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Backorder Management Overview

Note: Backorder Management is not available for accounts with an active Shopify integration connected.

Flexport’s Backorder Management feature gives you greater control over how your Direct‑to‑Consumer (D2C) orders are handled whenever one or more SKUs are out of stock.

With Backorders enabled, you can choose whether to:

  • Automatically ship orders when all inventory becomes available.
  • Cancel unavailable items immediately or after a set number of days

Backorder settings apply to all DTC outbound orders (domestic, international, US territories, and military addresses). They do not apply to removal or disposal orders.

Availability Note: Backorder Management is currently available only to select merchants at this time. If you’re interested in gaining access, please contact your Flexport representative.

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Backorder Configurations

You can choose from two flexible configurations depending on your business needs:

  1. Ship When All Items Are In Stock
    • How it works: The entire order is held until all items are back in stock, then shipped together.
      1. Whenever possible, items will be shipped in a single package.
      2. If items are too large or don’t fit in one box, they may be shipped in multiple packages.
    • Best for: Products sold as sets, or for minimizing shipping costs.
       
  2. Ship In-Stock Items, Cancel Out-of-stock Items
    • How it works: In‑stock items are shipped immediately (or after a set number of days), and any remaining out‑of‑stock items are canceled.
    • Best for: SKUs with no expected restock date.

How to Update Your Backorder Settings

Manage your backorder settings in the Seller Portal:

  1. In the Seller Portal, navigate to Settings > Shipping Option Mapping.
  2. Scroll down to the Backorder Configurations section.
  3. Toggle Enable Backorders to activate the feature.
  4. Select your preferred backorder configuration.
  5. Click Save to apply your changes.

Reporting & API Access

To help you stay informed about current backorders, you can access both reporting and API integrations:

  • Reports Tab: Download the Orders – Backorder Items Report from the Reports tab in your Seller Portal to see all active backordered SKUs.
  • API/Integrations: Integrated merchants can view backorder status via API or pre‑built integrations.

You can find the full reporting guide in the Orders – Backorder Items Report. 
 

FAQs

Do backorder settings apply to removal or disposal orders?
No. Backorder settings only apply to outbound DTC (Direct-to-Consumer) orders.

Is "Hold & Ship All Together" applied automatically?
No. Backorders are turned off by default. If you enable Backorders, the default configuration applied is Hold & Ship All Together.

Can I change configurations at any time?
Yes. You can switch between configurations at any time. Note that changes will only apply to future orders, not previously created ones.

What happens if I disable Backorders after they’ve been enabled?
Any new orders will not have backorders applied. Existing backordered orders will continue to follow the configuration that was active when they were created.

Does this impact partially fulfilled orders?
Yes. If you’re using Ship In-Stock Items, Cancel Out-of-stock Items, in-stock items will ship immediately (or after your configured timeframe), while unavailable items will be canceled.

Can settings be updated in bulk across multiple SKUs?
Yes. The Backorder Configurations page lets you apply changes globally, so you don’t need to set rules SKU by SKU. Please note it is not possible to update configuration by SKU.

Need More Help?

If you have additional questions, please reach out to Flexport Support .

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