Franchise Order Management: How to Simplify Omnichannel Fulfillment

Today’s shoppers expect convenience. Whether they walk into a store or shop from their phones, they want fast, flexible options like buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS), easy returns, and accurate order status updates. They don’t care if the store is corporate owned or franchised. But for brands, those differences matter a lot.

Franchise order management is complex. It involves juggling multiple stakeholders, technologies, and business rules across locations with varying ownership models. Without the right systems in place, what looks seamless to shoppers can become operational chaos behind the scenes.

Franchise Order Management Challenges

Managing orders across franchise and corporate stores introduces unique challenges that traditional retail models do not face. Some of the most common include:

• Inconsistent Visibility into Inventory
  Without real-time insights into what is available at each location, brands risk overselling online or disappointing customers in store.

• Order Routing Conflicts

  Deciding whether an order should be fulfilled by a corporate store, a franchisee, or a distribution center requires logic that respects both business rules and customer expectations.

• Return Complexities
  Shoppers expect to return items anywhere, but franchisees and corporate teams often operate on different systems with different policies.

• Sales Attribution and Compensation
  If a customer picks up from a franchise store but the sale is credited to corporate, it can cause friction and affect franchisee motivation.

• Technology and Policy Alignment
  Franchisees may use different tools, POS systems, or fulfillment workflows. Getting everyone aligned can be time consuming and costly.

These issues can result in lost sales, frustrated customers, and strained relationships between brands and their franchise partners. That is why choosing the right order management approach is critical.

Three Ways to Approach Franchise Order Management

Franchise fulfillment is not one size fits all. Depending on your brand’s goals and operational structure, there are three proven ways to manage order fulfillment across corporate and franchise locations.

1. Corporate-Led Fulfillment at Franchise Locations

In this model, corporate owns the inventory and ships online orders (including BOPIS) to franchise locations for pickup. Franchise stores do not fulfill the orders themselves but serve as convenient pickup spots for shoppers.

Benefits:

• Increased Foot Traffic and Upsell Opportunities
  Franchisees benefit from more shoppers visiting the store. More than 85% of BOPIS shoppers make additional purchases when they come to pick up their order, so franchisees will see increased revenue without juggling corporate-owned merchandise.

• Low Financial Risk for Franchisees
  Because corporate owns the inventory and handles fulfillment, franchisees avoid the burden of holding or shipping inventory.

Key Considerations with This Approach:

• Franchisees Don't Have an Opportunity for Online Sales
  Franchese owners may see this as a hindrance to their business growth if they can't benefit from any online shopping.
• In-Store Space Must Be Allocated for Order Pickups
  Franchisees need to set aside an area and staff for handling pickups, even if they are not fulfilling orders and getting revenue.

2. Selective Fulfillment by Franchise Locations

Franchise stores fulfill a portion of online orders based on defined rules. These rules might restrict high-weight items, low-stock products, or other store-specific conditions. A reimbursement structure is typically used to compensate the franchise for fulfilling orders.

Key Benefits:

• Franchisees Maintain Control Over Fulfillment
  This model gives them the flexibility to protect in-store inventory and operations while also offering an opportunity to benefit from online sales.

• Prevents Inventory Depletion
  Franchisees can avoid shipping key items that are needed for local shoppers, reducing the liklihood of poor in-store customer experiences.

Key Considerations with This Approach:

• Rules Must Be Clearly Defined and Enforced
  Without consistent standards, fulfillment quality can vary from store to store.

• Reimbursement Model Must Be Fair and Scalable
  Franchisees need clear, timely compensation for the orders they fulfill.

3. Complete Omnichannel Fulfillment Across All Locations

In this approach, both corporate and franchise locations participate fully in omnichannel fulfillment, including BOPIS, ship from store, and returns. Every location acts as part of the broader fulfillment network.

Key Benefits:

• Most Seamless Experience for Shoppers
  Customers can buy, return, or pick up from any store location with ease, and all products are available to them.

• Maximizes Inventory Efficiency
  Brands can better utilize inventory across all locations to reduce overstock, improve sell through, and reduce shipping times and costs.

Key Considerations for This Approach:

• Implementation Can Be Complex at Scale
  This model requires standardized systems, processes, and support to operate seamlessly for brands, franchisees, and customers.

• Franchisees Need Clear Reimbursement for Their Role
  Without a well-defined structure, they may lose money on shipped or labor-intensive items. These points need to be taken into consideration when developing a fair compensation model.  

How an OMS Makes Franchise Fulfillment Work

The right order management system takes the friction out of franchise fulfillment, offering:

• Real-Time Inventory Visibility
  Know exactly what’s available at every franchise or corporate location. Avoid stockouts, oversells, and unnecessary transfers.

• Intelligent Order Routing
  Route orders based on inventory availability, shipping rules, store capacity, and proximity to the shopper automatically.

• Centralized Returns Management
  Let customers return anywhere. Behind the scenes, your OMS handles routing, restocking, and franchise reimbursement.

• Fulfillment Model Flexibility
  Support any combination of corporate-led, selective, or full omnichannel fulfillment without building custom workflows for each.

• Customer Service Support
  Give your support team access to real-time order and inventory data, making issue resolution faster and more accurate.

• Franchise Reporting and Oversight
  Track store-level performance, fulfillment speeds, and return rates across your network. Share insights to improve operations everywhere.

Why It Matters

Franchise brands that embrace smarter order management gain more than operational efficiency. They unlock better customer experiences, improve franchisee relationships, and reap the benefits of true omnichannal retail to increase revenue across every location.

Ready to turn franchise fulfillment into a competitive advantage? Book a demo to see how a modern OMS helps your brand fulfill faster, smarter, and without compromise.