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How Do I Partially Fulfill Orders on Shopify?

Last updated on October 1, 2022 @ 11:22 pm

As an ecommerce business owner, you’ve likely had to deal with the challenge of backorders at some point. Backorders happen when you sell more products than you have in stock.

While this can be a good problem to have, it can also be a logistical nightmare. How do you keep your customers happy while still maintaining inventory levels?

The solution is to partially fulfill orders. Partial order fulfillment is when you only ship the items that are in stock and backorder the rest. This way, your customers get their products as soon as possible, and you don’t have to cancel the entire order.

There are a few things to keep in mind when partial order fulfillment:

PRO TIP: If you are planning to partially fulfill an order on Shopify, please be warned that this may result in an incomplete order for your customer. In some cases, this may also lead to additional fees being charged to your account.

Communication is key. When an order is placed, the customer should be immediately notified that some items are on backorder and will ship as soon as they’re available. You should also provide an estimated shipping date for the backordered items.

Don’t oversell. This may seem like common sense, but it’s worth mentioning.

If you’re constantly having to partial fulfill orders because you’re overselling your products, it’s time to reevaluate your inventory management. You don’t want to be in a position where you’re turning away business because you can’t keep up with demand.

Offer alternatives. If an item is out of stock and won’t be back in stock for a while, offer the customer a similar product that is in stock. If they’re not satisfied with the alternative, they can always cancel the order or wait for the original item to come back into stock.

Partial order fulfillment can be a great solution for dealing with backorders. By communicating with your customers and being upfront about expected shipping times, you can keep them happy while still managing your inventory levels.

Morgan Bash

Morgan Bash

Technology enthusiast and Co-Founder of Women Coders SF.