Improving inventory accuracy through DataXstream’s OMS+

Retailers are heading into the holiday season already strained by inventory blind spots, supply chain disruptions and tariff uncertainty.  A new survey from Chain Store Age and GreyOrange confirms this:

• 76% of store managers report more stockouts or empty shelves
• 59% say it is getting harder to keep shelves replenished
• 24% of retail managers say at least 1x a day they can’t find stock that their system says is there.  63% run into this same problem at least once a week.
• 77% admit they have lost sales due to not locating stock fast enough

The cost of this inventory distortion is estimated to be $1.73 trillion. Couple this with the fact that retail managers are expecting price hikes or reduced inventory due to tariffs, the pressure is on to make every unit of inventory count.

The Real Issue:   Disconnected Systems and Lack of Real-time Data

Many retailers rely on disconnected systems where inventory data is updated in batches and not in real-time. When systems don’t talk to each other, or information is made available too slowly, frontline staff and digital platforms are working with outdated or incomplete information.  Likewise, frontline workers often still use manual methods for data collection for inventory.  As a result, this creates a ripple effect and can lead to:

• Delayed or inaccurate available-to-promise (ATP) visibility
• Overpromising on fulfillment
• Missed substitution opportunities when products are low or out-of-stock
• Inconsistent inventory views across stores, channel and warehouses

We have all been there.  We order something that says ‘in stock’ only to be told it will now be shipped a week or two later.  Without a unified, real-time view of inventory and order status, it is easy for systems to promise product availability that doesn’t exist.

Likewise, without access to real-time data many retailers also miss the chance to offer similar or alternative products – especially if those alternatives are available at another store or in a different fulfillment location.

All these issues add up to one thing:  broken customer experiences. Shoppers expect speed and consistency.  Without real-time inventory visibility – retailers will fall short.

Building Resilience Through Real-Time Inventory Visibility

One of the ways organizations can overcome these challenges is by building in resilience into their sales order management processes.  It cannot be emphasized enough that if you want to build resiliency into your organization, you must be able to access real-time data from every area of your company.   You will not be able to respond quickly to change, or anticipate it, if your decisions are based on outdated, siloed information.

True resiliency starts with establishing a single source of truth where inventory, customer, product, and order data are all centralized and current.  There are various ways to achieve this, but if the core of your business is built on a digital foundation such as a cloud-based system like SAP, then aggregating that data into a central location will be achievable.

OMS+ is a certified SAP solution that natively extends sales and order management by delivering real-time inventory, product, order and customer visibility across all sales channels onto a central platform.   It can:

• Read live data directly from SAP ERP (S/4HANA or ECC)
• Access SAP’s product, customer, inventory, and ATP (available-to-promise) data in real time
• Aggregate this data inside a unified interface used across sales channels

Whether an order is placed at the counter, through a portal, in a call center, or via a mobile sales tool, OMS+ ensures the team is working from the same, real-time view of inventory and order status.

Turning Visibility into a Competitive Advantage

For retailers, this level of real-time visibility is a competitive advantage. Having access to the real-time master data gives an organization the ability to see across the supply chain.  They can easily access information such as where the product is, when it will be available and what the lead time is to get it. It also helps them better react to slow-downs in the supply chain and adjust quicker than their competitors.

This level of visibility isn’t just a back-end improvement—it has real, customer-facing benefits:

• Fewer stockouts, faster fulfillment
  Real-time data allows frontline employees to see what is actually available to promise (ATP) at the moment of the sale, not based on outdated batched updates.
• Faster order execution

When employees have full visibility to order status, inventory availability and customer history in one dashboard interface, they can make smarter product recommendations, handle exceptions quickly and build trust with the customer.

• Improved Store and Channel Collaboration
  Meeting customer expectations means more than just having product in stock, it means having real-time visibility to look at other branch locations or across the supply chain to support in-the-moment selling. With live, SAP data, customer service reps can instantly check inventory at other branches and consolidate stock into a single shipment. This eliminates overstock in one location and shortages in another.
• Actionable Data from AI
  With OMS+, retailers can anticipate stockouts before they occur, generate intelligent substitution suggestions during order entry, detect anomalies in complex orders and even trigger promotions based on live inventory movement. OMS+ can proactively shape outcomes, leading to faster decision and fewer disruptions.
• Consistent cross-channel experiences, with no surprises at the point of sale
  Having access to real-time data visibility ensures that every channel reflects the same accurate, up-to-date information. This means when a customer looks at how many items a brick-and-mortar store has in stock, that number displays the true availability – whether it is a digital channel or a physical store. Customers are never surprised by missing items, unavailable stock or unexpected delays.

Ultimately, real-time visibility empowers retail teams to deliver more reliably, adapt faster, and support growth, even in times of disruption.  When teams can see accurate inventory, customer, and order data in real time, they can make informed decisions on the spot. This level of responsiveness not only strengthens customer trust, but it helps retailers move from reactive problem-solving to proactive, insight-driven execution.

That’s what OMS+ delivers.  By embedding directly into SAP, OMS+ gives retail teams a single, accurate real-time view of inventory across all sales channels.  This empowers better decisions, faster fulfillment and more consistent customer experiences, without adding technical debt.

“OMS+ gave us real-time sales and inventory visibility across the business. That changed everything, from how we train new employees to how quickly we fulfill orders.”
Marty Menard, CIO, Pacific Coast Supply

Connect with us to see how OMS+ can help your team more from reactive problem-solving to proactive selling. www.dataxstream.com