Backorder management: keep customers informed, not chasing

Key takeaways

Backorder management tracks orders taken for items not in stock, keeps customers updated with honest dates, allocates stock fairly when it arrives and offers alternatives or refunds when dates slip. It is a repetitive routine of checking, updating and allocating. Done well, it keeps sales that would otherwise turn into cancellations and complaints.

• Tell customers at once, with an honest expected date.
• Update them whenever the date changes.
• Allocate incoming stock oldest order first.
• Offer a refund if the delay becomes unreasonable.

What does backorder management involve?

It involves keeping a live list of backordered lines, chasing suppliers for dates, updating customers, allocating stock on arrival and dispatching, and handling cancellations. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, goods should be delivered within 30 days unless another period is agreed, so long delays need the customer's agreement or a refund option.

• How UK SMEs can use outsourcing to handle repetitive tasks
• 'Where is my order?' queries: handle them at scale

What should the weekly routine cover?

Run the routine at least weekly, and daily when backorders are high. Each step is rule-based once the communication templates are written.

• Review backordered lines and supplier dates.
• Chase suppliers for confirmed dates.
• Update customers whose date has changed.
• Allocate arriving stock by order date.
• Offer refunds where dates exceed the limit.

• Supplier chasing: expedite orders before they slip
• Customer service macros: faster replies at lower cost
• Cancellation requests: process them quickly and fairly

What do unmanaged backorders cost?

In an illustrative example, a seller with 120 backorders a month and no updates sees a quarter cancel and many others contact customer service twice. With proactive updates, cancellations halve and contacts fall sharply. These are example figures. The routine costs a few hours a week.

• Cost per contact: compare in-house and outsourced support

When should you stop taking backorders?

Stop taking backorders for an item when the supplier cannot give a reliable date, or when delays already exceed what you told customers. Show it as out of stock with a notify-me option instead. Selling what you cannot deliver costs more in refunds and reviews than it earns.

• Stock reconciliation: make the system match the shelf

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see: stock arrives and is sold to new orders while older backorders wait. Allocating by order date before releasing stock to the shop keeps early customers loyal.

• See client work
• BPO Solutions for UK businesses

Backorder checklist

Run the routine with these points.

• Live list of backordered lines.
• Supplier dates chased weekly.
• Customers updated on every change.
• Stock allocated oldest first.
• Refund offered past the limit.

• Work queue management: stop jobs waiting in the back office

Next step

Send us how backorders are tracked today. We will suggest a routine, templates and rules, and say plainly what a team could run.