Never turn away a customer because you are temporarily out of stock.

Back orders — sell now, fulfil when stock arrives

A back order lets you accept a customer order for an item that is currently out of stock, with the commitment to fulfil it when the next shipment arrives. The customer is informed of the expected date, the order is held in the pipeline, and when you receive the stock, Nexlymate links the incoming inventory to the waiting back orders automatically.

• Create a back order from any sales order where stock is insufficient
• Notify the customer of the expected stock arrival date
• Incoming stock from purchase orders is automatically allocated to waiting back orders in sequence
• Back orders move to the normal fulfilment pipeline as soon as stock is available
• View all pending back orders in one dashboard — see what customers are waiting and for which items

Drop shipments — ship from supplier to customer directly

A drop shipment bypasses your warehouse entirely. The customer places an order with you, you place a corresponding purchase order with your supplier, and the supplier ships directly to your customer. You never physically handle the goods — but you manage the order, the customer relationship, and the margin.

• Initiate a drop shipment from an existing sales order
• Create the corresponding supplier purchase order directly from the sales order record
• Track the supplier's shipment status and update the customer-facing delivery status accordingly
• Drop shipment orders are clearly tagged so your team does not accidentally try to pick and pack items you do not hold

When to use each

Back orders work best for items you regularly stock but have temporarily run out of, where the next delivery is imminent. Drop shipments work best for items you do not hold at all, for special orders, or for low-volume items where holding your own stock does not make sense. Both options let you keep the customer rather than losing the sale.