Protect your profits: How to prevent downtime and maximise Black Friday sales

As Black Friday approaches, retailers will once again face the annual challenge of generating maximum profit from this high sales potential shopping event. For many, however, issues created by an outdated order management system (OMS) means that they'll struggle to cope with the onslaught.

Avoiding system downtime and ensuring accurate stock availability is mission critical for satisfying the intense demand created by Black Friday shoppers. Should any part of the OMS go offline, the consequences will be significant. Retailers will need to be confident their OMS is scalable and resilient enough to handle the influx of orders.

Lost Sales, customer frustration and long term impact
During Black Friday, the window to capture sales is brief, and every second counts. Even a few minutes of Order Management System (OMS) downtime can lead to thousands of lost orders and crucial revenue.

OMS issues during peak events lead to delayed orders, inaccurate stock levels, and poor customer experiences. This not only impacts immediate sales but also drives customers away from future purchases. A smooth, reliable experience is crucial to maintaining customer trust.

The ripple effects of downtime extend beyond Black Friday. Negative reviews, abandoned carts, and lost loyalty can continue to affect your business long after the sales event is over. The damage to your brand can take months or even years to repair.

Why Traditional OMS Solutions Struggle During Peak Events
As the orders start flooding in, not all OMS systems can keep up. Here's why many traditional solutions falter under the pressure of Black Friday's intense demands.

 1. Scalability Issues
Traditional OMS systems often struggle to scale during high-volume events like Black Friday. As order volumes spike, these systems can slow down or crash entirely, leading to lost sales and customer dissatisfaction.

 2. API Latency
One of the most common reasons for OMS failures during peak times is not orders. It's inventory availability response times. Why? Because there are many more items browsed than bought. Traditional systems often can't handle the surge in customers checking if an item is in stock or when they can get it. This leads to slow performance or crashes.

3. Integration Challenges
Legacy OMS systems often struggle to integrate. They don't play well with modern ecommerce platforms and third-party solutions. This can create bottlenecks and delays during peak periods. Fluent Order Management supports several integration patterns to seamlessly integrate with your existing systems. So, you can choose the right integration method depending on the use case. This gives you confidence you'll have a smooth flow of data and orders, even under pressure.

How to prepare for Black Friday
There are three proactive steps retailers can take to get prepared and ensure their OMS is able to cope with the demands created by Black Friday:

1. Undertake a system stress-test
Before the big day, retailers should conduct a thorough stress test of their OMS to identify any weak points that could lead to downtime. By using load-testing tools to simulate Black Friday conditions, retailers will be able to assess the ability of their system set up to handle the transactional pressures.

2. Optimise inventory and fulfilment processes
To save time now and prevent issues on Black Friday, retailers should look to review and optimise their inventory levels, fulfilment strategies and supplier relations. The aim of the game here is to streamline processes so that demand on the day can be met quickly and efficiently.

3. Plan for contingencies
By developing a contingency plan to handle unexpected issues, retailers will be able to minimise the impact of any unforeseen challenges. This plan should include a review of backup systems alongside proactive system monitoring and support protocols. Finally, establishing a clear communications protocol will ensure that everyone is clear on who to contact when specific issues arise.

The stakes are high, but with the right preparation, Black Friday can be a major success. By preventing OMS downtime and maximising your sales potential, you can protect your profits and set the stage for a strong end to the year.