Retailers, wholesalers, and B2B distributors today face a common challenge: delivering on customer expectations while keeping fulfillment efficient and cost-effective. Microsoft has built two tools in Dynamics 365 to meet this need: Distributed Order Management (DOM) and Intelligent Order Management (IOM), supported by Inventory Visibility.
Let’s look at how these solutions compare and why moving from optimization to orchestration represents the future of the supply chain.
Distributed Order Management (DOM) in Dynamics 365
Distributed order management is a module inside Dynamics 365 that figures out where an order should be fulfilled from a warehouse, a distribution center, or even a retail store. This Distributed order management system uses pre-set business rules to minimize split shipments, reduce shipping costs, and accelerate delivery to customers.
- Retailers: DOM enables ship-from-store and BOPIS, while balancing cost and service.
- Wholesalers: It ensures priority accounts are served reliably by dynamically allocating orders from the best hub.
- B2B distributors: DOM handles large, multi-line orders by finding the most efficient fulfillment points without heavy manual work.
Because DOM is built right into Dynamics 365, it fits in smoothly if your sales, orders, and inventory are all managed within the D365 ecosystem.
Intelligent Order Management (IOM) + inventory visibility
While DOM optimizes fulfillment inside ERP, Intelligent order management expands the scope to orchestration across channels, partners, and even non-Microsoft systems. With the Inventory Visibility add-in, businesses gain a single, real-time view of stock across warehouses, ERPs, 3PLs, and retail locations, ensuring promises to customers are always accurate.
What makes IOM stand out is its flexible and modern capabilities:
- Rule-based order- fulfillment orchestration: Automates even the most complex fulfillment journeys across channels.
- Pre-built Microsoft Power Platform connectors: 200+ ready-to-use integrations for marketplaces, logistics partners, and ERPs.
- Advanced API architecture: Open APIs make it easy to extend and connect to custom applications.
- Real-time fulfillment engine: Provides visibility and control from order capture through final delivery.
- No-code/low-code workflows: Quickly adjust order flows in response to disruptions with a drag-and-drop policy designer.
- AI/ML-powered insights: Detect potential failures early, forecast inventory needs, and resolve issues before they impact customers.
For retailers, this means one platform to connect stores, e-commerce, and marketplaces. Wholesalers can prevent overselling by relying on a single source of truth for inventory. B2B distributors can orchestrate complex processes like drop shipping or partner allocations with ease.
Flexibility and adaptability
Choosing the right tool depends on whether your business needs optimization within ERP or orchestration across a broader ecosystem.
- Distributed order management: Best for organizations centered on Dynamics 365, with strong rule-based fulfillment optimization inside ERP.
- Intelligent order management: Suited for multi-channel, multi-system businesses that need flexibility, cross-platform integration, and rapid workflow adjustments.
DOM optimizes fulfillment inside your ERP, whereas IOM orchestrates fulfillment across your ecosystem.
Visionet’s business value
Choosing between distributed order management and intelligent order management isn’t just a technology decision, it’s a business one. The right choice depends on your operating model, your channels, and how flexible your supply chain needs to be. This is where Visionet’s experience with similar implementations across diverse customers makes a real difference.
Our expertise ensures that whichever solution you adopt—whether it’s an intelligent orchestration layer or a distributed order management system—it is aligned with both your current challenges and your long-term strategy.
We start by guiding you through the decision-making process: whether DOM’s ERP-centric optimization or IOM’s multi-system orchestration is the better fit for your business. Our consultants combine industry knowledge with technical depth to ensure the solution aligns with both immediate needs and long-term strategy.
Integration doesn’t have to be complex. With pre-built connectors and frameworks, Visionet accelerates the process of linking marketplaces, 3PLs, and legacy systems. That way, you see value faster. Every business has its own way of working. That’s why we customize rules and flows so the system reflects your processes.
Finally, supply chains never stand still, and neither do we. Visionet provides continuous improvement and support as your business evolves, whether that means adding new sales channels, rethinking fulfillment strategies, or adopting emerging technologies.
With Visionet as your partner, intelligent order management becomes more than just processing orders. It becomes a strategic capability, one that improves delivery speed, lowers costs, and helps you delight your customers every single time.
