Overview
Prebooked orders are advance commitments for products that are only available for purchase during a limited order window. They are ordered in bulk from the supplier and shipped on a fixed future date, regardless of when the order is placed. Key examples of prebooks include:
Bulk-purchased items at seasonal tradeshows to be delivered throughout the year
Advance purchasing for seasonal or holiday items (Valentine's day roses, or Thanksgiving turkeys)
Limited quantity or special release items
Note: Prebooked Orders are available to users with Pro and Enterprise eCommerce plans, and may require additional integration with backend ERP's to function correctly.
How it Works
Prebooking orders gives distributors a powerful way to drive demand by offering limited-time products with a fixed future ship date. Whether it’s seasonal promotions, new product launches, or limited-run items, prebooking lets your customers plan ahead — and gives you the lead time to consolidate orders, reduce inventory risk, and execute high-impact promotions with confidence.
Prebooked items have prebook and delivery details available next to pricing in the item view
Key Benefits:
Seasonal promotions: As a distributor, when you have an item in inventory that is sold year round but at higher volumes during certain seasons/holidays, offering it as a prebook item will allow you to get an idea of how many you should order from your suppliers and encourage customers to place their orders within the order window.
New product launches: With plans to sell a new product but no inventory, selling it as a prebook item allows you to create anticipation about a product and gauge its demand.
Limited edition items: By offering limited edition items as prebook items, your customers know exactly when to expect delivery and can plan for their own promotions of the item, while you know exactly how much to order so you can avoid stocking items that may spoil or go unsold.
Steps to Success:
Designating Items as Prebook
Prebook information and detail are stored directly within the distributor’s ERP and displayed within your application’s UI, requiring additional implementation and professional services to activate. Get in touch with your CSM to start!
Displaying Prebooked items in-app
As a distributor, you decide how Prebook items are displayed in your app. Here are a few examples of how users can highlight and display Prebook items:
Shown in the catalog under a dedicated “Prebook” category
Labeled with a Prebook badge on display throughout the app
Attached to a dedicated promotion to get more attention to prebooked items during relevant prebook seasons
In this example, Prebooked items are shown under the PRE-BOOKS category, with badges showing the ship date and when the Prebook window ends:
Ordering Prebooked items
Users can see Prebook items in the catalog, add them to the cart, and submit orders as usual. During checkout, items will appear in a dedicated Prebook section. If multiple shipment dates exist, orders are split accordingly:
Prebook Fulfillment
Customers will see prebooked orders directly within the app, avoiding double-purchases.