Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Order Management

🎯 Role Definition

The Order Management role is responsible for end-to-end order lifecycle management — from order capture and validation through fulfillment, invoicing, returns and reconciliation. This role ensures accurate order processing in the Order Management System (OMS) / ERP, enforces SLA and OTIF targets, resolves order exceptions and escalations, coordinates cross-functionally with Sales, Warehousing, Transportation, Finance and Customer Service, and continuously improves order-to-cash processes to increase efficiency, reduce cost, and improve the customer experience.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Customer Service Representative or Order Processor looking to specialize in order-to-cash workflows.
Logistics or Warehouse Coordinator seeking a move into systems-driven order fulfillment.
Sales Operations or Administrative Coordinator with experience in CRM/ERP order entry.

Advancement To:

Order Management Lead / Senior Order Manager
Supply Chain Manager or Fulfillment Manager
Director of Operations or Head of Customer Operations
E-commerce Operations Lead or Global Order-to-Cash Manager

Lateral Moves:

Inventory Analyst or Demand Planner
Procurement / Buying Analyst
Customer Success or Sales Operations
Billing & Collections Analyst

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Manage the full order lifecycle in the Order Management System (OMS) and ERP — perform accurate order entry, validation of pricing, promotions and discounts, address verification, and SKU availability checks to ensure first-time-right processing.
Review, triage and resolve order exceptions and discrepancies (price mismatches, duplicate orders, invalid SKUs, inventory shortfalls) by coordinating with Sales, Warehouse, and Supply Planning to meet SLAs and customer delivery expectations.
Execute real-time inventory allocation and backorder management decisions across multiple fulfillment channels (DC, dropship, marketplace, 3PL) and update systems to reflect committed vs available stock.
Coordinate with Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) and 3PL partners to schedule pick/pack/ship activities, confirm carrier booking, and optimize routing and consolidation to reduce freight costs and transit times.
Manage order fulfillment for omnichannel sales including eCommerce, B2B portal, EDI orders and manual entries; maintain consistent processes across channels to deliver predictable OTIF (On-Time In-Full) performance.
Own order-to-cash process tasks including order confirmation, invoice generation, billing exceptions, credit memos and coordination with Accounts Receivable to resolve payment or billing disputes.
Administer EDI and API integrations with trading partners and marketplaces — troubleshoot data mapping and transmission errors (850/855/856/810/820/997), partner with IT to deploy fixes and onboarding.
Monitor order performance KPIs (order cycle time, order accuracy, fill rate, OTIF, customer returns rate, cancellations) and produce weekly/monthly dashboards and insights for stakeholders using SQL, Excel, Power BI or Tableau.
Handle returns, RMAs and credit adjustment workflows: diagnose root causes, authorize disposition (repair/return/resell), coordinate reverse logistics, and reconcile credits with Finance.
Manage order cancellations, change requests and exchanges; update inventory and financial records, issue credit memos or invoices as required, and communicate proactively with customers about impacts.
Collaborate with Sales and Account Management on contract terms, pricing exceptions, lead times, minimum order quantities, and fulfillment commitments to ensure order compliance and margin protection.
Perform price validation and promotion enforcement by reconciling quotes, POs, promotional codes and contractual agreements prior to shipment to prevent revenue leakage and chargebacks.
Maintain and configure OMS/ERP master data for customers, products, pricing, shipping rules, and payment terms; own data hygiene initiatives to reduce manual exceptions and support automation.
Partner with Supply Planning and Demand Planning to prioritize orders during constrained inventory situations and develop contingency allocation rules to balance customer commitments and SKU profitability.
Lead process improvement initiatives (Lean, Six Sigma principles) to streamline order workflows, automate repeat tasks, and reduce manual touches across order entry, billing and fulfillment.
Escalate and manage order-related customer issues, including urgent shipments, missed delivery investigations, and dispute resolution — provide root-cause analysis and corrective action plans.
Support audits, compliance and internal controls for order processing, order change logs, segregation of duties, and order-to-cash SOX controls as applicable.
Provide training, create SOPs and knowledge base articles for order processing teams, seasonal staff and cross-functional partners to maintain consistent execution across shifts and regions.
Manage carrier and shipping partner relationships for order fulfillment exceptions, claims, and billing reconciliations; negotiate service levels and resolve shipment disputes to protect customer satisfaction.
Configure, test and validate new order workflows, feature releases and integrations in sandbox environments; coordinate UAT with stakeholders and document deployment steps to production.
Drive chargeback and dispute prevention programs by analyzing root causes (shipping, labeling, pricing errors), implementing corrective actions, and reducing penalty incidence.
Support sales promotions and product launches from an order readiness standpoint — update OMS rules, stock allocation, lead times and customer notifications to ensure smooth go-to-market execution.
Conduct periodic reviews of order policies (returns policy, warranty handling, partial shipments) and update documentation; align policies with legal, Finance and Customer Experience requirements.
Provide ad-hoc reporting and deep-dive analysis to executive leadership on order trends, fulfillment bottlenecks, SKU-level performance and cross-border shipping impacts on delivery reliability.

Secondary Functions

Assist cross-functional projects such as ERP/OMS migrations, WMS implementations, marketplace onboarding and B2B portal enhancements by providing order flow expertise, test scenarios, and acceptance criteria.
Support root-cause investigations for high-impact order failures and participate in post-mortems to capture lessons learned and implement preventative controls.
Participate in continuous improvement workshops to identify automation opportunities (RPA, workflow rules) that reduce manual order touches and improve throughput.
Mentor junior order coordinators and provide subject matter expertise on complex order scenarios, AR reconciliations and billing dispute resolution.
Maintain up-to-date documentation of order processing SOPs, escalation matrices and knowledge base articles for internal teams and external partners.
Liaise with Legal and Compliance on international order constraints including customs documentation, export controls, and tax/VAT requirements for cross-border orders.
Provide input to product and pricing teams regarding order-related customer feedback, common exceptions and potential product catalog improvements.
Coordinate holiday and peak season planning to scale order operations, temporary staffing, cutover dates, and system performance validation.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Deep experience with Order Management Systems (OMS) and Order-to-Cash processes — demonstrated knowledge of order entry, allocation, returns and invoicing workflows.
Proficiency with major ERP platforms (SAP S/4HANA, Oracle NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle E-Business Suite) and the ability to configure order rules and masters.
Practical experience with Warehouse Management Systems (WMS), 3PL integrations and fulfillment routing logic.
EDI knowledge (850/855/856/810/997) — mapping, troubleshooting, partner onboarding and transaction monitoring.
Strong Excel (advanced formulas, pivot tables, Power Query) and working knowledge of SQL for ad-hoc order data analysis and reporting.
Familiarity with reporting and BI tools such as Power BI, Tableau, Looker or similar for KPI dashboards and trend analysis.
Experience with shipping and carrier platforms (UPS, FedEx, DHL, regional carriers), freight billing reconciliation and shipment claims.
Experience with API/REST integrations and JSON payloads for marketplace, ERP and carrier connections.
Understanding of billing, invoicing, credit memos, AR reconciliation and the impact of order changes on financial records.
Knowledge of supply chain concepts: allocation logic, safety stock, backorders, OTIF and demand prioritization.
Exposure to automation tools and RPA (UiPath, Automation Anywhere) or workflow engines to reduce manual order tasks.
Experience managing cross-border orders: customs documentation, HS codes, duties and VAT considerations.

Soft Skills

Exceptional stakeholder management — ability to align Sales, Finance, Warehouse and IT to resolve order issues quickly.
Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities with attention to detail and data-driven decision making.
Customer-centric communication — clear, timely updates to internal and external customers during exceptions and escalations.
Prioritization and time management under competing deadlines and peak season pressure.
Process-oriented mindset with experience building SOPs, checklists and quality controls.
Collaborative team player who can influence without authority and lead cross-functional initiatives.
Resilience and adaptability in a dynamic e-commerce or omnichannel environment.
Continuous improvement mindset with ability to drive projects and standardize repeatable workflows.
Mentorship and training skills to onboard new staff and scale operations effectively.
Ethical standards and compliance orientation when handling customer, pricing and financial information.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain, Operations, Logistics, Finance, Information Systems or equivalent work experience.

Preferred Education:

Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, Logistics, Operations Management, or a related field.
Relevant certifications such as APICS/CPIM, CSCMP, Six Sigma, or certification in specific ERPs (NetSuite, SAP) are a plus.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Supply Chain Management
Business Administration
Logistics and Transportation Management
Operations Management
Information Systems / Computer Science (for integration-heavy roles)

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

2–7 years in order management, order-to-cash, fulfillment operations, or related supply chain roles (varies by level).

Preferred:

3–5 years for mid-level Order Management Specialist roles; 5–8+ years for senior or lead roles.
Demonstrated experience with an OMS/ERP implementation, EDI onboarding, or process optimization projects.
Experience in omnichannel retail, eCommerce, B2B order flows, or high-volume fulfillment environments is highly valued.