The "active order" feature list: 10 tools for managing exceptions
Most order systems are built for the happy path: capture, validate, fulfill, invoice. But in real operations, exceptions are where time and margin disappear.
You know the pattern. Backorders pile up. Stockouts trigger a flood of "where is my order?" emails. Credit holds sit in limbo while someone chases an approval through Slack. Spec changes arrive after fulfillment started. And your team spends their days firefighting instead of fulfilling.
Here is the problem. Backorders inherently add extra steps and exceptions that teams must manage. And according to Sana Commerce's 2024 B2B Buyer Report, a third of B2B online orders include errors requiring intervention.
Each exception costs approximately $30 to manually resolve. A $5B manufacturing company could spend $500,000 monthly just on exception processing.
This guide breaks down the 10 capabilities that separate basic order tracking from true order exception management software, with practical examples of what to look for when evaluating platforms.
Key takeaways
Exceptions are predictable, not exceptional. Backorders, holds, and substitutions are not edge cases. They are recurring patterns you should design workflows around rather than handle ad hoc through email threads and spreadsheets.
Alerts without actions create more work. The most valuable tools convert exceptions into assigned, trackable tasks with clear ownership rather than simply sending notifications that pile up in inboxes.
Communication gaps cause abandonment. Research from the Journal of Retailing found that fulfillment failures delay the next customer order by 7.22% on average. Closing the communication loop is not just operational hygiene but a revenue protection strategy.
Approvals management is core, not optional. Oracle's Order Management documentation treats holds and approval workflows as fundamental operational functions, not bolt-on features. Your exception management platform should do the same.
Why the "happy path" is failing modern order operations
Teams optimize for straight-through processing, then spend their days firefighting when reality intervenes. Inventory changes mid-order. Suppliers delay shipments. Customers revise specs. Compliance checks flag issues. Credit limits get exceeded.
When these exceptions happen outside your system, they become invisible work scattered across email threads, side calls, and spreadsheet trackers.
The solution requires shifting from reactive to proactive exception management. Manhattan Associates emphasizes that modern platforms should "automatically identify and resolve issues before they impact fulfillment performance" through continuous monitoring and real-time corrective actions. This approach reduces mean time to resolution and prevents revenue leakage from stalled orders.
What "active order" management looks like: Instead of pushing exceptions into email follow-ups, the order itself can branch, pause, request approvals, and trigger structured workflows. Human actions like approvals, document requests, and decisions stay inside a guided workflow with full audit trails. No more chasing threads.
Managing backorders and stockouts without losing the customer
Backorders create a cascade of coordination challenges. You must notify the customer, confirm new timing, handle potential substitutions or partial shipments, and synchronize internal changes across teams.
Companies with automated order management and exception handling can "more quickly and efficiently manage reorders and fulfillment."
You need proactive alerts when stockouts or backorders occur, combined with an embedded workflow that drives the next decision: allocate inventory, re-promise delivery, offer a substitute, or split the shipment.
Microsoft's Dynamics 365 documentation provides detailed configuration guidance for backorder and preorder handling, underscoring how common and system-worthy this exception type has become.
The key is triggering customer notifications and approvals (such as substitution acceptance) while simultaneously routing internal actions like warehouse changes or procurement expedites. SLA-based escalation ensures nothing sits unowned while customers wait.
10 "active order" capabilities that actually manage exceptions
1. Exception detection rules engine. When exceptions rely on humans to notice issues, delays compound exponentially. Rules-based detection using inventory thresholds, promise date risk, and missing field validation moves you from reactive firefighting to proactive control. Workflows should trigger from events or scheduled checks so an exception creates an assigned path rather than a vague alert.
2. Stockout notifications with next-best action. A stockout alert without an action plan just creates more support tickets. The ROI comes from immediately offering a decision route: substitute, backorder, split ship, or cancel. Push a customer-facing decision step via a structured workflow, capturing the response with full documentation.
3. Backorder allocation and re-promise date management. Backorders require policy decisions and communication discipline, not just status updates. Route re-promise decisions to the right owner in inventory, planning, or customer success, then automatically notify the customer in the same thread where the original order lives.
4. Substitution workflow with customer approval. Substitutions directly impact customer satisfaction and future ordering behavior. The Journal of Retailing research highlights how substitutions and partial fulfillment can measurably change what customers do next. Create a substitution approval step with attachments and spec sheets, tracking acceptance with a complete audit trail.
5. Holds management for credit, compliance, and fulfillment. Holds are a hidden exception factory because they stop orders while teams chase approvals across disconnected systems. Oracle's documentation covers holds and approval management as core operational functions, noting that "notification functionality can be used for handling business exceptions, such as orders on hold." Run holds as a governed workflow with clear ownership, required evidence collection, and timed escalation if the hold is not released.
6. Automated order re-entry and data capture. "Automated order re-entry" matters when orders arrive via email, PDFs, EDI variations, or messy forms and humans become the integration layer. Conexiom research shows customer service representatives spend 20-40% of their time on manual order handling. Structured intake with validations routes low-confidence fields to human review instead of letting the process fail silently.
7. SLA timers and escalation paths. Exceptions are time-bound. If no one acts, customers churn and expedite costs rise. A good exception platform assigns timers, reminders, and escalations so work does not sit unowned. Route exceptions, remind owners, and surface overdue items in dashboards automatically.
8. Integration hooks to sync systems of record. Exception tools fail if they cannot update your ERP, OMS, WMS, and CRM, creating two versions of the truth. Use integrations and webhooks to trigger workflows and push outcomes back to your system of record so it stays authoritative.
9. Workspace that closes the communication loop. Alerts do not reduce customer contacts if customers cannot see status and next steps. Each order exception should live in a shared workspace where messages, files, approvals, and decisions stay tied to the order. No more hunting through email threads for context.
10. Exception analytics and audit trail. If you cannot measure exceptions, you cannot reduce them. Common KPIs include exception rate and mean time to resolution. Workflow reporting plus audit-ready history shows where exceptions cluster by customer, SKU, lane, or supplier so you can redesign the workflow accordingly.
How Moxo fits your exception management stack
If your biggest exception cost is the communication loop, Moxo fits as the orchestration layer that keeps those steps out of email and inside a structured, trackable flow. As a Human + AI Process Orchestration Platform, Moxo addresses the coordination chaos that traditional OMS and ERP systems leave untouched.
Traditional transaction systems excel at data processing, but they were not designed for the back-and-forth human coordination that exceptions demand. Moxo bridges that gap by orchestrating the people side of exception resolution while your systems of record handle the data side.
Workflow automation for exception-specific flows. Build exception workflows that trigger automatically when issues arise. Instead of manually creating tasks and sending emails, exceptions route to the right owners with context, deadlines, and escalation paths built in. AI agents handle the coordination and routing. Humans handle the decisions that matter.
Client-facing collaboration without friction. Customers and vendors participate directly in exception resolution without needing accounts or training. Moxo's Magic Links let external stakeholders view status, approve changes, and upload documents from a secure browser link. No more chasing responses across email threads.
Approvals engine for multi-step sign-offs. Credit holds, substitution approvals, and compliance reviews flow through a governed process with audit trails. Every approval is tracked with timestamps and accountability.
Integration depth across your stack. Exception outcomes sync back to your ERP, OMS, and CRM. Webhooks and native connectors keep your system of record authoritative while Moxo handles the human orchestration layer.
Real-time visibility into exception performance. Dashboards show exception rates, resolution times, and bottlenecks. When you can see where exceptions cluster, you can redesign workflows to prevent them.
As one G2 reviewer noted: "Centralizes communication, document sharing, to-dos tracking, and required approvals in one place."
Exception management for predictable cycle times and strong customer experience
Exception management is where operational maturity becomes visible. Backorders, stockouts, holds, substitutions, and shipping disruptions create extra steps that must be coordinated reliably if you want predictable cycle times and strong customer experience.
The best order exception management software is not defined by dashboards alone. It is defined by whether it can detect issues early, route decisions to the right owners, and turn every exception into an owned workflow with measurable outcomes.
Moxo fits when your biggest exception cost is the communication loop. Customers and internal teams need a single place to approve, upload, decide, and move orders forward without spinning up a new email thread for every twist. AI handles the coordination. Your team handles the decisions.
Get started with Moxo to see how workflow orchestration can transform your order exception management.
FAQs
What is order exception management software?
Order exception management software detects, routes, and resolves issues that prevent orders from following the standard fulfillment path. This includes backorders, credit holds, missing documentation, and customer-requested changes. Unlike basic order tracking, exception management platforms assign ownership, enforce SLAs, and maintain audit trails for every deviation.
What are the most common order exceptions in B2B operations?
The most frequent B2B order exceptions include backorders due to inventory shortages, credit holds requiring finance approval, specification changes requested mid-order, compliance documentation gaps, and shipping or delivery disruptions. Each type requires different workflows and stakeholder involvement to resolve.
How do stockout notifications reduce cancellations and churn?
Proactive stockout notifications with clear next-best actions such as substitution offers or revised delivery dates keep customers engaged rather than frustrated. When customers receive timely communication with options, they are far more likely to accept alternatives than cancel entirely.
What does automated order re-entry mean?
Automated order re-entry refers to capturing order data from unstructured sources like emails, PDFs, or faxes without manual data entry. This reduces transcription errors and speeds intake-to-confirmation time, though most solutions still require human review for low-confidence fields.
How do you measure exception management performance?
Key metrics include exception rate (percentage of orders requiring intervention), mean time to resolution (MTTR), exception cost per order, and root cause distribution. Tracking these over time reveals process improvement opportunities and helps justify automation investments.
Is an OMS enough for exception management, or do you need an interaction workflow layer?
Traditional order management systems excel at transaction processing but often lack robust external stakeholder collaboration. When exceptions require customer approvals, document collection, or multi-party decisions, an interaction workflow layer like Moxo complements your OMS by handling the human coordination that transactions alone cannot address.
