Most companies strive for good customer service, but that doesn’t seem to be enough any more. Customers seem to expect more, better, faster service. How do we put the wow factor back in service?

Technology has radically changed the options that are open to multichannel companies as they look at acquiring new OMS functionality. Literally hundreds of companies now use SAAS and ASPs; they have become comfortable with giving up control of the IT management and environment.

Application service providers (ASP), software as a service (SAAS), and managed services are all options for purchasing new hardware, software, user licenses, and managing your own IT shop. While these types of services have become more commonplace in the e-commerce world, they have gained a significant foothold in back-end order management. Applications typically include customer contact center, customer service, credit card authorization, order processing, inventory control, warehousing, marketing, and accounting for multichannel and direct companies.

The benefits of a booming economy are obvious to top line sales but a robust economy causes problems with labor availability in many markets.

Most consumer catalogs operate out of a single distribution center. To control outbound shipping costs, their centers typically are located near the demographic center of the country.