Back orders occur when customers order inventory items that you don’t have in stock – and it's not good. Back orders are the cause of both unhappy customers and frustrated employees.

Why are back orders so bad?

Unhappy Customers and Frustrated Employees

The customers are unhappy because they aren’t getting their items when they want them. The employees are frustrated because they’re trying to keep up with orders that cannot be kept up with and because they are dealing with the unhappy customers.

A Negative Reputation

Back orders affect your reputation as well. If you represent a product as being available, a customer who orders that item naturally expects it to ship within the stated shipping time. If you make a customer miss one of their deadlines or put them in a position where they offer bad customer service to their own customers, they will most likely find what they need elsewhere and cancel their order with you. After that, you can be sure that they won’t be buying from you again.

Back orders can cause you to lose current customers and their business, but you should worry about more than just your current customers – back orders can affect prospective customers too. Every angry, or even annoyed, customer, especially with the ubiquity of social media, has an audience to speak to, and if you made them angry enough, they will tell people about their experience. Having angry customers “bad-mouthing” you will cause you to lose business.

How to Avoid Back Orders

You can prevent back orders, angry customers, loss of new clientele, and frustrated employees with inventory barcode scanners. Scanners have many uses, such as the ability to set minimum quantity alerts for any item in the system. The inventory scanner alerts you when the minimum quantity is reached, giving you time to place an order with your supplier and receive sufficient inventory before you are forced to place items on back order.

Southeast Computer Solutions can also help. Our software experts can set you up with the inventory scanning system you need to stop back orders from becoming a problem. Contact us so we can save your reputation, stop burdening your employees with extra work, and do away with back orders forever.

About Southeast Computer Solutions

Southeast Computer Solutions is based in Miami, Florida, and has additional operations in Mexico. For over 30 years, we have positively impacted the success of small and mid-sized businesses with effective business management implementations that improve our clients’ operations. We listen, we are accessible, and we care. Learn more by visiting our website or calling 305-556-4697.