NetSuite took the opportunity at its annual SuiteWorld conference to unveil its new Intelligent Order Management release, essentially a combination of management and automation intelligence technologies, it boasts enhanced functionality to streamline the complexities of omnichannel order orchestration.

Automated & configurable business rule intelligence

The new release gives merchants the intelligence and automation needed to use inventory more efficiently, reduce shipping costs and improve their customers’ experiences.

Merchants can now automate how to best fulfill orders based on their inventory availability and the configurable business rules they establish inside NetSuite.

The rise of the brand advocate

Once fully implemented, Intelligent Order Management can help turn omnichannel shoppers into brand advocates with reduced stockouts, prompt delivery and a multitude of fulfillment options from wherever a merchant holds inventory.

Merchants are better equipped to meet demand, increase inventory turns and reduce safety stocks, while scaling their business yet keeping labor costs flat.

“Getting customers what they want and when they want, every time, delivers a competitive advantage through an improved brand experience,” NetSuite’s General Manager of Commerce Products, Andy Lloyd said. “In addition to satisfying customer expectations, an effective order management solution protects a merchant’s margins so it can profitably scale its business.”

So how does fulfill-from-anywhere work?

NetSuite’s automatic location assignment allows vendors to optimize for reduced costs, faster delivery or a combination of factors to enable a fulfill-from-anywhere solution across all channels.

It gives merchants greater control over their release-for-fulfillment process with a second, automated process, which decides when to release orders and notifies each fulfillment location of which order to fulfill.

Fulfillment managers get full visibility into the process – released orders, fulfillment status, and order exceptions.

Extended functionality

It also includes exception management intelligence, store pickup controls and ‘ship from store’ options to save sales by fulfilling from stores to meet customer demand.

This technology is very much a case of operational empowerment through orchestrated automated merchandising intelligence. From store management through to day-to-day operations and onwards to final fulfillment, this framework for insight and intelligence clearly illustrates the shape of retail for the future.