Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Order Management Representative

🎯 Role Definition

The Order Management Representative is responsible for accurately processing and tracking customer orders from receipt to fulfillment while collaborating cross-functionally with sales, warehousing, logistics, billing, and customer success teams. This role requires strong order entry and order verification skills, familiarity with ERP/OMS platforms and EDI, the ability to resolve exceptions quickly, and a customer-first mindset to maintain high on-time delivery and order accuracy metrics. The ideal candidate is detail-oriented, analytical, and able to manage competing priorities under SLA-driven conditions.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Customer Service Representative with order entry experience
Sales Support Specialist handling purchase orders
Warehouse or Fulfillment Clerk familiar with shipping processes

Advancement To:

Senior Order Management Representative / Team Lead
Order Management Supervisor or Operations Supervisor
Supply Chain Analyst or Logistics Coordinator
Account Manager or Customer Success Manager focused on fulfillment

Lateral Moves:

Logistics Coordinator or Carrier Relationship Specialist
Inventory Analyst or Demand Planner

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Accurately enter, validate, and process customer purchase orders across ERP/OMS systems (NetSuite, SAP, Oracle) and ensure compliance with pricing, terms, and contractual obligations while maintaining 99% order accuracy.
Manage the end-to-end order lifecycle including order capture, credit validation, inventory allocation, shipment scheduling, invoicing, and closure to meet SLAs for order-to-cash timeliness and OTIF (On Time In Full).
Review and reconcile order exceptions (pricing discrepancies, product substitutions, negative inventory, authorization holds) by coordinating with sales, procurement, and warehouse teams to achieve rapid resolution and minimize fulfillment delays.
Execute order changes, cancellations, and reschedules while communicating impacts to customers, internal stakeholders, and logistics partners and ensuring system records reflect changes to inventory and billing.
Validate and process EDI and electronic order transmissions (850/855/856/810) and troubleshoot EDI errors in partnership with IT or EDI vendors to maintain uninterrupted automated order flow.
Perform customer credit checks and flag accounts for collections or credit holds in collaboration with finance, ensuring that orders exceeding credit limits are escalated and appropriately documented.
Coordinate with warehouse and third-party logistics providers (3PLs) to confirm pick/pack status, carrier pickup windows, and shipment confirmations; escalate carrier delays and optimize routing when necessary to protect delivery commitments.
Prepare and review shipping documentation (packing lists, bills of lading, commercial invoices) and ensure compliance with domestic and international shipping regulations, customs requirements, and incoterms.
Generate and distribute order-related communications including shipment notifications, tracking links, backorder alerts, and customer-facing updates to maintain transparency and enhance customer satisfaction.
Monitor inventory availability, lead times, and replenishment windows to provide accurate ETAs to customers and recommend adjustments to sales orders based on SKU-level constraints.
Issue and manage returns, RMAs, credits, and replacements by following company returns policy, updating ERP records, coordinating with reverse logistics, and ensuring timely customer refunds or replacements.
Work with sales and account management to confirm order requirements for special projects (rush orders, product assemblies, kitting) and coordinate cross-functional resources to meet delivery timelines and cost targets.
Maintain and update master data related to pricing, promotions, customer shipping instructions, bill-to/ship-to addresses, and item configurations to reduce order processing errors and billing disputes.
Track and report key order management KPIs (order accuracy, cycle time, order fill rate, backorder rate, on-time delivery) and participate in continuous improvement initiatives to drive operational efficiency and cost savings.
Process billing and invoice adjustments in the ERP system, collaborate with billing/AR teams to resolve invoice disputes, and ensure timely collections by providing accurate order and shipment evidence.
Conduct root-cause analysis on recurring order exceptions or fulfillment failures and propose process improvements, system enhancements, or policy changes to eliminate systemic issues.
Support onboarding of new customers by configuring order templates, credit terms, shipping preferences and training customer contacts on ordering requirements and portals.
Liaise with procurement and production planning teams to communicate demand changes stemming from customer orders and to align on order prioritization during constrained supply scenarios.
Ensure all order-related activities and communications are thoroughly documented in CRM or ERP systems for audit readiness and cross-team visibility.
Maintain up-to-date knowledge of product catalogs, SKU mappings, packaging requirements, and carrier service offerings to provide accurate guidance to customers and internal stakeholders.
Escalate critical order issues (service outages, large volume order rejections, system failures) to leadership and IT, manage cross-functional war-rooms when required, and drive rapid remediation until orders are fulfilled.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc reporting and analysis requests for operations leadership, extracting order lifecycle metrics from ERP and presenting insights to stakeholders.
Participate in periodic order management process audits and help implement recommended controls and standard operating procedures.
Contribute to ERP/OMS configuration projects, user acceptance testing (UAT), and documentation of order processing workflows.
Assist in training new order management staff and creating onboarding materials that cover system navigation, exception handling, and customer communication templates.
Collaborate with IT and business analysts to identify automation opportunities (workflows, macros, EDI enhancements) that reduce manual order entry and exception rates.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Proficient in ERP/Order Management Systems: NetSuite, SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics, or comparable OMS platforms.
Experience with EDI transaction sets (850, 855, 856, 810) and familiarity troubleshooting EDI errors and partner mappings.
Strong order entry and order processing discipline, including PO processing, change orders, cancellations, and backorder management.
Proficient with CRM tools (Salesforce or similar) to update customer records and track order-related communications.
Advanced Microsoft Excel skills (VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, PivotTables, INDEX/MATCH, data validation) for reporting and reconciliation.
Familiarity with billing and AR processes, invoice generation, and credit/collections coordination.
Knowledge of shipping and logistics operations, carrier booking, tracking systems, and international documentation (commercial invoices, HS codes, incoterms).
Experience using ticketing or case management systems for customer service and order exception tracking.
Basic data analysis and reporting skills; familiarity with SQL or BI tools (Tableau, Power BI) is a plus.
Understanding of inventory management principles, SKU allocations, safety stock, and replenishment impacts on order fulfillment.
Exposure to supply chain KPIs (OTIF, fill rate, order cycle time) and continuous improvement methodologies (Lean, Six Sigma) preferred.

Soft Skills

Exceptional attention to detail and accuracy when entering orders and verifying billing/shipping information.
Strong verbal and written communication skills for clear, professional interactions with customers, carriers, and internal partners.
Customer-focused mindset with the ability to de-escalate concerns and deliver service-oriented solutions under pressure.
Problem-solving and analytical thinking to diagnose root causes and implement corrective measures for recurring order issues.
Time management and prioritization skills to manage high-volume order queues while meeting SLA targets.
Team collaboration and cross-functional influence to align multiple stakeholders on order resolution.
Adaptability and resilience working in a fast-paced environment with changing priorities and periodic system updates.
Organizational skills for maintaining accurate documentation and audit-ready records.
Initiative to propose process improvements and automation opportunities that improve throughput and reduce errors.
Negotiation and conflict resolution skills for working with customers and carriers when trade-offs are required.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

High school diploma or equivalent required.

Preferred Education:

Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Operations Management, or related field preferred.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Supply Chain Management
Business Administration
Logistics and Transportation
Operations Management
Information Systems (for ERP/EDI focus)

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 1–5 years in order entry, order management, customer service, or logistics roles.

Preferred: 3+ years of hands-on experience in order management or supply chain operations with demonstrated use of ERP/OMS systems (NetSuite, SAP, Oracle), EDI exposure, and proven ability to meet order SLAs and KPIs in a B2B or e-commerce environment.