Backorders

[bsmither]

Anyone currently developing a "backorders" plugin?

[Noodleman]

I just released Order Fulfilment:
https://www.cubecart.com/extensions/plugins/order-fulfilment-line-item-tracking

It changes the concept of order management in CubeCart, instead of working by an "Order Status", you manage the order based on the line items ordered.  If you have anything considered out of stock, you can partially ship the order. There are reports which show the orders waiting on stock and also total quantities required as a summary by product.

It adds a new order overview screen using colour backgrounds to make it easier to see orders that need attention, as well as adding a new concept of a "box builder", essentially allowing your warehouse staff to virtually represent how they packed the goods. You can supply tracking info, notes for every package being sent.  It adds new packing slips based on this information which gives a breakdown of items in each package, items in other packages and if any order quantity is outstanding.

Optionally the information can be shared with the customer via E-mail. The module can work as just an admin tool or  can be configured to share information with customers. It can directly replace the CubeCart order completion flow via configuration.

I may integrate this with a module that allows tracking of orders from suppliers in the future, but for now it doesn't do that.

 

 

[bsmither]

What I am looking for:
* isn't based on what was shipped or not shipped - although that feature is interesting and useful
* can also be thought of as a 'pre-order'

I use my Bundle Products plugin to sell magazine subscriptions. The customer orders an annual subscription which the plugin automatically adds the current and next several (yet to be published) issues as inventory items. So, the upcoming issues are considered as "back-ordered" or "pre-ordered". Probably the best term is "pre-ordered" because they have been completely paid for already.

The key component of what I am looking for is that when an issue becomes available, possibly triggered by an adjustment to stock levels, all manner of automatic things take place:
* downloadable items get links added to the customer's Downloads page
* emails sent having download links (supposed to be in CC6 already)
* Dashboard tab indicates physical items are to be shipped

 

[Noodleman]

hmm, that is definately a different type of functionality. Essentially it is a pre-order, or at the very least Pending Dispatch.

If I were looking at this as a custom requirement for somebody, I would consider re-thinking the approach in order to make the problem easier to resolve. My initial go to thought would be if a specific item is purchased, then it would be exploded out into 12 orders, one for each month. I would capture some custom information against the order, specifically the date it's due. Example would be 1st of October. I would do this via a custom module specific to the requirement.

I would use a custom order status to segment these orders (Optional, but gives better visibility for the customer).
https://www.cubecart.com/extensions/plugins/custom-order-status-colours-emails

And then build a custom report to allow me to view those orders due each month, just in case I want to manually segment / work on those.

An alternative approach may be to use the the order fulfilment module, and rather than explode the item out into multiple orders, explode it out into multiple line items, then manage each item on it's own merit. Some custom fields can be added to the order_inventory table to capture the due dates, and then it would require some custom module or functionality to batch process those items due in the current month. This assumes the items are tangible goods rather which require shipping rather than electronic delivery.

I do have a pre-order module, but it wouldn't get you what you are looking for. I think it's something custom / specific to your business model so would require a custom solution to match.