Build an Order Management System

Overview

Centralize orders, customers, products, inventory, payments, and shipping in one workspace to eliminate manual spreadsheets, reduce fulfillment errors, and keep teams aligned from sale to delivery. A linked, automation‑ready setup in Stackby gives real‑time visibility, faster handoffs, and accurate reporting.

Why build it in Stackby?

• Unified data model: Link Orders ↔ Customers ↔ Products ↔ Inventory ↔ Payments ↔ Shipments so every order stays traceable end‑to‑end.

• Real‑time tracking: Surface stock levels, payment status, and shipping milestones with views, filters, and dashboards.

• Automation‑ready: Trigger alerts for low stock, overdue payments, or delayed shipments; auto‑create pick lists and emails.

• Scalable templates: Start from the Order Management CRM/Inventory templates and customize fields, statuses, and flows as operations grow.

Use Order Management CRM Template

Core tables and relationships

Orders

Purpose: Single source of truth for each order from intake to delivery.
Key fields:

• Order ID, Order date, Channel (Website/Marketplace/Wholesale)

• Customer (linked), Shipping address, Billing address

• Line items (linked to Line Items table)

• Order status: New → Confirmed → Picking → Packed → Shipped → Delivered → Returned/Cancelled

• Payment status: Pending → Partially paid → Paid → Refunded

• Fulfillment priority, Carrier, Tracking number, Estimated delivery
  Best practices:

• Generate Order ID via formula or automation; store external IDs for marketplaces.

• Use interfaces for “Today’s shipments,” “Pending payments,” and “Exceptions.”

Line Items

Purpose: Itemized detail per order.
Key fields:

• Linked Order, Product (linked), SKU, Quantity ordered, Unit price, Discount, Tax, Line total

• Fulfillment status (Backordered/Ready/Picked/Shipped)
  Best practices:

• Use rollups on Order to sum totals from line items for financial accuracy.

Customers

Purpose: Maintain buyer history and service context.
Key fields:

• Customer name, Contact info, Segment, Region

• Linked Orders, Last order date, Lifetime value (rollup)

• Preferences/Notes (returns policy, delivery instructions)
  Best practices:

• Create “At‑risk” view for delayed/issue‑prone orders; use activity notes for support history.

Products

Purpose: Product catalog and pricing reference.
Key fields:

• Product name, SKU, Category, Unit price, Cost, Reorder point

• Linked Inventory records, Active flag

• Dimensions/Weight (for shipping), Variant attributes (Color/Size)
  Best practices:

• Keep SKU unique; separate master product from variants if needed.

Inventory

Purpose: Real‑time stock visibility.
Key fields:

• Product (linked), Location (Warehouse/Store), On hand, Allocated, Available = On hand − Allocated

• Reorder point, Restock ETA, Lot/Batch (optional), Serial numbers (optional)
  Best practices:

• Automations: alert when Available ≤ Reorder point; create a Purchase Order request.

Payments

Purpose: Track invoices, receipts, and refunds.
Key fields:

• Linked Order, Amount due, Amount paid, Method (Card/UPI/Bank), Status (Pending/Paid/Refunded), Transaction ID, Payment date
  Best practices:

• Roll up to Orders and Customers for financial dashboards; flag overdue balances.

Shipments

Purpose: Fulfillment and logistics traceability.
Key fields:

• Linked Order, Carrier, Service, Tracking number, Ship date, Estimated delivery, Status (Label created/In transit/Out for delivery/Delivered), Delivery proof URL
  Best practices:

• Automate customer notifications on status changes; log exceptions (lost/damaged).

Suggested views and dashboards

• Ops Control: “Today’s picks,” “Ready to pack,” “Ready to ship,” “Delayed shipments.”

• Finance: “Pending payments,” “Refunds this week,” “High‑value orders.”

• Inventory: “Low stock,” “Backordered items,” “Reorder pipeline.”

• Customer Service: “Orders with issues,” “Returns in progress,” “VIP orders this week.”

• Dashboards: KPIs (Orders received/shipped today, OTIF rate, Stockouts, GMV), trend charts (orders/day), and breakdowns (channel, region).

Key automations

• Order intake: On new order record (or form/API), create line items, set fulfillment priority, notify warehouse channel.

• Inventory allocation: When order confirmed, decrement Available via formula/flow; if insufficient stock, tag Backorder and notify purchasing.

• Pick/pack/check: Move status with button clicks; auto‑stamp timestamps (Picked at, Packed at) and assign operator.

• Shipping notifications: When tracking is added, email/SMS the customer and update the Shipment status.

• Payment chase: If Payment status = Pending X days post‑order, notify finance and send reminder.

• Low‑stock alert: If Available ≤ Reorder point, create a Purchase Order draft and alert the buyer.

Implementation steps

1. Copy and configure the template

• Start from Order Management CRM and Inventory templates; unify field names (SKU, Order ID, Status) and link tables.

2. Define statuses and SLAs

• Document lifecycle definitions (Order status, Payment status, Shipment status) and service targets (pick/pack/ship windows). Publish in a Description panel.

3. Import master data

• Load Products and Customers first (CSV or API). Validate SKUs and normalize categories.

4. Integrate channels

• Connect website/marketplace feeds via API/iPaaS; include external order IDs for idempotent upserts.

5. Set up role‑based views and permissions

• Separate ops, finance, and support views; lock reporting views and set field‑level permissions on financials.

6. Pilot and iterate

• Run a 1–2 week pilot on a subset of orders/warehouse; refine statuses, automations, and dashboards before full rollout.

Reporting and KPIs

• Order cycle time (order to ship), OTIF rate, Return rate, Stockout frequency, Backorder days, GMV, AOV, Payment lag, Inventory turnover, Fill rate.

• Build monthly dashboards with trends and cohort filters (channel, region, product line).

Extensions and interfaces

• Extensions: charts, pivots, and description blocks for SOPs; barcode/QR scanning via integrated tools.

• Interfaces: Ops board (pick/pack/ship actions), Finance console (payments and refunds), Customer portal (optional, read-only order tracking).

Data governance

• Use unique keys (Order ID, SKU, Transaction ID), audit fields (Created/Modified times), and soft‑delete for returns/cancellations.

• Maintain mapping tables for marketplaces and carriers; schedule snapshots before schema changes.

Try it now

• Copy the template, import 10 products and 10 customers, create 5 sample orders with line items, and enable three automations: order intake notification, low‑stock alert, and shipping notification. Validate one end‑to‑end order from “New” to “Delivered,” then expand.

Image placement suggestions

• After “Core tables…”: an entity‑relationship diagram showing Orders at center linked to Customers, Line Items, Products, Inventory, Payments, Shipments.

• After “Suggested views…”: a dashboard mock with KPIs, Orders by day, and channel breakdown.

• After “Key automations”: a flow diagram (New order → Allocate → Pick/Pack → Ship → Notify).