Partial deliveries and out-of-stock items: when to ship what you have, when to wait and how to tell the customer

An order for five items arrives. The warehouse shelf holds three. Someone puts the order aside "until the rest comes in". Two weeks later the customer calls to ask where it is, and nobody can say which two items are missing or when they will arrive.

Shortages are normal in a small business. The damage comes from having no rule and from silence. This article describes a simple rule for deciding what to ship, and a short message that keeps the customer informed.

Decide the rule before the shortage

Most orders fall into one of three kinds. Write down which one applies and keep the list short.

• Items that work on their own. Consumables, spare parts and separate products can usually go out as soon as they are ready. A partial shipment helps the customer.
• Items that belong together. A set, a machine with its accessories or anything that cannot be used without the missing part. Wait, unless the customer asks otherwise.
• Items with a fixed date. An event, an installation or a launch. Here the date decides, and the customer should be asked about substitutes at once.

When in doubt, ask the customer. A one-line question costs less than a return.

Check the cost of splitting

A second shipment has a price: packing, postage and someone's time. Decide who pays.

• If the shortage is your fault, you normally cover the second shipment.
• If the customer chose to receive the order in parts, say clearly whether the second postage is charged.
• For small orders, waiting for the full order may be cheaper for both sides. Say so and let the customer choose.

State the rule in the order confirmation. If you confirm orders in writing, see confirming an order in writing.

Tell the customer on the same day

Contact the customer when you find the shortage, not when they ask. Keep the message short and put the facts first.

Hello Petra, three of the five items in your order are ready. The two cable sets are out of stock and the supplier expects them on 3 November. You can: 1) receive the three items now and the rest when they arrive, at no extra postage, 2) wait and receive everything together, or 3) cancel the two cable sets. Please reply with 1, 2 or 3 by Friday; without a reply we will wait and ship together.

Notice what the message contains: what is ready, what is missing, a date, a choice and a default. A date that you cannot promise should be marked as an estimate. If the date later slips, write again; see telling a customer their delivery will be late.

Offer a substitute carefully

A similar item can save the order, but only if the customer agrees.

• Name the difference, such as size, colour, brand or price.
• Never send a substitute without asking and then hope it is accepted.
• If the substitute is cheaper, say whether the price changes.

Keep the open part visible

The usual failure is an order that is half shipped and then forgotten. Keep one list of open orders with these columns: order, missing items, expected date, what the customer chose and who owns it. Check the list once a day, in the same way as other daily routines.

When the missing goods arrive, ship the open part first, before new orders. If you receive goods from a supplier, the receiving checklist helps to make sure the open orders are matched on the day of arrival.

Invoice only what you shipped

If you split an order, invoice each shipment separately or issue one invoice for the delivered part, depending on what your accounting needs. Whatever you choose, the customer should see on the document which items were delivered and which are still open. This avoids disputes and unpaid items that were never sent.

Learn from repeat shortages

If the same item is missing again and again, the problem is not the customer message. Look at the cause:

• the minimum stock level is too low;
• the stock count is wrong, so the system shows items that are not on the shelf;
• the supplier is late and nobody tells you.

A simple monthly list of shortages, with the item and the cause, is enough. For the count and reorder side, see a simple stock count and reorder routine.

What to avoid

• Holding an order silently until "everything arrives".
• Shipping a partial order without telling the customer what is missing.
• Promising a date you have not confirmed with the supplier.
• Sending a substitute without asking.
• Invoicing the full order before it is complete.
• Keeping the open orders only in one person's head or inbox.

When a tool helps

If open orders, stock levels and customer choices live in separate sheets, someone has to join them by hand every day. A small system that shows missing items per order, the expected date and the customer's choice can remove that work. This is the kind of focused custom software project that is worth building only after the rule above works on paper.

A simple start

1. Sort your products into the three kinds above and write the rule.
2. Write the customer message once, with the three choices and a default.
3. Create one list of open orders with an owner.
4. Check it daily and ship the open part first when goods arrive.
5. Review the shortage list monthly and fix the most frequent cause.

Sources

• This article describes a working routine and makes no statistical claims. The related WVI articles linked above cover order confirmation, late delivery messages, receiving goods and stock counts.