A brand may be temporarily out of stock on an item, or ship an order in several batches depending on its availability, or its many warehouses.
When an item is on backorder, you can start preparing the items that are already available without waiting for the rest: the order automatically splits into several preparations, each following its own status.
The basics
The order isn't blocked: available items can go into preparation while the backorder is still awaited.
Each incoming batch gets its own preparation: you track and process them independently until everything is shipped.
Preparations merge on their own: when a preparation reaches the same status as another preparation of the same order that hasn't shipped yet, they merge into one.
The buyer stays informed: as long as no parcel has left, they see a single order. From the first shipment onwards, their order tracking page shows each parcel separately, with its own status and list of items. The shipping email states what the shipped parcel contains and which items will follow in a later parcel.
Move an order to restocking
From the To process tab, open the relevant order.
If one or more items aren't available on your side, and you're placing a supplier order, click Move to restocking.
The order moves to the Restocking tab, awaiting receipt from the supplier.
Note: find the details of the four order statuses in the article Manage order statuses in the fulfilment app.
Start preparation as soon as the first items arrive
Open the order from the Restocking tab.
For each item delivered by the supplier, tick it as Received.
Once at least one item is marked as received, click Start preparation of received items.
Important: this action splits the order into two separate preparations. The one with the received items moves straight to In progress, the one with the still-missing items stays in Restocking.
Both preparations keep the same base order number, only the suffix changes (for example G-19966-aaa and G-19966-bbb), so you can always link them back to the original order.
Concrete example: an order with a backordered item
Take order G-19966, which contains a jersey, shorts, and a size XL padded jacket. The distributor has nothing in stock: all items need to be ordered from the brand.
The order arrives in the To process tab. You order all the items from the supplier. The brand informs you that the padded jacket is on backorder and won't arrive for 2 weeks; the jersey and shorts arrive within the usual timeframe.
You open the order and click Move to restocking, since you're waiting for the goods. The order moves to the Restocking tab.
A few days later, the supplier delivers the jersey and shorts — the padded jacket is still expected in about ten days. You reopen order G-19966 and tick these two items as Received.
You click Start preparation of received items. The order splits into two:
G-19966-aaa contains the jersey and shorts, and moves straight to In progress.
G-19966-bbb contains only the padded jacket, and stays in Restocking.
You finish preparing G-19966-aaa as usual (Finish preparation, then Notify shipment). This lets you tell the buyer that this first part of their order has shipped.
Two weeks later, as announced by the brand, the padded jacket is delivered. From either preparation, open the Preparations panel to find G-19966-bbb, still in restocking.
You repeat the process: tick the padded jacket as Received, then click Start preparation of received items. G-19966-bbb moves to In progress in turn, before being processed normally through to Processed and Notify shipment.
Result: two shipments, two preparations, but a single original order that you can always find easily.
Automatic merging of preparations
When a preparation moves to the same status as another preparation of the same order, the two are merged: the items join the preparation that already had that status, which keeps its number, and the other preparation disappears.
Let's go back to order G-19966, but this time the padded jacket arrives earlier than expected, while G-19966-aaa is still In progress:
You tick the padded jacket as Received on G-19966-bbb, then click Start preparation of received items.
G-19966-bbb moves to In progress, like G-19966-aaa: the padded jacket joins G-19966-aaa, and G-19966-bbb disappears.
You prepare all three items together and ship them in a single parcel.
Merging works the same way at the Processed status: if G-19966-aaa is finished but not shipped yet, G-19966-bbb joins it as soon as you click Finish preparation.
Important: a preparation that has already shipped is never merged. If G-19966-aaa has already left, G-19966-bbb remains a separate preparation until it ships.
Navigate between the preparations of a split order
Once an order is split, find all its preparations without leaving the order screen.
A Preparations panel, shown at the top of the order page, lists all the preparations linked to the original order along with their status. Click one to go straight to it.
Each preparation screen shows all the items in the order, not just those in the current preparation. Items belonging to another preparation appear greyed out and can't be ticked, with their status shown (for example G-19966-aaa - Processed). Click this greyed-out row to switch directly to that preparation.
FAQ
Does the order number change after a split?
No. Each preparation resulting from the split keeps the same base number as the original order; only the suffix changes (for example G-19966-aaa and G-19966-bbb).
Can the preparations of a split order be merged?
Yes, automatically. As soon as two preparations of the same order have the same status, they become one, and the preparation being joined keeps its number. Merging doesn't apply to a preparation that has already shipped. See the Automatic merging of preparations section above.
Is the buyer informed of the partial shipment?
Yes. As soon as you notify shipment for the first preparation, the buyer receives an email listing the items in this parcel, followed by those that will be sent in a later parcel.
On their order tracking page, a banner tells them how many parcels their order is being sent in. Each parcel has its own tracking (Order confirmed, In preparation, In transit, Delivered), its estimated delivery date and the details of the items it contains.
For in-store pickup orders, it works the same way: the "ready for pickup" email first says that part of the order is available, then that the rest is too.
What if the backorder arrives in several batches?
Repeat the process (tick Received then click Start preparation of received items) on the preparation still in Restocking each time new stock arrives. Each new batch may create an additional preparation if needed.
Can I go back once the order has been moved to restocking?
Yes, as long as no item has been marked as received yet, you can move the order back to To process from the restocking screen.