Backorders

B2B Wave’s backorder feature allows you to sell out-of-stock products, as customers can still place orders for them. Backorders can help increase your sales revenues and provide added flexibility, allowing you to sell products whose stock you expect to replenish soon.

In addition, products available for backorder appear on your online B2B store as in stock or can have a custom message (e.g., “Available in 10 days”).

Activating Backorders

To enable backorders on your B2B Wave eCommerce platform, complete these steps: 

Step 1. Go to Settings >Profile and select the “Application Configuration” tab.

Step 2. Check the “Allow backordering for specific products” and “Manage stock levels for products” boxes in the “Inventory” section. Then, click “Save.”

NOTE: You can opt to show customers the available quantity of products by checking the “Show available quantity to customers” box.

Activating Backorder for Products Manually

To enable backorders for products individually, follow these steps:

Step 1. Go to Products >Products and click the product for which you want to activate this option. 

Step 2. On the “Editing product” page, check the “Track inventory” and “Allow backorder” boxes. Then, click “Save” to store your options.  

Enabling Backorder for Products in Bulk

You can activate backorder for products by completing these steps:

Step 1. Go to the Products >Export menu on the Admin Panel, make your selections, and click “Export” to download your product list.

Step 2. Look for the “can_backorder” column and enter “1” to allow backorder for products or “0” to disable it. Note that the “quantity” and “quantity_monitor” columns also have values for the feature work. Find out more about importing/exporting products on B2B Wave.

Step 3. Go to Products >Import, click “Choose File,” and “Import” to upload the file. Remember that your file should be in .xlsx format.

NOTE: If you’re uploading products to your B2B portal for the first time, go to Products >Import and click “Sample file import.” Then, open the spreadsheet and add a column with the header name “can_backorder.” Follow Step 2&3, as described above, to activate product backorders.

Assigning Products the Backorder Status Manually

You can create and assign a backorder product status and assign it to specific items manually. To do this: 

Step 1. Go to Settings >Product Statuses and click “+New product status.”

Step 2. Add the necessary information on the “New product status” page and click “Save.” 

Step 3. Go to Products >Products on your Admin Dashboard. Then, look for the product you want to assign the new product status and select the relevant option from the drop-down menu in the “Quantity Status” column.

Customers will see the notation “Backorder” on your storefront.

In addition, if they order a product, they will see a warning message about the product.

Assigning Products the Backorder Status in Bulk

Step 1. Go to the Products >Export on the Admin Panel, make your selections, and click “Export” to download your product list.

Step 2. Look for the “product_availability” and enter the appropriate product status.

Step 3. Go to Products >Import, click “Choose File,” and “Import” to update the status of your products. Remember that your file should be in .xlsx format.