Backorder
Sometimes a customer wants something that is out of stock right now. You accept the order anyway and send it as soon as the item is back: the customer waits and you keep the sale. It works when buyers are happy to wait and you can say honestly when the item will arrive; it backfires when the date is a guess. An order held in this way is called a backorder.
A backorder is not a pre-order, where the product hasn't been released yet, and not a stock-out, where you simply stop selling. Selling something you don't have because the shop shows the wrong quantity isn't a backorder either; that is an oversell. A backorder is a promise you make on purpose.
Done well, the shop shows the expected date, tells the customer if it slips and lets them cancel. Decide in advance whether you send an order in parts and who pays for the extra parcel.
In practice
A bike shop sells out of a size M helmet. The supplier says a delivery arrives on the 14th. The shop keeps the helmet listed as 'ships from the 14th', and the three customers who order before then are emailed the day it lands.
Further reading
Related terms
Ready to see BizBloqs on your own process?
Book a demo and we will walk your warehouse and order flow end to end — inbound, storage, picking, shipping, returns — and tell you honestly what BizBloqs would change.
Two questions about your own operation
How many of your articles sit in a pick location they empty less than once a month?
Part one: Laying out a warehouse does not start with the racking
After your last integration, how many systems hold a stock quantity for the same item? Name them.