When order management stops being a list and becomes an operational problem
Order management without a centralised platform works when orders come from one channel, stock lives in one place and the warehouse is small enough for one person to know what stock is where.
As your business grows, that picture changes. Orders arrive from ecommerce, retail, wholesale, marketplaces and field sales simultaneously.
The same stock now serves B2C customers, trade accounts and wholesale commitments.
Backorders accumulate.
Sales are pre-allocated against the future delivery of purchase orders to fulfil them.
The warehouse needs clear execution signals and clarity on what can be picked, packed and despatched today.
Customer service need clarity on order and inventory status to answer customer questions without chasing the warehouse or pulling an Excel report.
The order system may still work, just.
But the operational truth behind each sales order has become impossible to see clearly.
Stok.ly delivers Operational Control to your teams in one collaborative platform, one source of the truth for all your teams to collaborate on.
Explore Stok.ly B2B Order Management
“We might take 20 sales orders with the same item and then I have 20 individual purchase orders for a single SKU which I have to consolidate.”
Operations manager, B2B wholesale distributor
Root cause: When backorder logic and demand consolidation happen outside the system, in spreadsheets, inboxes or manual tracking lists, demand gets fragmented into multiple purchase orders with no single view of what the business actually needs to fulfil. The result is hours of manual reconciliation every day for your purchasing team.
What Stok.ly does: Backorder management, allocation logic and demand consolidation are controlled inside the platform, automatically using the rules engine. The rules engine automates what happens when stock is unavailable, when it arrives and in what priority it should be allocated to sales orders, so the reconciliation work disappears rather than accumulating.
Eight signs order management has become an operational problem
- Orders are promised on stock that has already been committed to another channel or customer
- Backorders are tracked in a spreadsheet alongside the main system
- Customer service cannot answer order status questions without chasing the warehouse, sales or finance
- B2C and B2B orders compete for the same stock with no allocation control between them
- Wholesale partial shipments and outstanding balances are managed manually
- The warehouse receives unclear or delayed pick signals and relies on verbal instruction
- Purchasing decisions are made without knowing what the backorder queue actually requires
- Order management reports are rebuilt in Excel or SQL because the system cannot produce them
Control orders. Trust your stock. Fulfil every day like clockwork.
How Stok.ly connects order demand to operational control
Connects every sales order to your real time stock reality
When an order arrives from Shopify, eBay, Amazon, a trade account, a retail till or a field sales rep, Stok.ly immediately connects it to the inventory layer: available stock, committed stock, pre-allocated stock, in-transfer stock and backordered demand.
Sales teams see what can genuinely be promised and sold.
Customer service sees order status without chasing the warehouse.
The warehouse receives a clear pick signal without manual intervention.
Stock availability updates across all connected channels the moment an order is placed, a warehouse action is completed, a transfer is confirmed or a purchase order is received.
Every team works from the same operational truth in real time.
Explore Stok.ly Inventory Control
Control B2C and B2B sales order flows from one system
Stok.ly manages ecommerce orders, retail orders, wholesale orders, trade account orders, marketplace orders and field sales orders from one unified sales order dashboard.
Each order type connects to the same real time inventory control layer, warehouse workflows and operational reporting.
“Everything before Stok.ly was endless documenting, reporting, downloading, transferring and editing CSVs.”
Finance and operations team, multi-channel fashion retail businessRoot cause: When sales orders, inventory, forecasting, purchasing and fulfilment live in different systems or in the same system but only accessible via manual exports, every operational decision requires a data rebuild.
The resulting delays cause operational problems across your business.
What Stok.ly does: Sales orders, real time inventory, warehouse activity, backorders, forecasting, purchasing, manufacturing and fulfilment status are all visible from the same operational control layer in real time.
No CSV exports. No spreadsheet rebuilds. No chasing between systems.
This is Operational Control
Manage Pre-allocation — which orders get stock and in what priority
When the same stock pool serves B2C customers, wholesale accounts and trade orders simultaneously, pre-allocation decisions determine who gets their order fulfilled and who waits.
Left uncontrolled, this produces overselling, broken wholesale commitments and customer service failures.
Stok.ly’s pre-allocation control and rules engine defines how available stock is automatically committed to sales orders, by order type, customer tier, channel priority or fulfilment date.
Pre-allocation happens inside the platform, not in a spreadsheet maintained alongside it.
Control the full backorder lifecycle
When stock is unavailable, Stok.ly records the backorder commitment, tracks inbound stock against the open commitment and triggers fulfilment automatically when stock arrives.
Backorder rules define whether orders should be split-shipped, held for a full shipment or escalated for purchasing action.
Sales, warehouse and customer service teams see backorder status by order and by customer.
Customer service can answer questions without chasing the warehouse or sales.
The purchasing team sees the full demand picture before raising a purchase order.
Support partial shipments and wholesale fulfilment complexity
Wholesale and B2B customers often need partial shipments: ship what is available now, split and backorder the rest, confirm what remains outstanding.
Stok.ly manages the full shipment lifecycle: what shipped, what is outstanding, when it will fulfil and what the customer’s account balance reflects after each shipment.
Explore Stok.ly Warehouse Management
Connect sales order demand to warehouse execution
An order is only controlled if the warehouse knows what to do with it, and when.
When sales orders are processed by the fulfilment rules, pick rules process automatically to create pick lists.
Picks are pushed straight to handhelds ready for your team to start fulfilling orders.
Picking routes are optimised by warehouse layout or manually set to optimise the best route through your warehouse.
Orders can be grouped by sku, tags such as fragile or heavy, grouped by carrier or anything that reflects your business model.
Courier labels are generated on demand at the point of dispatch.
The moment a warehouse scan confirms dispatch, order status updates across the system, tracking information updates your eCommerce channel and customer notification workflows trigger automatically.
Teams using the Stok.ly WMS app report pick and pack error rates below 1%.
Explore Stok.ly Pick, Pack and Dispatch
Drives purchasing from real order demand
Purchasing decisions made without a trusted view of orders, forecasts, backorders and available stock produce the most common operational failure: buying stock already in the warehouse or failing to buy fast-moving lines before the backorder queue builds.
Stok.ly connects purchasing to real order demand, live inventory state and forward-booked commitments.
Min/max replenishment rules by location trigger purchase order creation automatically when stock falls below defined thresholds.
Pre-calculated analysis of every SKU at every location captures demand, stock out risk and days cover.
Cascading replenishment logic coordinates forecasting, purchasing, transfers and manufacturing runs from one demand signal.
Explore Stok.ly Forecasting and Replenishment
Sales order and channel reporting from live operational data
Sales order performance, fulfilment rates, backorder volumes, channel demand, customer account activity and operational visibility are all reported from the same data layer that manages orders, stock and warehouse activity.
No CSV or SQL exports.
No spreadsheet rebuilds.
The custom reports and dashboards provide real-time data and insight for businesses needing advanced analytical capability.
On demand Ai reporting and investigation compliments and extends the reporting layer and capability.
Stok.ly order management capabilities
| Capability | What it controls | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Unified multi-channel sales order dashboard | All orders from ecommerce, retail, wholesale, marketplace, trade desk and field sales channels in one operational view | Teams work from one order picture — not separate screens per channel that fragment operational visibility |
| B2C and B2B order flow control | Ecommerce orders, retail orders, wholesale orders, trade account orders and marketplace orders managed from one shared inventory and fulfilment layer | B2C and B2B demand no longer compete for stock without visibility — allocation is controlled across all order types simultaneously |
| Allocation control and rules engine | Logic that determines how available stock is committed to demand — by order type, customer tier, channel priority or fulfilment date | Stock allocation decisions happen inside the platform rather than in a spreadsheet alongside it — reducing oversells and broken commitments |
| Backorder management | Full backorder lifecycle from commitment recording through inbound stock tracking, automatic fulfilment trigger and channel update | Backorders are managed inside the system — not in a manually maintained list that is always behind reality |
| Pre-allocation for wholesale and B2B | Removal of wholesale-committed stock from available-to-sell inventory across all channels at the point of order placement | Wholesale commitments are protected without manually ring-fencing stock — ecommerce channels see accurate available-to-sell figures automatically |
| Partial shipment control | Orders that cannot be fully fulfilled in one shipment — what shipped, what is outstanding, when it will fulfil and what the account balance reflects | Wholesale and B2B partial fulfilment complexity is managed inside the system rather than tracked in separate spreadsheets or account notes |
| Warehouse execution connection | Logic-based pick list creation, warehouse routing, carrier assignment, packing slip generation and dispatch confirmation connected to live order and stock control | Orders move from confirmed demand to warehouse pick list automatically — no manual instruction required between order placement and pick execution |
| Automated dispatch status and customer notification | Dispatch confirmation, tracking data and customer notification workflows triggered automatically at the point of warehouse scan | Customers receive accurate dispatch and tracking updates without manual intervention — reducing customer service enquiries about order status |
| Order-driven purchasing and replenishment | Purchase order creation driven by real order demand, backorder queue, live inventory state and forward-booked commitments | Purchasing decisions are made against operational truth — not against a manually maintained spreadsheet that does not account for all committed demand |
| Operational order visibility and reporting | Order status, fulfilment stage, backorder volumes, channel demand, customer account activity and next action — from one live data layer | Sales, operations, warehouse and customer service work from the same real-time picture — no exports, no manual rebuilds, no chasing between teams |
| AI Forecasting, Stock Out & Days Cover | Stok.ly forecasts demand and recalculates safety stock and reorder points every day for every product at every location | Teams running forecasting from spreadsheets, managing stock out risks from disconnected systems and adjusting days cover manually, operate in an environment that does not scale and inevitably results in errors through manual data entry lags or manual calculation errors. |
| Margin-Driven Allocation, Advanced Transfers and Financial Analysis | Commercial AI is the second tier of Stok.ly’s AI system. It decides what stock should be purchased, manufactured or allocated based on commercial return rather than raw stock count | Commercial AI compares gross margin return on inventory investment (GMROII), profit margin, stockout risk, demand trend, sales velocity and days of cover across every SKU and every location simultaneously to maximise commercial return on investment in stock. |
Why order management cannot work without inventory control
Order management and inventory control are not separate problems.
They are the same operational question asked from two different perspectives.
From the order side: can this demand be fulfilled?
From the inventory side: what stock exists to fulfil it?
When these two questions are answered by different systems or by the same system with a time lag between them, the business operates on incomplete information.
Orders get promised on stock that is already committed.
Backorders accumulate without clear purchasing signals.
Customer service cannot answer basic questions.
Warehouse teams receive late or incorrect directives to fulfil orders.
“We ended up purchasing something that we already had in the warehouse – this is happening too often.”
Operations team, scaling ecommerce business
Root cause: Sales order demand and real time inventory were not connected. The purchasing team had no single trusted view of what stock existed across all locations before raising a purchase order, so they bought stock the business already owned.
What Stok.ly does: Order management and inventory control are the same operational layer in Stok.ly. Every sales order and purchase order immediately results in your real time inventory adjusting automatically.
The two questions are answered by the one operational system at the same time.
→ See how Stok.ly connects orders, stock, warehouses and fulfilment
G2 Customer Reviews
What do you like best about Stok.ly – Inventory-Centric Cloud ERP?
“We have gone from a pen and paper warehouse to a completely digital system that has streamlined our business immensely. The customer support has been superb since the day we onboarded with Stok.ly and we continue to build a great relationship with the team.We use Stok.ly daily in our warehouse and have found a number of features to now be invaluable. The ease of integration is incredible and has streamlined tasks within our business ten fold.”
Why growing businesses outgrow basic order management
Basic order tools work well when the operation is simple. As order volume grows, channels multiply, wholesale complexity increases and stock moves across more locations, the gaps between what the order system shows and what the operation can actually deliver become harder to manage manually.
| Current approach | What tends to break | Stok.ly |
|---|---|---|
| Ecommerce platform as the order system | Ecommerce orders are visible, but stock state, warehouse execution, B2B demand, backorders, purchasing and operational reporting sit in disconnected systems or spreadsheets alongside it | Ecommerce orders connect directly to inventory control, warehouse execution, allocation, backorders and fulfilment in one operational layer |
| B2C and B2B orders managed in separate systems | Channels compete for the same stock without visibility. Wholesale commitments are tracked manually. D2C channels oversell stock already promised to trade accounts. | B2C and B2B orders are managed from one shared inventory layer. Pre-allocation removes wholesale-committed stock from ecommerce available-to-sell at the point of order. |
| Backorders tracked in spreadsheets | The backorder list is always behind reality. Purchasing decisions are made without a clear view of what the business owes customers. Stock arrives but does not automatically trigger fulfilment. | Stok.ly manages the full backorder lifecycle inside the platform — commitment, inbound tracking, automatic fulfilment trigger and channel update — without manual intervention. |
| Allocation managed manually or outside the system | Stock commitment decisions happen in spreadsheets or via verbal instruction. The system does not know what is committed until someone updates it manually — which is always too late. | Allocation logic is defined once in the rules engine and applied automatically. Stock is committed to the right orders in the right priority without manual decision-making per order. |
| Warehouse receives unclear order priorities | Pick signals depend on manual instruction, paper lists or verbal communication from the office. Picking errors increase as volume grows. Supervisors spend time correcting mistakes that clear execution signals would prevent. | Orders convert to pick lists automatically via the rules engine. The Stok.ly Android WMS app delivers optimised pick routes to warehouse operatives. Pick error rates below 1%. |
| Customer service chases order status | Order status, backorder visibility and fulfilment progress require calls to the warehouse, manual checking or Excel report exports. Customer queries take longer than they should. | Order status, backorder position, fulfilment stage and dispatch tracking are visible from the same operational control layer — customer service answers without chasing. |
| Order and channel reporting rebuilt in Excel or SQL | Operational truth is reconstructed outside the system each week. Data is always behind reality. Leadership makes decisions on stale information. | Order performance, channel demand, fulfilment rates and backorder volumes reported live from the same data layer that manages orders, stock and warehouse activity. |
Who Stok.ly order management is designed for
Stok.ly order management is designed for growing inventory-led businesses where orders need to connect to stock, warehouse execution, allocation, backorders, fulfilment and operational reporting.
- Retailers managing ecommerce, store and warehouse orders from shared stock
- Wholesalers managing B2B orders, trade accounts, backorders and partial shipments
- Distribution businesses where orders need to connect to multi-location stock truth and fulfilment control
- Hybrid B2C and B2B businesses where ecommerce and wholesale demand compete for the same stock pool
- Teams replacing manual order trackers, spreadsheet backorder lists, separate allocation tools and disconnected fulfilment workflows
- Businesses experiencing oversells, broken wholesale commitments, unclear backorder status or warehouse execution failures as order volume grows
Who this is not for
Stok.ly order management is not designed for businesses that only need a simple list of online orders from one channel with no connection to stock, warehouse execution or operational reporting.
It is designed for businesses where orders need to connect to the operational reality behind them — and where the absence of that connection is already creating commercial and operational pain.
Frequently asked questions
What is Stok.ly order management?
Stok.ly order management is part of the Stok.ly order management-led, inventory-centric ERP platform. It connects B2C and B2B orders to stock availability, allocation, backorders, warehouse execution, purchasing, fulfilment and operational reporting. It is designed for growing retail, wholesale and distribution businesses where orders need to connect to the operational reality behind them — not just appear in a list.
How is Stok.ly different from a basic order management system?
A basic order management system records orders. Stok.ly connects each order to the operational truth behind it: what stock is available, what has already been committed, what is in transfer, what is backordered, what the warehouse needs to do next, and what needs purchasing. It is the difference between a list of orders and an operational control layer that turns order demand into reliable fulfilment.
Can Stok.ly manage both B2C and B2B orders from the same system?
Yes. Stok.ly is designed for businesses managing B2C ecommerce orders, retail orders, wholesale orders, trade account orders and marketplace orders from one shared stock pool. It controls allocation, backorders, partial shipments, pre-allocation and fulfilment across all demand types simultaneously — so B2C and B2B orders do not compete for stock without visibility or control.
How does Stok.ly handle backorders?
Stok.ly manages the full backorder lifecycle: recording the commitment when stock is unavailable, tracking inbound stock against open backorders, triggering fulfilment automatically when stock arrives, and keeping sales, warehouse and customer service teams informed throughout. Backorder management rules can be configured to control when orders should be split-shipped, held for full fulfilment, or escalated for purchasing action.
How does order management connect to inventory control in Stok.ly?
In Stok.ly, every order immediately connects to the inventory control layer. When an order is placed, Stok.ly shows the stock state behind it: what is available to fulfil, what is already committed to other orders, what is in transfer, what is backordered and what needs purchasing. Order control and inventory control are not separate modules — they are the same operational truth viewed from different angles.
Can Stok.ly reduce manual order management workarounds?
Yes. Stok.ly’s rules engine automates order processing workflows: allocation logic, pick list creation, carrier assignment, backorder triggers, split shipment rules and customer notification. Teams that previously managed order status in spreadsheets, chased the warehouse manually for fulfilment updates, or tracked backorders in a separate system find that Stok.ly brings those workflows inside the platform.
Does Stok.ly support wholesale and trade order management?
Yes. Stok.ly supports wholesale and B2B order workflows including trade account management, pre-allocation against purchase orders and manufacturing runs, customer-specific pricing, partial shipments, backorder visibility by account, and pro-forma order workflows. It is designed for hybrid B2C and B2B businesses where wholesale and ecommerce demand compete for the same stock.
What order channels does Stok.ly support?
Stok.ly manages orders from Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, eBay, Amazon, retail ePOS, B2B trade desk, telephone and field sales channels. All orders from all channels arrive in a single unified sales order dashboard. Stock availability is controlled from one inventory layer regardless of which channel an order originated from.
Is Stok.ly an ERP or an order management system?
Stok.ly is an order management-led, inventory-centric ERP. Order management is the starting point — orders are where operational pressure begins — but the platform connects order demand to inventory control, warehouse execution, transfers, purchasing, fulfilment, B2B workflows and reporting. It is ERP-grade operational control built around the order management problem.
Pages that may be of interest to explore
Order Management ERP for Retail, Wholesale and Distribution
Order Management Software for Growing Retail and Wholesale Businesses
Inventory management
Warehouse Management System
Manufacturing, Kitting
E-Commerce
ePOS
Product Information and Pricing
Finance, Stock Value and Accounting
Operational ReportingÂ
The Stock App
Contact Information
All our sales, support and development team are located in Hereford and Cheltenham in the U.K. Please submit the contact form and we will contact you within the same business day.