When it comes to building a truly customer-centric business, an Order Management System (OMS) probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. But it might just be the secret weapon you’ve been looking for.
Non-customer-centric businesses often underperform online. But why is it so hard to change that? And where does an OMS fit into the solution?
Let’s unpack it.
What does customer-centric really mean?
In today’s digital-first world, the online channel is the most impersonal way to shop. So, to be customer-centric, businesses must create experiences that feel seamless, intuitive, and informative. That means:
- Letting customers engage with content on their own terms, across any device
- Providing all the information they need to make confident purchase decisions
- Offering clear ways to connect with support when needed
- And making the post-purchase journey—from click to doorstep—feel smooth and transparent
As Jeff Bezos once said: “Even when they report being happy, customers are always beautifully, wonderfully dissatisfied… they want something better.”
True customer-centricity starts with empathy. And it leads to something powerful: relevance, loyalty, and a constant pipeline of innovation fueled by real customer needs.
The benefits of being customer-centric:
Customer-centric businesses don’t just create better experiences—they unlock tangible business value:
- Increased customer loyalty and retention
- Greater relevance in a competitive market
- A more agile business model, powered by real-time insights
- And a stronger foundation for innovation that actually works—because it’s based on what customers truly want
So, what’s stopping businesses?
In short: self-preservation.
Most businesses are structured to protect themselves. This “protect me” culture shows up in three key ways:
1. Leadership behaviour: C-suite decision-making often leans toward financial or operational safety over customer experience.
2. Rigid workflows and rules: Operational structures are built for efficiency and risk mitigation—not agility or flexibility.
3. Technology designed to enforce the above: Most systems are chosen to automate internal processes, not enhance customer-facing interactions.
Imagine a castle surrounded by a moat. The castle is your business. The moat is all the systems and structures designed to protect it. But that moat also makes it harder for customers to engage.
Protect Me vs Customer-Centric: A clash of ideologies
Many businesses say they’re customer-centric, but few reconcile it with their internal structures. The businesses that are winning? They are the ones who have figured out how to weave empathy into their systems, workflows, and tech stack.
They’ve removed the moat.
Think of Amazon, Warby Parker, Casper, Chewy, and Sephora. All started as pure-plays. All disrupted their categories by designing every part of their model—from order capture to delivery—around the customer.
Start weaving: 3 steps toward true customer-centricity
You don’t need to burn everything down. But you do need to take deliberate steps to evolve your business model:
Step 1: Top-down support
Customer-centricity needs a champion at the top. A CEO who listens to both the CFO and the customer becomes the “Chief Empathy Officer.”
Step 2: Enable the customer voice
Successful transformations are guided by customer insights. Listening should be built into every decision.
Step 3: Choose the right tech
Some systems are designed to protect the business. Others are built to serve the customer. And a few—like a modern OMS—can do both.
Here’s how core systems typically align:
System |
Primary Role |
|---|---|
|
ERP |
Protect Me |
|
POS |
Protect Me |
|
eCommerce Platform |
Customer-Centric |
|
Marketing Automation |
Customer-Centric |
|
CRM |
Customer-Centric |
| OMS | Both |
Fluent Order Management = Customer Focused
Fluent Order Management’s “protect me” capabilities include:
- Scaling the picking and packing of orders efficiently
- Seamless integration between the OMS and all other systems
- Business logic that dictates where and when an order should be fulfilled
- Click & Collect workflows that make store fulfillment easy for staff
And Fluent Order Management’s customer-centric strengths:
- Integrating with ecommerce platforms to show real-time delivery and pickup options (including pricing) at product and checkout levels
- Displaying inventory availability across channels for a transparent omnichannel experience
- Keeping customers informed through automated, timely updates on their order status
It’s this dual role—protecting the business while enabling better experiences—that makes Fluent Order Management a powerful enabler of customer-centric transformation.
Summary
Customer-centricity isn’t just a mindset. It’s a capability. And the businesses that master it don’t just survive—they grow, evolve, and lead.
But getting there takes deliberate choices—starting with the technology you invest in and how you integrate it across your business. With that in mind, here are three practical tips for leaders looking to take the next step:
1. “Protect Me” systems can stay that way—but they must integrate. These systems should have strong capabilities to share information with customer-centric systems. When they do, it enables those customer-facing platforms to become even more effective and responsive.
2. Follow a best-of-breed approach. Select the right system for the right job. A common mistake? Choosing an ecommerce platform that’s just a module of your ERP system. It may seem convenient, but it often leads to limitations that restrict innovation and customer experience. And yes—it happens more often than you’d think.
3. The right OMS is your balancing act. An OMS like Fluent Order Management is one of the few systems designed to serve both “Protect Me” and customer-centric needs. It offers multi-faceted capabilities that allow you to maintain control over operations while delivering better, faster, more connected customer experiences.
In other words, the right OMS won’t just help you fulfill orders. It will help you fulfill your promise to the customer.
Because when customers win, so do you.
For more information on how Fluent Order Management can help you transform your business, contact us today.
