Lowe’s India Crafts a Scalable Order Management System for Next-Gen Retail Era

In conversation with Express Computer, Deepak Bajpai, Senior Director of Technology, Lowe’s India delves into the company’s digital transformation journey and the strategic development of its in-house Order Management System, ‘Orbit’. He highlights how Orbit was purpose-built to support the dynamic needs of an omnichannel retail environment through a scalable architecture, modern tech stack, and AI-driven features. Bajpai also sheds light on how Lowe’s gears up for peak-season demands and shares his perspective on the evolving role of OMS in enabling a seamless and personalised customer experience.

What sparked the need to develop Lowe’s own Order Management System (OMS)? Please explain its evolution, role, and impact on business

Lowe’s has been on a significant digital transformation journey since 2018, with a key focus on becoming a leading omnichannel retailer. This meant expanding our digital business while maintaining strength in the traditional store segment. However, the previous off-the-shelf Order Management System (OMS) had many gaps that hindered our ability to effectively scale and address the demands of an increasingly omnichannel market. To address this, Lowe’s India designed and developed a homegrown Order Management System, ‘Orbit’. The primary goal was to create a system that could scale, remain resilient, and adapt quickly to the needs of our omnichannel retail model. 

We focused on ensuring that the OMS would be flexible and support operational excellence.The journey began with a comprehensive evaluation of our legacy systems, off-the-shelf and licensed solutions in the market. We needed a solution that would be robust enough for scalability to handle future demands. To meet our growing needs in a more sustained and adaptive manner, we determined that the best course of action would be to build an in-house tailored OMS. By embracing distributed microservices and event-driven architecture, we laid the foundation for a future-ready platform—one that can adapt, scale, and respond dynamically to changing business needs. The development process was executed phase-wise, starting with core capabilities such as Buy Online, Pick Up In-Store (BOPIS), parcel services, and Lowe’s delivery. This approach allowed for stability and a smooth transition to an omnichannel experience for our customers.

After foundational migration, Orbit has significantly increased our agility. Features that would have previously taken a quarter to deploy can now be rolled out in just 15 days enabling faster time to market. It has enabled seamless integration of services across online and in-store channels, ensuring the smooth fulfillment of omnichannel requirements and significantly enhancing the overall customer omnichannel experience.

What types of technologies are typically used to build an advanced OMS, and how do they contribute to its functionality and scalability?

Order Management Systems are critical for operational efficiency in both retail and e-commerce sectors. However, challenges such as limited customisation, inaccurate tracking, and seasonal demand fluctuations can impact business growth and customer experience. Contemporary OMS platforms address these issues by utilising a carefully chosen stack of technologies, designed after thorough evaluations.

The foundation of next-generation OMS solutions includes efficient programming languages, scalable databases, and cloud platforms. Any order management system is typically designed to orchestrate the order workflow, ensuring that multiple components operate in unison. These systems manage both structured and unstructured data, and in today’s technology landscape, adopting a polyglot architecture and leveraging multiple programming languages and technologies is often the most effective approach. These advanced tools enable retailers and e-commerce businesses to handle both structured and unstructured data seamlessly, meeting the needs of millions of customers across multiple channels.

By implementing a Hexagonal Architecture for OMS, organisations can achieve horizontal scalability while maintaining strong modularity and flexibility. This approach not only future-proofs the system but also streamlines integration with external services. Additionally, adopting an integrated strategy enhances real-time alerting and incident management, bolstering system resilience. As a result, businesses can swiftly respond to disruptions and deliver a consistently high-quality customer experience.

What are some of the common challenges faced during the development or implementation of an OMS, and how can they be effectively addressed?

 Any retailer undergoing massive digital transformation may face conficting priorities related to solution/system changes. In order to mitigate risks and empower business to continue delivering a great customer experience, sponsorship and quick decision from senior leadership is essential. Developing an OMS requires strong cross-functional alignment and a cultural shift toward embracing modern engineering practices. To overcome these challenges, it’s essential to establish regular syncs, collaborative planning sessions, and ensure that business and technical goals are clearly aligned.

 Teams should be supported with structured training, workshops, and upskilling programs which help maintain momentum on critical deliverables while fostering continuous learning. Additionally, a strong partnership between business SMEs and tech teams will enable seamless integration of the solution into ongoing business processes.

 Demonstrating early wins such as faster feature rollouts plays a crucial role in building stakeholder confidence and creating a culture of continuous improvement. An effective OMS results from the synergy of skilled teams, the right technology stack, and a clear execution strategy. Together, these elements drive business transformation and enable a seamless, integrated customer experience.

 How can AI/ML and other emerging technologies enhance the functionality of an OMS, and what role do they play in optimising operations?

 Order Management Systems are increasingly becoming the ideal platforms for the integration of AI and machine learning technologies due to the availability of order data. By aggregating order data across multiple customer segments, retailers can leverage predictive analytics to reduce cancellation and returns. This data can also be leveraged to deliver personalised customer experience by reimagining customer journeys to save the sale.

AI-driven insights also support more accurate demand forecasting, enabling businesses to implement proactive strategies in areas like delivery and sourcing. As AI-driven capabilities evolve, advanced OMS architectures are being developed to adapt quickly, utilising Large Language Models (LLMs) to optimise fulfillment operations and unearth new efficiencies across the retail value chain.

 With peak sales periods such as seasonal promotions becoming more frequent, how can retailers or businesses ensure their systems are equipped to handle surges in order volumes?

As retailers and businesses prepare for seasonal promotions and peak sales periods, ensuring that systems can handle surges in order volumes is critical. A well-defined preparation process is essential, and it starts with having comprehensive playbooks in place. These playbooks should define clear response strategies across all products, covering everything from handling minor issues to executing comprehensive disaster recovery plans. This proactive approach helps ensure that businesses are ready for any challenges that may arise during high-demand events.

An often overlooked but essential component is the infrastructure platform that supports these efforts. It’s important to invest in a robust platform that can handle continuous stress-testing to evaluate how it will perform under peak conditions. This platform should be backed by strong business continuity measures, ensuring rapid recovery in the face of unexpected disruptions.

Scalability is another key factor. For example, Lowe’s Order Management System, ‘Orbit’ is built to handle 10X the volume of orders across channels, scaling horizontally to support future growth. Combining innovation with rigorous preparation is the best way to ensure that businesses can exceed customer expectations, especially during high-stress periods. By focusing on preparation, infrastructure, and scalability, businesses can deliver a seamless, frictionless shopping experience, no matter how high the demand gets.

What does the future look like for OMS? What key advancements are necessary to meet evolving customer expectations and market demands?

Looking ahead, future-ready OMS platforms must evolve to seamlessly integrate with third party marketplaces and offer customers the experience to ordering products, right when the inspiration strikes while scrolling through social media. The aim is to build a unified, extensible solution that streamlines order capture across all touchpoints, delivering a truly frictionless customer experience by faster deliveries.

Additionally, OMS should integrate with third-party fulfillment locations to enhance inventory visibility and accelerate delivery times, and unlock a wider range of products for customers.

In an era where digital innovation and shifting consumer needs are reshaping retail, OMS platforms will continue to evolve, combining agility, scalability, and intelligent automation to create a truly seamless omnichannel experience.