Order Management: The Foundation of Operations#
Order Management is where customer promises meet operational reality. It's the module that captures what customers want and drives everything else—inventory allocation, warehouse operations, shipping, and financial transactions.
OpsUI Order Management at a glance: - Price: $399/month - Seats: first 5 users included, then $99/seat/month - Integrations: ERP/accounting sync over direct APIs (NetSuite live; Xero, MYOB, Abel ERP, SAP Business One) - Dependencies: None (foundational module)
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Core Capabilities#
Order Processing#
Order types: - Sales orders (standard) - Return orders (RMA integration) - Backorders (automatic from inventory) - Replacement orders
Order lifecycle: 1. Created (manual, imported, or API) 2. Validated (stock, credit, rules) 3. Released (to warehouse) 4. Picked 5. Packed 6. Shipped 7. Invoiced 8. Complete
Multi-Channel Consolidation#
Channel sources: - Direct entry - Order import - Custom API - ERP sync (NetSuite live; Xero, MYOB, Abel ERP, SAP Business One)
Channel consolidation: - All orders in single view - Channel identification - Channel-specific rules - Unified inventory allocation
Customer Management#
Customer records: - Contact details - Shipping addresses (multiple) - Billing addresses - Credit terms - Pricing tiers - Order history
Customer insights: - Order frequency - Average order value - Return rate - Lifetime value
Pricing and Discounts#
Pricing options: - Standard pricing - Customer-specific pricing - Volume pricing - Promotional pricing - Channel pricing
Discount management: - Line-level discounts - Order-level discounts - Coupon codes - Automatic discount rules
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Integration Points#
Upstream: Order Intake#
Direct entry: Manual order capture with validation
Order import / Custom API: Bulk import and programmatic order creation
ERP sync: Orders flow bidirectionally over direct APIs (NetSuite live; Xero, MYOB, Abel ERP, SAP Business One built on rollout)
Downstream: Warehouse#
Inventory Management: Stock allocation, availability check
Shipping/Outbound: Carrier selection, label generation
Wave/Zone Picking: Pick release, order batching
Financial: Accounting#
NetSuite (live): Bidirectional order, invoice and customer sync
Xero / MYOB: Invoice and payment sync over direct APIs
Native Finance: Direct invoice generation
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Configuration Options#
Order Numbering#
- Prefix configuration (SO-, ORD-, etc.)
- Sequential numbering
- Channel-specific prefixes
- Year/month sequences
Validation Rules#
- Credit limit check
- Stock availability check
- Minimum order value
- Blocked customer check
Release Rules#
- Automatic release on creation
- Manual release required
- Credit approval workflow
- Inventory threshold check
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Reporting#
Standard Reports#
- Orders by status
- Orders by channel
- Orders by customer
- Order value trends
- Average order value
- Orders per day/week/month
Dashboards#
- Order status breakdown
- Today's orders vs average
- Backorder value
- Channel performance
- Top customers
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Pricing#
Module cost: $399/month
Seat pricing: - First 5 users: $0 (included) - Every additional seat: $99/month, flat and linear (no cliffs)
Typical 10-user setup: - Order Management: $399 - 5 extra seats × $99: $495 - Total: $894/month
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When to Use This Module#
Essential if you: - Process more than 10 orders/day - Sell on multiple channels - Need order tracking beyond spreadsheet - Want to integrate with warehouse - Need customer order history
Nice-to-have if you: - Process fewer than 10 orders/day - Single sales channel - Can manage orders in accounting system
Not needed if you: - Don't sell products - Service-only business - Project-based billing only
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Implementation#
Timeline: ~1-2 weeks (1-2 modules)
Setup steps: 1. Configure order numbering 2. Set up validation rules 3. Create customer records (or import) 4. Configure ERP sync 5. Test order flow 6. Train users
Data migration: - Customers (if not in your ERP/accounting system) - Open orders - Pricing rules
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Module Dependencies#
Required for: - Wave Picking - Zone Picking - Slotting Optimization - Route Optimization (with Inventory)
Integrates with: - All other OpsUI modules - NetSuite (live), Xero, MYOB, Abel ERP, SAP Business One sync - NZ Couriers (via Shipping); AU dispatch via Australia Post, StarTrack, Sendle
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Monday Morning Action Plan#
- Count Your Orders: How many orders per day? Per month? This determines if Order Management is essential.
- List Your Channels: Where do orders come from? Each channel needs integration consideration.
- Map Your Order Process: From order creation to delivery. How many steps? Who's involved?
- Calculate Current Cost: Time spent on order management × hourly rate. Compare to $399/month.
- Start Trial: Test with your highest-volume channel. Expand from there.