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Managing Backorders in WRHS+Neto

Learn how to manage backorders in Neto using WRHS, including how to handle missing items, split orders, and keep your warehouse moving efficiently. This guide covers the full workflow from picking through to resolution.

Written by Jason Hill
Updated this week

In this article, we refer to an “Issues Wall”. You may call this something else—it simply means a dedicated area in your warehouse where problem fulfillments are placed.

These are typically fulfillments that:

  • Are missing one or more items

  • Have an Issue that requires investigation

  • Have been partially picked but cannot yet be dispatched

High-Level Workflow

  1. (Optional) Review oversold orders in Neto and move them to Backorder.

  2. Perform pick runs in WRHS as normal and mark items as missing as they arrise.

  3. Supervisor confirms items are definitely missing.

  4. Backorders are created/managed in Neto.

  5. Monitor Backorders for positive stock levels.

  6. Return Backorders to the pick queue.


Key Decision - Will you pick oversold orders?

Before anything else, decide whether your team will attempt to pick oversold orders.

You can either move oversold orders straight to Backorder in Neto before picking by simply eyeballing the orders index in Neto and looking for red stock levels; or, allow them to be picked and handled during the normal workflow.

Moving them upfront keeps your warehouse flow cleaner and reduces partially picked orders sitting on the Issues Wall. However, it increases the risk that by the time stock arrives, other items on the order may no longer be available.

Allowing oversold orders to flow through picking means your team can immediately identify exactly what is and isn’t available, and resolve the order in one pass (e.g. split, refund, or wait). The trade-off is more partial picks and increased reliance on your Issues Wall process.

There is no right or wrong answer here. Our customers successfully do both.


Handling Missing Items

Leave fulfillment in the Tote on the Issue Wall

WRHS is designed so partially picked fulfillments remain with their tote. In a paperless warehouse, the tote is the identifier.

For this reason, we recommend using removable tote barcodes (e.g. printed and laminated), rather than sticking them permanently to pick vessels. This allows you to move the tote to the Issues Wall while returning the pick vessel to circulation. You’ll need a few extra totes to support this.

The alternative—unpicking items from the tote—creates unnecessary rework and is not recommended.

Mark items as missing during pick

Even in the best warehouses, stock sometimes “grows legs.”

In WRHS, pickers can:

  • Mark items as missing during picking

  • Continue picking the rest of the order

  • Send the fulfillment to the Issues Wall

Picking multiple orders into one tote

If you’re picking multiple fulfillments into a single tote:

  • Continue picking as normal

  • When a missing item is encountered, send the tote to Pack

  • The packer will:

    • Complete all valid fulfillments

    • Leave only ISSUE fulfillments remaining

  • The tote can then be moved to the Issues Wall

Confirm Missing Items

Before taking action, always verify the item is actually missing.

Recommended process:

  1. A supervisor reviews each issue

  2. Check:

    • Picking location

    • Receiving area

    • Bulk storage

  3. If the item is found:

    • Resolve the issue in WRHS

    • Send the fulfillment back to the Pick queue


Neto Actions

Did you know?

Neto allows you to split out-of-stock items into a separate backorder.

This makes it easy to:

  • Partially fulfill orders

  • Ship available items immediately

  • Leave only missing items on backorder

We’ll cover how to do this below.

Once an item is confirmed missing:

  1. Open the fulfillment in WRHS

  2. Click the order number to open it in Neto

  3. Choose one of the following actions:

Option 1: Refund / Cancel

Our least favourite option

  • Cancel the order in Neto

  • WRHS will automatically sync and cancel the fulfillment

Option 2: Split the Order

Often a better customer experience but it will cost you more in freight.

How to split in Neto:

  1. Open the order in Neto (Sales View)

  2. Enter a quantity to backorder into the backorder input box on the order line/s

  3. Click Save

Result:

  • A new backorder is created with the missing items

  • The original order now contains only in-stock items

Back in WRHS:

  • Re-import the order

  • Resolve the issue

  • Send the fulfillment back to the Pick queue

Option 3: Wait for Stock

If the customer is happy to wait:

  • Move the order in Neto to:

    • New Backorder, or

    • Backorder Approved (depending on your process)

This will move the WRHS fulfillment to BACKORDER status.


Monitoring Backorders

Why some actions are disabled in WRHS

You may notice that:

  • “Mark as Backorder”

  • “Mark as Pick”

…are disabled in WRHS for Neto orders.

This is intentional.

👉 Neto is the source of truth for stock availability

All stock-related decisions must be made in Neto to avoid conflicts.

If using Neto Advanced Inventory

When receiving a purchase order:

  • Neto will show which backorders can now be fulfilled

  • Open those orders and mark them to Pick in Neto

  • WRHS will automatically return them to the Pick queue

If NOT using Advanced Inventory

You can manage this manually:

  1. Filter orders in Neto by:

    • New Backorder

    • Backorder Approved

  2. Look for orders where all items now show green stock

  3. Move those orders to Pick

WRHS will automatically sync and return them to the picking workflow.

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