> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.fulfillmenttools.com/documentation/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.fulfillmenttools.com/documentation/about-fulfillmenttools/fulfillmenttools-and-its-surrounding-system.md).
# fulfillmenttools and its surrounding system
Fulfillment is the overall process of fulfilling a consumer's request for goods or services. It starts by providing availability and delivery options during the shopping process, then identifies the best facility for fulfillment. The picking and packing process then takes place at the facility itself. It ends with the consumer being supplied via a suitable delivery service or the goods being handed over on site. Additionally, fulfillment includes the returns process if the customer returns the ordered goods.
fulfillmenttools supports the whole fulfillment process as it's an Agentic Order Management System (OMS).
An Agentic OMS is an Order Management System designed from the ground up to support autonomous, goal-driven decision-making across the fulfillment lifecycle. It connects inventory, orders, and fulfillment operations across your entire network, continuously improving decision-making.
Instead of relying on static rules, it uses real-time data and adaptive logic to automatically optimize routing, availability, and order execution in line with defined business objectives.
It monitors and adapts continuously, not once per order. Traditional systems make a single routing decision when the order enters the system and then move on. An Agentic OMS evaluates conditions continuously. If something changes in the network (a warehouse becomes unavailable, carrier performance degrades, inventory shifts, and so on), fulfillmenttools reassesses and adjusts, even for orders already in process.
When we say fulfillmenttools is an Agentic OMS, we mean:
* We build AI-driven products, like Advanced Order Routing, that use intelligent algorithms to optimize fulfillment decisions.
* We integrate AI-enabled capabilities, from demand forecasting to anomaly detection.
* We provide autonomous agents that monitor, analyze, reassess, and optimize — not just individual products, but the entire system as a network.
Agentic works as the orchestrating layer that sits above AI-driven and AI-enabled capabilities, continuously refining how they work together.
Our Agentic OMS is divided into five pillars:
* **Global Inventory Hub:** High-performance inventory data provision that ensures real-time transparency across the entire network (including inter-facility transfers).
* **Order Management:** End-to-end management of the order lifecycle.
* **Advanced Order Routing:** Intelligent order routing that identifies the most efficient fulfillment path within the network.
* **Availability and Promising:** Allow shop and commerce systems to show consumers accurate availability, delivery, and pickup options based on real-time sourcing to build consumer trust.
* **Store Operations:** Streamline operational steps in the facility to optimize fulfillment in an omni-channel environment, enabling efficient picking, packing, dispatching, and returns.
On top of our five pillars, you can connect your fulfillment operations with AI-driven decision-making, giving internal agents the intelligence to act and external agents the operational foundation they need, using the [fulfillmenttools MCP Server](/documentation/integrations/mcp-server-onx.md).
fulfillmenttools is a member of the MACH Alliance. We're a certified best-of-breed solution focused on delivering optimal order fulfillment. We're a founding member of the Commerce Operations Foundation, which created the Order Network eXchange (onX) Protocol. We're also GDPR- and ISO-certified.
Our customers integrate our Agentic Order Management System with other systems. Our API-first approach guarantees seamless and rapid integration, enabling fulfillmenttools to exchange and manage all essential information with these interconnected systems.
**Systems that fulfillmenttools connects to:**
**Webshops** and **Point-Of-Sales** systems (POS) take the consumers' orders, which are then passed on to fulfillmenttools. fulfillmenttools supplies these systems with checkout information, such as fulfillment options or stock information.
A **Customer Relationship Management** (CRM) system manages and enhances customer interactions across all touchpoints. It's often used to add important customer information that might influence order fulfillment or to handle the "last mile" of communication to the consumer.
A **Payment Service Provider** (PSP) enables our customers to accept and handle payments. Our order management system is closely integrated with these systems to incorporate the payment process into the fulfillment process and to trigger refunds and necessary adjustments.
A **Transportation Management System** (TMS) can be connected to our software to request shipping labels and/or exchange important shipping information, which can be handled in our OMS. All relevant data is collected during the shopping and fulfillment process.
A **Third-Party Logistics** (3PL) provider provides outsourced logistics services. Those providers are often included in bigger fulfillment networks orchestrated by fulfillmenttools. The information exchanged between the systems primarily consists of order data and its current fulfillment status within the facility.
A **Warehouse Management System** (WMS) is optimized for handling warehouse operations. Warehouses are central facilities in fulfillment networks and often process large volumes of orders. Again, the information on the order and its fulfillment progress in the warehouse is typical data exchanged between the systems.
An **Enterprise Resource Planning** (ERP) system is usually a central component of our customers' software architecture. Depending on its usage, it can serve as a crucial source of information for inventory, customer data, or finances.
A **Product Information Management** (PIM) acts as a centralized hub for all product-related information, which often supplies fulfillmenttools with relevant data like product descriptions or images.
The fulfillmenttools MCP Server provides a standardized interface for interacting with fulfillmenttools. Built on the [Model Context Protocol](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/) (MCP) and implementing the Order Network eXchange (onX) Protocol, it enables system-to-system communication, allowing AI Agents, orchestration layers, and external platforms to manage orders in natural language without relying on proprietary APIs. For more information, see our [MCP Server article](/documentation/integrations/mcp-server-onx.md).
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