamlining of operations and reduction of cost.

With over 12,000 incidents handled, the enhanced system has accelerated workflows, saving significant time. Notably, 98% of 8,000+ conversations have been resolved through Virtual Agent without human intervention, translating into substantial manual effort savings.

Customer feedback

“ Working with Inetum UK&I has been a remarkable experience. They consistently exceeded our expectations, even when resources were limited. Their priority management made my onboarding effortless, and their support ensured we met crucial deadlines. Their insightful roadmap session highlighted areas for ITAM and CMDB improvements while providing a clear path for our digital transformation. Their ability to challenge us and keep us on track has been instrumental in our ServiceNow journey. ” ITSM Product Owner of the Client

The transition has enriched user experience, reducing overwhelming email clutter via Teams integration. With 500+ knowledge articles and multilingual support, employees receive quick, readily accessible assistance to straightforward questions in their selected language.

Our enterprise-class platform established a robust foundation for merging the customer’s two IT service desks, and will further empower the organisation with enhanced visibility into ticket progress and flexibility for ever-growing business needs.

Over 8,000 virtual agent conversations have been recorded, with an impressive 98% of them concluded without being routed to a live agent, translating into substantial time and manual effort savings.

The Future

The ServiceNow implementation showcased a true, one-team collaboration between our customer and the Inetum UK&I team. Moving forward, plans include:

• a gradual integration of more 3rd party vendors to maximise the tool’s potential
• merging the brand’s local store service desk seamlessly with the corporate one
• increase scope of ServiceNow to include more non-IT business areas

Curious to witness how Inetum UK&I can emerge as your trusted ally in ServiceNow implementation and deliver value to your organisation just like how we did for this globally renowned fashion retailer? Reach out to us for a conversation and we can explore the possibilities together.

Click to see the Infographic

The post Inetum UK&I Empowered an International Fashion Retailer’s Digital Transformation, Deflecting 98% of Calls appeared first on ERP Today.

To help users achieve this goal, NTT DATA Business Solutions, a ServiceNow partner, offers a suite of Fit4Future assessment services that evaluate, fine-tune, and future-proof an organization’s ServiceNow platform. These assessments comprehensively analyze the organization’s current ServiceNow landscape and deliver actionable roadmaps for optimization and alignment with best practices.

A Holistic Evaluation with Fit4Future

The Fit4Future assessments cover various critical aspects of an organization’s ServiceNow implementation. Some of the key assessments under this program include:

CMDB/CSDM Assessment: This assessment focuses on the health and accuracy of the Configuration Management Database (CMDB) and its alignment with the Common Service Data Model (CSDM). It identifies data inaccuracies and governance gaps and provides a plan to strengthen the CMDB as the single source of truth.

Incident Management Assessment: Optimizing incident response is crucial for minimizing disruptions and ensuring service reliability. This assessment analyzes incident management workflows, identifies bottlenecks, and recommends improvements aligned with IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) best practices and automation opportunities.

Change Management Assessment: This assessment aims to reduce failed changes and enhance system stability. It evaluates change management workflows, CAB processes, and integration with incident and problem management to ensure a structured and risk-mitigated approach to change.

Problem Management Assessment: This assessment aims to strengthen root cause analysis and prevent recurring issues. It identifies process inefficiencies, enhances known error management, and aligns an organization’s problem management practices with ITIL and ServiceNow best practices.

Request Management Assessment: The focus here is on enhancing user experience and accelerating service fulfillment. The assessment optimizes request handling workflows, automates request processing, and improves self-service capabilities for seamless service delivery.

Service Mapping Assessment: Gaining complete visibility into IT relationships is vital for informed operational decision-making. This assessment refines the accuracy of Service Mapping, eliminates redundant configurations, and enhances governance to support IT Service Operations and business continuity.

Event Management Assessment: Streamlining alert handling and improving event correlation are key to proactive issue resolution. This assessment ensures that ServiceNow Event Management is optimized for minimizing alert fatigue, automating remediation, and providing greater visibility into IT operations.

IT Service Operations Discovery Assessment: This specialized assessment reviews and optimizes existing ServiceNow Discovery implementations. It identifies inefficiencies, ensures optimal credential management, enhances visibility across hybrid and multi-cloud environments, and strengthens compliance.

Benefits of a Fit4Future Assessment

Engaging in a ServiceNow Fit4Future assessment with NTT DATA Business Solutions offers numerous benefits. They include:

• Reduced manual effort and accelerated workflows within the ServiceNow environment by identifying and eliminating bottlenecks and inefficiencies.
• Opportunities to leverage ServiceNow’s full automation capabilities, streamlined processes, and improved accuracy across various IT functions.
• Alignment with ITIL best practices, improved data integrity, and reduced compliance risks, leading to stronger IT governance.
• Optimized processes like request and incident management for faster resolution times and a better experience for end-users.
• Flexibility and responsiveness to adapt to changing business needs and accelerate digital transformation initiatives.
• Preparing the ServiceNow environment for adopting future IT Service Operations innovations and AI-driven capabilities.
• Clear, prioritized roadmaps with tactical and strategic recommendations, enabling organizations to take concrete steps towards improvement.

What This Means for ERP Insiders

Ensure the ServiceNow platform captures, routes, and resolves ERP-related incidents. Imagine an ERP user encountering an error during a critical month-end closing process. With an optimized ServiceNow incident management system through a Fit4Future assessment, this issue is quickly logged with relevant details, automatically routed to the correct ERP support team, and tracked to resolution. This minimizes downtime and ensures the timely completion of crucial financial processes.

Streamline change management for ERP updates and implementations. When planning an upgrade to a key ERP module, a well-configured ServiceNow change management process ensures all stakeholders are involved in the approval process. Risks are identified and mitigated proactively, testing plans are documented and tracked within ServiceNow, and the actual deployment is managed smoothly, minimizing potential errors and downtime that would directly impact ERP users’ daily tasks.

Improve request fulfillment for ERP-related services. With an optimized ServiceNow request management system, an ERP user needing access to a new financial reporting tool integrated with the ERP, for example, can submit a clear and standardized request through a self-service portal. The request is automatically routed for the necessary approvals and then fulfilled efficiently by the ERP administration team. The Fit4Future assessment might reveal that ERP-related requests are handled manually via email, leading to delays and a lack of visibility.

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Spinnaker Support empowers businesses with independent third-party software support for Oracle, SAP, and VMware, alongside managed services and cloud solutions. 

Addressing the SAP ECC Deadline with Strategic Support 

With SAP’s announcement that it will cease patch support for ECC versions EHP0-EHP4 by December 2025, organizations running these legacy systems face a pressing challenge. Many businesses are now seeking alternatives to vendor-driven migrations, turning to third-party support providers like Spinnaker to ensure system stability and cost efficiency. 

For BRP, a leader in the world of powersports products, propulsion systems and boats operating in 22 countries, the partnership with Spinnaker provides the flexibility to assess its ERP roadmap without the pressure of immediate migration. Spinnaker’s expert support ensures that BRP’s SAP environment remains secure, compliant, and fully operational, allowing the company to focus on innovation and long-term planning. 

Why Businesses Are Choosing Spinnaker Support 

Spinnaker Support has established itself as a trusted partner for enterprises seeking a viable alternative to traditional vendor support. By offering dedicated technical assistance, global tax and regulatory compliance updates, and security monitoring, Spinnaker enables organizations to reduce IT support costs while maintaining business continuity. 

Matt Stava, CEO of Spinnaker Support, emphasizes the strategic advantages: “Spinnaker’s independent software support allows businesses predictability and the freedom to make ERP decisions on their own terms, not just from an in-depth technical support perspective but a financial one as well. Ultimately, it’s about providing businesses with the time and resources they need to make the right strategic business decisions.” 

The Competitive Advantage of Third-Party Support 

For CIOs and IT decision-makers, Spinnaker’s partnership with BRP highlights the increasing appeal of third-party software support. By opting for Spinnaker, enterprises can: 

• Lower IT support costs by up to 50% compared to vendor support. 

• Maintain compliance and security while avoiding forced upgrades. 

• Gain the flexibility to strategically plan ERP modernization efforts. 

Looking Ahead: Spinnaker’s Role in the Future of ERP Support 

As more enterprises evaluate their post-2025 ERP strategies, Spinnaker Support is well-positioned to help organizations navigate the complexities of software lifecycle management. With a track record of delivering cost savings and operational stability, Spinnaker continues to redefine the future of ERP support—one strategic partnership at a time. 

What this means for ERP insiders 

Third-party support provides strategic flexibility. With SAP ECC support ending in 2025, companies like Spinnaker Support enables businesses to extend the life of their ERP systems while evaluating their long-term IT strategies on their own timeline, free from vendor-imposed deadlines. 

See cost savings without compromising security and compliance. Spinnaker Support offers a cost-effective alternative to vendor support, helping companies reduce IT expenditures while maintaining global tax, regulatory compliance, and security across enterprise applications. 

Maintain ERP roadmap control and operational stability. By partnering with third-party support operations like Spinnaker, businesses can ensure operational continuity while assessing their future ERP plans, optimizing IT investments without the pressure of immediate system migrations. 

The post Spinnaker Support Secures Agreement with BRP for SAP Software Support appeared first on ERP Today.

As explored in ERP Today’s interview with Deltek C-suite, the company made its name in the USA’s GovCon space and very much rules the roost in market intelligence and contract management for federal government contractors. The company’s annual Deltek ProjectCon event saw the reveal of new AI-fueled capabilities for government contractors – alongside architecture and engineering and professional services – as centered around its Dela offering.

Since its launch in early 2024, Dela is Deltek’s vehicle for AI-driven capabilities to enable users to generate content, inform decisions, and prescribe and automate actions. The offering also includes Ask Dela, a digital assistant, as updated this year with the following capabilities for various personas, such as government contractors:

• To meet GovCon users within the tools they’re already using, the Costpoint MS Teams app provides access to information from Ask Dela within Deltek’s ERP for government contractors, Costpoint. This allows government contractors to access project data, ask questions, submit and approve timesheets and generate reports – without navigating away from messages – to automate tasks and streamline workflows.
• AI-driven resource management capabilities from Dela help Costpoint customers track resource availability and utilization, preventing cost overruns and ensuring compliance. Existing integrations with Replicon offer solutions to government contractors who need to comply with global labor regulations or complex labor union rules, no matter which ERP they’re using.
• Smart Summaries, which leverage generative AI to deliver executive briefings of companies’ historical performance and key insights, have expanded to GovWin IQ’s Company Profiles.
• Smart Summaries within Deltek Vantagepoint enable end users in professional services and architecture and engineering to leverage generative AI to pull concise project summaries and distil the essence of complex project datasets into digestible insights for review.
• Deltek Specpoint users meanwhile can leverage the power of Ask Dela to accelerate research and get intelligent insights to help make the specification process quicker and easier. They can also chat with the AIA MasterSpec library, supporting documents, and Specpoint Help.

Deltek also introduced Replicon time and PSA capabilities to the government contracting industry in 2024. AI-driven resource management capabilities from Dela can help Costpoint customers track resource availability and utilization, preventing cost overruns and ensuring compliance. Existing integrations with time tracking tool Replicon aim to offer solutions to government contractors who need to comply with global labor regulations or complex labor union rules, no matter which ERP they’re using.

What this means for ERP Insiders

Evolving Compliance Demands in Government Contracting: The government contracting (GovCon) space is increasingly defined by stringent compliance requirements, particularly around labor regulations, union rules, and federal contracting standards. Organizations are under pressure to streamline compliance processes while minimizing manual effort and errors. Deltek’s AI-driven solutions address these challenges by integrating advanced automation and real-time monitoring capabilities into existing workflows. These tools can enable contractors to maintain compliance with global labor standards, track resource utilization, and generate accurate reports—all while reducing administrative overhead. For GRC leaders, this reflects a broader industry shift toward leveraging technology to meet complex regulatory demands efficiently and effectively. Also, as shown in recent Wellesley Information Services research release The CIO’s Transformation Report Card, automation (e.g. AI) and standardization of business processes is the top transformation project (52%) for CIOs today.

Proactive Risk Management in Resource-Intensive Environments: Government contractors often operate in high-stakes, resource-intensive environments where cost overruns and resource misallocation can lead to significant financial and reputational risks. The industry is increasingly focused on proactive risk mitigation through better visibility and control over resource allocation. Deltek’s solutions align with this theme by offering AI-powered tools that provide real-time insights into resource availability and utilization. These capabilities help organizations anticipate potential risks, optimize resource allocation, and ensure compliance with contractual and regulatory obligations. For GRC professionals, this represents a critical step toward building more resilient and agile operations in the face of evolving risks.

Data-Driven Decision-Making for Strategic Advantage: In the GovCon and GRC spaces, the ability to transform complex data into actionable insights is becoming a key differentiator. Organizations are seeking tools that can distil vast amounts of project and performance data into concise, strategic insights to support decision-making. Deltek’s generative AI capabilities reflect this trend by offering advanced summarization and research tools that enable users to quickly extract key insights from complex datasets. These solutions empower GRC Insiders to move beyond reactive compliance and risk management, instead leveraging data to identify trends, uncover opportunities, and make informed strategic decisions. This aligns with the broader industry shift toward data-driven governance and risk management in an increasingly competitive and regulated marketplace.

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Vendors like ServiceNow have talked about the importance of app-style UX/UI for their platforms. And as a result mobile-based FSM became a theme in ERP offerings – until AI overtook the stage. While improving Field Service Management has come up in my conversations with execs such as IFS’ CEO, it’s usually been in regards to the power of AI in helping drivers find the optimal route between two points – more embedded functionality rather than dedicated design.

What announcements have occurred in the last year have been minimal: NetSuite integrated its Field Service Management tool in its platform for both mobile and desktop, renaming it from the original name of the NextService solution that came with its 2023 acquisition of Next Technik. According to a version of the solution seen by Techzine, no route automation was included and the tool can only be used by employees or Oracle NetSuite users. That said, in April of this year ERP Today heard PSV Glass and Glazing crediting NetSuite Field Service Management for increasing efficiency by 40 percent for the firm, enabled by ensuring staff can have the correct inventory and be on location at the right place and time.

Moving away from Oracle and looking at the other big vendors, we find no new major updates outside of Microsoft. In September Redmond updated the UX of its Field Service Mobile application within Dynamics 365 by embedding AI from Copilot. A disclaimer in the update notes though notes a preview-promised “streamlined booking experience” hasn’t made it to general availability, instead defaulting to a classic UCI experience in-app.

And without naming names, ERP Today this year found another vendor was unavailable to connect through it to a global service leader-style executive when fielding enquiries on its Field Service Management smartphone solutions. The previous leader was gone with – at that point in time – no replacement announced, and indeed no updates by the vendor in its FSM space (despite major announcements in the past).

It seems then that on-the-road Field Service Management was benched in 2024 for AI adventures in the ERP playing field. But with supply chain remaining the hot topic that it is, it may be wise for the ERP giants to remember how integral advanced and user-friendly FSM is to the logistics conundrum – digital-realm AI can only go so far when wheels on the ground and fingers on a screen actually make the world go round.

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Chrome Consulting, headquartered in Melbourne, describes itself as the largest consultancy in ANZ for OpenText, specialising in the deployment of the Information Management Solution in an SAP context. The deal, expected to be closed on December 24, was made for an initial $5m in cash and shares, roughly A$7.6M, according to a report from Consultancy.com.au.

Atturra CEO Stephen Kowal commented on the deal: “This is yet another exciting acquisition for Atturra that makes us a true market leader in ECM in Australia an important and growing segment of the IT services market[…] Chrome’s core offerings and its industry solutions strengthen Atturra’s portfolio, and we see significant upside in the potential to expand into enterprise solutions.”

Mark Frear, CEO for Chrome Consulting, added: “This is an exciting move for Chrome accelerating the next stage of growth as Atturra brings a similar partner-friendly attitude and culture while adding significant complementary capabilities in service delivery managed support and a different customer base.

“With Atturra we can address the SAP ecosystem’s needs more effectively as the deadline for SAP ECC approaches.”

What ERP Insiders need to know

Headquartered in Sydney, Atturra is one of Australia’s leading advisory and IT solutions providers, focused on providing end-to-end transformation services to over 700 clients across public and private sectors, including AMPOL, QUT and the Australian Government Department of Defence. Its Atturra Data & Integration subsidiary, known as Anatas, provides DI services, and was originally known as FTS Group. This Group was incorporated of the eponymous ANATAS and other companies including Veritec, Cubic Consulting, ESAM Consulting, Galaxy42, KoBold, Mentum Systems, and Noetic.

Chrome Consulting, known as Chrome, was founded in 2014 and claims to have implemented over 80% of OpenText Extended Content Management projects in the ANZ region. It also boasts the largest, “most experienced” OpenText Vendor Invoice Management team in ANZ, with over 40 projects delivered to date. Its partners include Accenture, OpenText and SAP – with Chrome a past winner of the joint SAP/OpenText Partner of the Year – SAP Solution Extensions award – and clients include Jemena and Australian diary and manufacturing giants.

The post ANZ giant Atturra Chrome-plates SAP data services as 2027 looms appeared first on ERP Today.

With the addition of Netika Business Solution Vietnam, be one solutions (BE1S) aims to unify its product and service portfolio, ensuring that clients from the SAP sphere can benefit from the combined expertise of the joint team. SAP end users are also promised access to an extensive range of offerings, including Cloud services, BI tools, AI-driven OCR solutions, and various critical IT applications.

While the company has a global presence with a European headquarter, it is clear be one solutions focuses on SEA as a priority market (if not the be all and end all). Indeed, BE1S celebrated its 15th anniversary in Phuket, Thailand last year, and caters to a dozen locations located across Asia, not just SEA, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Japan and South Korea.

The two acquisitions clearly bolsters its SEA base, with the Inecom deal seeing various other industry specific add-ons for be one: warehouse management, dealer management and a suite for manufacturing. The target base is made up of SMEs and large group subsidiaries, as catered for by its expertise in SAP Business One solution, offered alongside services in SAP BTP, SAP Analytics Cloud and SAP S/4HANA Cloud, Public Edition.

Commenting on the Netika Business Solution Vietnam deal, Olli Kylänpää, managing director APAC, be one solutions commented: “This strategic move reflects our commitment to enhancing our clients’ success, particularly in Asia. With a focus on quality and a shared dedication to excellence, we look forward to exploring new opportunities in the region and beyond.”

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A re-introduction to Poka 

With the origin of the name Poka being the Japanese term Poka-yoke, meaning ‘error prevention’ or to ‘avoid mistakes’, it’s a fitting name for software built to help front-line worker performance in factories. 

Coming from a family business operating factories in the US and Canada, CEO Leclerc says having “the chance to grow up on the shop floor” helped him to see the capability gaps that needed technological support.  

“I was frustrated that we had 165,000 documents in SharePoint, we couldn’t really find everything, and it was paper-based and very manual. I couldn’t understand how you can find anything on YouTube to fix anything broken in your house, and you were connected to friends and family through Facebook, but in a factory it was all paper-based, a lot of emails and a lot of meetings.”

Explaining the problem Poka solves today, company CEO Leclerc says: “We wanted to provide a better platform for workers to achieve success in the factory and help them be proficient at their work. It’s a platform that allows you easy access to knowledge, develop your skillset, collaborate and do all your paperwork digitally, providing a lot of big improvements to workflow and process within a business.

“My dad always told me when I was growing up, that it’s fine to make a mistake, it’s not fine to do them twice. Poka is all about making sure that we capture all the problems that are happening in factories and prevent them from happening again.”

As the pandemic struck, Leclerc explains that’s where the benefits of Poka really came to the fore. Overnight, people were struggling, missing workers on the factory lines, realizing they had inadequate training systems and that there was no easy way to communicate across factories. 

“When we started ten years ago, there was no Wifi, no iPads or tablets in factories and it was a big challenge,” says Leclerc. “Now, everything is more standard, and in the next two years, I think we are going to see a huge increase in connected worker solutions in factories.”

Post-acquisition changes?

A year after the IFS acquisition, from Schneider’s perspective, Poka is now expanding its capabilities further following the IFS acquisition. She shares: “We’re enhancing Poka with things such as digital whiteboards (we call them Poka boards) to create digital versions of physical notes and share across an organization. 

“That’s just one example of how we are moving everything that workers have on the shop floor into a digital format so that they can connect it to different applications, making integrations easier and more accessible so they can also use the power of that data and take action of those insights.”

Following all the IFS.ai updates announced at IFS Unleashed, AI is also set to play a central role in supporting the connected worker use case for Poka.

With customers deploying Poka across hundreds of factories, Leclerc says: “It’s a huge piece for us. When customers want to connect factories, the biggest barrier is language. So we are leveraging AI to do speech-to-text and then run translation systems so that any employee across any factory can access any type of content in their own language to understand and apply the content.”

Offering a few more quick examples, Leclerc shares that Poka is also using AI to allow users to use semantic search for within the massive amount of data from any video. From here, he says, “You can ask a question within and the system will provide you with the best answer leveraging AI capabilities.”

Moreover, users can now mass upload content from PDF and Word document formats to Poka, and currently, the Poka team is working on tools to automatically break down an uploaded video into a step-by-step picture and text format. 

“What we are really trying with AI is to make life simpler for the operators, to remove all the noise and really focus on what’s valuable for them on a daily basis.”

A message that Schneider and Leclerc share is that it’s a mutual value-add for the now-twinned IFS and Poka teams. Leclerc, says: “IFS’ good process of solution selling, understanding the pain of the customer and really working on use cases changed a lot of our cultures and how we drive use cases with clear ROI impacts for our customers.”

“But for us, it’s really the last mile. Poka is very operator-centric, so being able to be the system of engagement for the operator to engage with multiple systems of IFS makes it easy to share information. Poka is the system of knowledge that’s connected to that system of record – which is IFS and the other tools that they have acquired in the past.”

Schneider adds: “With the other streams of technology that IFS has in the portfolio, one of the things we are looking at is how you use Poka in those functions – so for service management use cases, how does Poka apply to those field technicians? And looking at IFS’ other acquired companies, how can we use some of those best practices in collaboration so we can make it more innovative across all the customers that IFS has in its portfolio.”

One year on, it’s clear that Poka is pushing ahead with the collaboration between all that IFS and its other brands have to offer. At a time when front-line worker skills shortages are rife, with many experienced employees nearing retirement and growing demand for advanced technical skills, IFS Poka remains a safe bet for connecting workers, with more innovation to come down the factory line. 

Note: This ERP Today TV content comes sponsored by IFS.

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The subscription model is something we’ve all had to get used to these past couple of decades, and the same kind of model is being applied to enterprise software and support systems. But before diving straight into yet another subscription model, perhaps it might be a good idea to explore what other, potentially cheaper and more effective options, are available.

To shed more light on the issue, ERP Today sat down with Martin Biggs, VP and managing director of EMEA and strategic initiatives of ERP support specialists Spinnaker Support. Biggs cites last year’s VMware acquisition by Broadcom as an example of issues that can come packaged with the subscription model.

VMware is a virtualization and cloud solution provider which has helped many ERP networks upgrade to cloud services through virtualizing servers, storage, networks or other physical hardware. It’s not an understatement to say VMware is one of the biggest names when it comes to virtualization software. When VMware was acquired by infrastructure software specialists Broadcom, in November 2023, new leadership forcibly introduced a subscription support service to their end users.

This, to Biggs at least, looked like the best opportunity for third-party support specialists like Spinnaker to shine. “They announced from January 1st, “We’re not going to renew any of these support contracts or perpetual licenses. If you want support or the latest software, you’re going to have to convert to subscription,” which, as a concept on its own, is kind of okay if it’s not punitive.”

Biggs went on to say that the vast majority of VMware customers typically only utilized the core products, like vSphere. But the newer VMware subscription model’s price points reflected savings based on the entire VMware suite – so for those that only paid for a handful of products and services, their support costs could inflate from anywhere between two to 10 times to what they were paying before.

“If you were using their whole suite of stuff, then the subscription probably makes sense,” as Biggs noted to ERP Today.

A forcibly imposed subscription model could potentially be a sign for the future. One thing to remember, however, is that organizations do not have to be beholden to their enterprise service providers. Third-party support specialists, like Spinnaker, can provide the technical knowledge needed to maintain out-of-date or software that isn’t supported by the vendor anymore. By investigating beyond ERP service providers, organizations could potentially save themselves significant amounts of money.

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