Restaurant Order Management Systems (OMS) are used to manage and order customers' orders. This is especially true for restaurants that deal with a consistent influx of digital orders from catering or delivery services. With 70% of customers preferring to order food online and the number of online delivery customers expected to reach 2,656 million by 2026, an effective order management system is crucial to reduce errors and help restaurants keep up with growing demand.
What Is An Order Management System?
An Order Management System (OMS) is a tool that helps restaurants manage customer orders from start to finish. It's built into the restaurant's operations to streamline ordering, reduce mistakes, and improve efficiency. The OMS handles tasks like taking orders from the kitchen or the front desk, managing online orders, updating inventory, and processing payments.
Online ordering and delivery have grown 300% faster than dine-in traffic, making it clear that restaurants need efficient systems to keep up with this shift in customer behavior. An OMS helps restaurants manage this growth, ensuring a smoother experience for staff and customers.
It also tracks the status of each order, ensuring that food is prepared and delivered at the right time. By centralizing these tasks, an OMS makes it easier to provide a smooth dining experience for customers, reducing wait times and improving accuracy.
6 Benefits Of A Restaurant Order Management System
An Order Management System (OMS) is more than just another piece of restaurant technology. For operations dealing with order mistakes, inventory headaches, or the chaos of multiple delivery platforms, an OMS can transform daily operations and directly impact your bottom line.
Reduced Errors
Stop losing money on wrong orders and upset customers. An OMS consolidates everything - dining room orders, online ordering, and all those delivery platforms - into one clean system. Your kitchen gets clear tickets, modifications don't get lost in translation, and orders come out right the first time.
Improved Order Management And Visibility
Know exactly what's happening with every order in your restaurant. An OMS gives your team real-time tracking across all channels. Kitchen staff see orders instantly, managers can spot bottlenecks before they cause problems, and servers always know when orders are ready during rush hour.
Faster Customer Support
When a customer has an issue, every second counts. An OMS gives your staff instant access to complete order details, making it easy to verify what was ordered, track delivery status, and resolve problems quickly. This leads to better support and increased customer satisfaction, enhancing the overall dining experience.
Smarter Reporting And Monitoring
Make decisions based on real data, not guesswork. See exactly what's selling, when your actual rush hours are, and which modifications customers keep requesting. Use these insights to optimize your menu, adjust staffing levels, and stock what you actually need - not what you think you need.
Better Inventory Control
Stop throwing away money on spoiled ingredients or running out of key items during service. An OMS tracks your inventory as you sell, alerting you before you run out of crucial ingredients and helping you order based on actual usage. It's like having a digital kitchen manager watching your stock 24/7.
Increased Savings
Every prevented mistake, every reduction in waste, and every optimization in ordering adds up. An OMS helps cut costs across your operation—fewer comped meals, less food waste, better labor efficiency, and smoother delivery operations. Most restaurants see the system pay for itself within months.
How Does An Order Management System Work?
A good Order Management System (OMS) helps organize your restaurant’s operations, including order placement, processing, stock, and even tracking. In the order process, every step is designed to increase productivity and make sure you stay
Capturing Orders
Orders flow automatically from every source straight into your kitchen. No more juggling tablets or losing tickets. The system processes everything instantly, getting orders to your kitchen faster and more accurately than any manual system could.
Processing Orders
Once an order hits the system, it's automatically routed to the right stations. Your kitchen staff sees exactly what they need to make, when they need to make it, and in what order. No more confusion about timing or priorities.
Communication In The Kitchen
Replace shouting and paper tickets with clear digital communication. Each station sees its tasks clearly, communication between employees is more streamlined, and everyone knows exactly what stage each order is in.
Management Of Inventory
Every ingredient is tracked automatically as orders come in. The system monitors usage patterns, suggests order quantities, and alerts you before you run out of anything important. This helps avoid scenarios where you run out of ingredients during peak business hours.
Order Tracking
Keep your team and customers informed through every step. Track preparation times, delivery status, and service metrics across all channels. Spot issues before they become problems and keep everything moving smoothly.
Processing Payments
Handle all transactions in one place - cash, cards, splits, delivery platforms - everything. The payment processing system records it all automatically, making end-of-day reconciliation faster and more accurate than ever.
Things To Consider When Selecting An Order Management System
Selecting an OMS is a significant decision that will impact your daily operations for years. Before committing to a system, evaluate these key factors to ensure you're getting what your restaurant actually needs:
Flexibility
Over time, your restaurant will add new menu items, different service models, and maybe even new locations. Look for an OMS that grows with you. The system should make it easy to add new menu categories, modify pricing, adjust inventory tracking, and create new operational workflows without requiring expensive customization or constant vendor support.
Integration
Your OMS needs to work seamlessly with your existing systems. Essential integrations include:
- POS system
- Accounting software
- Popular delivery platforms
- Inventory management tools
- Kitchen display systems
- Third-party services
Automation
The right automation saves time and reduces errors. Priority features should include:
- Automatic inventory updates as items sell
- Real-time alerts for low stock items
- Automated prep time adjustments during rush periods
- Customer notifications for order status
- Sales data syncing with your accounting system
- Automatic menu updates across all platforms
Focus on automation that solves actual problems in your operation, not just flashy features you'll never use.
Interface
If your staff can't use it easily, even the most powerful system becomes worthless. Look for:
- Clear, readable screens, even in a busy kitchen
- Intuitive navigation that requires minimal training
- Easy modification and special request handling
- Quick access to commonly used functions
- Straightforward end-of-day reporting
- Mobile-friendly interfaces for management features
Test the interface during actual service hours. What looks simple in a demo can be frustrating during a dinner rush.
Remember: the most expensive system isn't necessarily the best for your operation. Focus on solutions that address your specific challenges and will actually get used by your team. Ask for references from similar restaurants and insist on a trial period before making a long-term commitment.
Make Your Order Management More Efficient With Checkmate
When implemented well, an OMS can improve operations and customer satisfaction. If your restaurants are looking to centralize your digital channel management our platform can help streamline all the processes connected with order handling. See how we can upgrade your order management.
