IBM Sterling Order Management Enables
More Efficient Relationships Among B2B Businesses

This a Total Economic Impact (TEI) study to provide readers with a framework to evaluate the potential financial impact of IBM Sterling Order Management on their organizations. To better understand the benefits, costs, and risks associated with this investment, Forrester interviewed several customers with experience using Sterling Order Management. This spotlight highlights the IBM Sterling Order Management experience for a B2B organization.

The interviewed B2B organization in the motion control technology industry deals with many unique partners across multiple channels. The organization detailed their improved ability to manage inventory, fulfill orders, develop and maintain relationships with partners, and serve their customers as a result of their IBM Sterling Order Management investment. 

Quantified benefits: The following risk-adjusted quantified benefits are representative of those experienced by the companies interviewed:

  • New profit from improved order management. Interviewees collectively described an uplift to their revenue and profit resulting from their IBM Sterling Order Management investment.
  • Savings from improved operations. Interviewees noted improvements in operations as a result of IBM Sterling Order Management.
  • Avoided costs of previous order management solutions. One interviewed B2B organization saved on license fees, regular hardware upgrades, FTE maintenance hours, and internal development fees by moving to IBM’s Sterling Order Management system.

Unquantified benefits. The interviewed organization(s) experienced the following benefits which are not quantified for this study:

  • Improved customer experience delivery. The interviewed companies deliver better experiences to their customers as a result of their IBM Sterling OMS investment. The B2B organization noted an improvement in customer experience from increased speed of order fulfillment and reduced complexity around placing orders spanning multiple partners or business units.
  • A single source of truth for all parties involved in a deal. By improving inventory tracking and visibility, interviewees noted that they now have a single, reliable view of their inventory for the organization, their partners, and their customers.

B2B Organizations Can Drive Internal Efficiencies With Partners While Better Serving Their Customers

IBM, Pragmedge, Sterling Integrator, B2B, IBM Sterling integrator,

New profit from improved order management. Interviewees collectively described an uplift in their eCommerce conversion rates after implementing IBM Sterling Order Management. One B2B organization noted that their IBM Sterling Order Management deployment improved their ability to locate inventory across their partner ecosystem and ultimately capture and service customer demand, leading to revenue increases. They noted: “We’ve reduced the instances in which inaccurate inventory information impacts order fulfillment for our customers. Knowing where our inventory is and feeling confident about that information is one of the biggest benefits for us.” This has significantly reduced