Backorders
In addition, Enable BackOrder Workflow must be selected in Client Settings to use this feature. Read how to configure Backorder-related Client Settings later in this topic.
Introducing the Backorder feature
SellerCloud can mark an order with a BackOrder status when a customer orders an item for which you have no availability.
When this happens, the backordered quantity will appear in the Order Details' BackOrderQty column and the order is marked as BackOrder in the Order Status bar.
When inventory does become available, the BackOrder Qty is adjusted and the Order Status is updated accordingly. Note that inventory is applied chronologically to orders, with quantity first becoming available to older orders.
This topic explains several ways to help you effectively manage your Backorders, including:
- Order-related actions affecting Backorders
- Reallocating Backorder quantity
- Configuring ShipBridge for Backorders
- Configuring SellerCloud Client Settings for Backorders
- Related options for managing Backorders
To find your Backorders:
- Open Manage Orders > Advanced Search > BackOrder dropdown field > choose Full BackOrder, Partial BackOrder, or Full or Partial BackOrder > Search.
- Open a Backorder from the Manage Orders page of results:
Order-related actions affecting Backorders
The following order-related actions will have an impact on an order's Backorder status. When any of these occur, the Backorder status and quantity is immediately determined on related orders, and other quantity adjustments will update the Backorder status periodically, throughout the day:
- An order is split
- An order has items added to it
- Inventory becomes available though a PO Receive
Reallocating the Backorder quantities
To be able to ship an order immediately, there may be times when you want to reallocate an order's backordered item to fill the backorder quantity on another order. If so, you can edit the orders' Backorder quantities and change their Backorder statuses. Here's how:
- On the Manage Orders page - select the Backorder > Action Menu > Mark BackOrder or Mark Not BackOrder > Go.
- There are 2 places to edit an order's Backorder quantity:
- On the Order Details page - click Action Menu > Manage Backorder Reallocation > Go; or
- On the Manage Orders page > select the Backorder > Action Menu > Manage Backorder Reallocation > Go
- On the BackOrder Reallocation page > revise the Backorder Qty field > Update.
Configuring ShipBridge for Backorders
ShipBridge has 2 convenient settings that help control Backorders:
- Menu > Customize Interface > GUI > Auto move orders with backorder items to the attention tab - This moves all Backorders to ShipBridge's Requires Attention tab instead of the Unshipped tab, so they are easily discernible as orders that are not ready to ship.
- Menu > Options > Scan and Ship > Ignore backorder/requires attention orders - This hides all Backorders from ShipBridge's Scan and Ship tab when entering or scanning those orders, so you will not try to ship a Backorder when you have no item(s) available in the warehouse.
Configuring the Client Settings for Backorders
There are a number of Client Settings that affect SellerCloud's calculation and appearance of Backorders:
CLIENT SETTING | DESCRIPTION |
Enable BackOrder Workflow (required) |
*Enabling this will deselect the setting Hide BackOrder Column in Manage Orders. It is assumed you want to see the BackOrder icon on the Manage Orders page; however, you can override this behavior by selecting it. |
Hide BackOrder Column in Manage Orders |
*Selecting Enable BackOrder Workflow automatically deselects this setting |
Stop Marking Orders as BackOrder while Creating Orders (enabled by default) |
|
Consider ReplacementSKU Qty in BackOrder Calculation |
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Don't consider Dropship WH Qty as Available Qty for BackOrder calculation (enabled by default) |
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Include Authorized Orders In BackOrder Calculation (enabled by default) |
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Include Unpaid Orders In BackOrder Calculation (enabled by default) |
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Use Warehouse-Based Backorder Calculation |
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Update BackOrder status on Order Status Change (enabled by default) |
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Use Payment Date Instead of Order Creation in Backorder Calculation |
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Prioritize Fully-Shippable Orders in Backorder Calculation |
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Include OnHold Orders In BackOrder Calculation |
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Enable per OrderItem Based BackOrder in PickList |
Related options for managing Backorders
When an order comes in for an out-of-stock item, SellerCloud offers several other options for dealing with Backorders:
- Delaying shipping
- Dropshipping from vendor
- Cancelling order
- Emailing customers - This feature lets you email a customer about a cancellation or shipping delay. You create an email template and configure emails to be automatically sent whenever a Backorder occurs:
- Settings > choose Email Templates. (You can also go to Company Settings > Toolbox > Email Settings > Email Templates.)
- Click Add New Template and create an email for an order cancellation when an item is out of stock > Save Template.
- Company Settings > Toolbox > Email Settings > click Email Template Assignment. Here, you assign a specific email to send when encountering a given property.
- Scroll down to OutOfStockInventoryNotice and choose your order cancellation template > Update Grid. This email will be sent whenever an order is marked as a BackOrder.