Modernizing Order Management Without Compromise
How Article replaced a deeply customized legacy OMS with Fluent Commerce while preserving complex fulfillment logic and preparing for scale.
Article is a leading direct-to-consumer furniture brand with a highly specialized fulfillment model designed to support its box-based inventory and delivery operations. As the business scaled, its custom-built order management system became increasingly complex to maintain and difficult to extend. To support continued growth and transition toward a composable architecture, Article partnered with Orium to implement Fluent Commerce as a modern order management layer—replacing its legacy system while preserving the operational logic critical to its business.
Partner vendors involved:
The Challenge
Article needed to replace a deeply customized legacy OMS without losing what made its fulfillment model work.
Article's existing system handled complex inventory and fulfillment logic, including shared SKUs, box-based inventory constraints, and nuanced sourcing rules. While powerful, the system was tightly coupled in warehousing, ecommerce and downstream systems such as the ERP. This brought about an increasing risk to operate as the business grew.
The move toward a composable architecture introduced several challenges. Article needed to migrate from a monolithic system to a distributed, API-first model while preserving critical business logic. Real-time data synchronization across systems was essential, as was maintaining operational continuity during the transition. At the same time, the engagement required close coordination across multiple workstreams, with shared ownership between Article and Orium teams.
The Strategy
Co-deliver a Fluent Commerce MVP that decoupled order management while enabling incremental evolution.
Orium proposed a collaborative delivery approach designed to balance speed, control, and long-term flexibility. Responsibilities were intentionally split, with Orium leading Fluent workflow configuration while Article owned middleware development and broader system integration.
The teams adopted an agile, cross-functional model, working from shared backlogs and aligning closely across technical and business stakeholders. Rather than attempting a full replacement in one step, the plan centered on an MVP launch focused on core inventory and fulfillment logic, followed by iterative extensions over time. Orium was committed to getting Article to autonomy within their development organization quickly, knowing self-sufficiency is key with technically focused retail groups.
This phased approach reduced risk, allowed for early validation, and positioned Article and Orium as true partners—each contributing expertise to navigate the complexity of the transition.
The Solution
Composable order orchestration tailored to Article's fulfillment model and built for scale.
The implementation established Fluent Commerce as a modern, extensible order management layer, integrated into Article's ecosystem through event-driven middleware. The solution was designed to support Article's current operational complexity while enabling future growth.
Fluent's catalog and inventory workflows were adapted to handle Article's box-based inventory model, including scenarios where multiple SKUs share physical inventory. Available-to-promise inventory is dynamically recalculated across related variants, ensuring accuracy without introducing rigid constraints.
The system also supports more advanced inventory workflows, including future-reserved inventory tied to inbound purchase orders and in-transit stock. Fluent workflows enable split shipments across multiple fulfillment locations, increasing sourcing flexibility and improving fulfillment outcomes.
To enable real-time coordination across systems, Article's middleware integrates with Fluent using event-based APIs. This allows for two-way synchronization of orders, inventory, and fulfillment states, including support for complex scenarios such as split shipments and future-reserved inventory.
To reduce operational risk during the MVP rollout, lightweight manual overrides were implemented. These safeguards allow Article's teams to reassign or re-orchestrate orders when needed without breaking automation, providing a safety net for edge cases during early adoption.
Outcomes and Next Steps
The Fluent Commerce MVP delivered a modern order management foundation while preserving the operational logic central to Article's business.
Article now has an extensible OMS layer that supports its current fulfillment model and enables incremental evolution over time. The event-driven architecture improves visibility and coordination across systems, while custom workflows ensure inventory and fulfillment decisions reflect real-world constraints.
With the core foundation in place, Article is positioned to continue expanding its order management capabilities, extending workflows, and supporting future omnichannel initiatives. Just as importantly, the engagement established a shared delivery model that balanced ownership and collaboration, setting the stage for continued partnership as the platform evolves.
