Business organizations often generate backorders by promising customers an order delivery even if it has run out of stock. The seller generally promises a delivery date based on the convenience and buyer’s interest. However, in practice, this is much more difficult than theory but an Control ERP ordering system makes it easier for e-commerce to manage such backorders.

From the customer’s perspective, one has to purchase a product and then wait till the delivery date to get hands on the item. In case customers order multiple items, sellers may opt for split billing, where it sends the in-stock items all at once and the backorder items later.

Successful backorder delivery boosts up the goodwill of the business entity. Since open-source sales order management has become common, companies rarely fail to deliver backorders on time.

Why are Backorders Generated?

E-commerce entities dealing with multiple products can experience challenges backorders of not executed systematically. There are a few common reasons why such backorders could become a necessity, such as:

Sudden Demand Surge

The primary reason for backorder generation is a sudden surge in demand for a specific product. Customers often purchase seasonal or trendy products in bulk, which might result in the seller taking backorders due to insufficient stock. As a result, e-commerce order picking  might be affected.

However, an advanced order tracking mechanism can help the e-commerce seller/business to deliver the right products on time.

Vendor Management Drawbacks

The drawbacks of vendor management can lead to an increase in backorders. This is a risky situation and businesses should always avoid it. The main vendor-related flaw could happen when the business fails to deliver goods on time. This leads to chaos and further loss of customers.

Poor Control Over the Inventory

Poor control over the inventory/stocks is another reason why backorders increase. At times, businesses fail to track the stocks in a comprehensive manner. So, in case some products are out of stock, the delivery could take time. Here, proper inventory management could be the most effective precaution.

Branding Challenges Related to Back-ordering

In certain situations, where a particular product is put on backorder, the seller might fail to brand the product properly. Moreover, the brand position of the business itself can be at stake.

The only way to get rid of this drawback is clear communication. If a product, according to the order of the customer, remains on backorder, it is the responsibility of the customer-relationship executives to pass on a tentative date of when the order will be delivered.

Management of Backorders: Right Practices and Tools

There are some ways how the e-commerce businesses can manage backorders in the right way. Following these will ensure retail businesses maintain their goodwill among customers even if products go on backorder.