13 Pitfalls to Avoid When Acquiring an Order Management System

2. Having no plan. If you’re not in the habit of making lists, you’re going to be in trouble when acquiring a new system. Failure to have a plan for this project’s implementation is a common and deadly mistake.

Such a plan needn’t be elaborate. A mere list of goals, objectives, priorities and decisions (made and to be made) will suffice. After all, this is a “forest and trees” situation. You’ve got to get and keep perspective. There will be a lot of variables to manage.

A good example here is addressing the role of your e-commerce platform in this whole process. Should your new system work in conjunction with that platform? Should it replace it? Do you intend to replace it separately from your new order management system? Are you prepared to make that kind of decision now?

In truth, you may not be. But if there are legacy applications you intend to keep (e.g., marketing, e-commerce, inventory management, supply chain management), you must be clear about how these will fit in the new big picture.

You also should be clear as to why you want to keep these legacy systems in place and how willing you are to replace them, based on factors of cost or functionality. In other words, be prepared to treat your entire plan as a moving target.

3. Not including all departments. Bringing in a new order management system is going to have an impact on all parts of your organization — so include them in the process. Ask for input on what they’d like a new system to enable them to do. Have department heads aggregate these into a coherent, prioritized list of requirements.

4. Having no team. This absolutely is a team project. If any one person tries to wing it, the chances of failure increase dramatically.