Back to Master 3PL Guide

Managing Pre-orders
on Easyship

Easyship

|

Visit Website

Easyship is a shipping and fulfillment solution that integrates with Shopify to synchronize orders and some product details (SKUs, weights). It doesn’t manage inventory levels, so negative stock or pre-order scenarios must be handled on Shopify. Easyship then imports orders for either full or partial fulfillment, but it doesn’t automatically respect Shopify’s “on hold” status

This guide will break down how Easyship handles key pre-order functions like negative stock, Shopify’s “On Hold” status, and fulfilment workflows—so you’ll know what to expect, where it excels, and any workarounds you may need.

How 3PLs and pre-orders work together in the modern ecommerce stack

Third-Party Logistics (3PL) providers specialize in managing your fulfillment from start to finish. They:

Receive and store products in their warehouses
Pick and pack orders
Ship to customers using their own software that syncs with your ecommerce platform

Below is a typical flow. Click through to see how Shopify, the 3PL and pre-order application interact.

1

Inventory Sync

The 3PL continuously syncs inventory from either your ERP or Ecommerce platform

Key Considerations for Managing Pre-orders on Easyship

In the diagram above you may have noticed the word “should” being used a couple of times… That’s because not all 3PLs fully support Shopify’s pre-order features out of the box. Some may lack support for negative inventory counts or fail to respect Shopify’s “On Hold” order status, requiring workarounds or additional configuration.

If your store uses an ERP, it often instructs the 3PL on which orders to fulfill—meaning you might not need all of the 3PL’s features we’re about to go through.

Read on to see how Easyship interacts with Shopify pre-orders and what you might need to adjust.

Syncing Shopify Products and Inventory

Easyship integrates with Shopify to pull certain product data (SKUs, weights, descriptions). Other details like dimensions must be added manually in Easyship to ensure accurate shipping rates.

Syncing Shopify Orders

Yes. Orders (including statuses, customer info, line items) automatically import from Shopify, and you can configure which orders get synced based on payment or fulfillment status.

Resources:

• Sync Orders from Shopify

Custom Workflows with Shopify Tags and Metafields

Easyship provides robust shipping rules and label automation, but doesn’t integrate advanced Shopify metafields or custom “on hold” statuses natively. Merchants can use third-party or manual workflows for pre-orders and partial shipments.

Resources:

• How to automate tasks with shipping rules

Respecting Shopify’s “On Hold” Status

Easyship does not automatically recognize Shopify’s “on hold” status, although it does map most of the other Shopify order fulfilment statuses.

Resources:

• Doc on order syncing

Pre-Order-Specific Features

No dedicated pre-order module. You can import pre-order orders from Shopify once stock is ready, or manually manage holds in Shopify. Easyship then handles the shipping label creation and notifications.

Partial Order fulfillment

Easyship supports partial shipments—ship available items now, hold the rest until backordered or pre-order stock arrives.

Re-syncs orders from platform

Easyship auto-imports and updates orders from Shopify, but mid-process changes (like removing items or toggling on-hold status) may not flow back automatically. Manual intervention or re-import might be required.

Summary

Easyship support for
Shopify Pre-orders

Pre-order touchpoint	Easyship support
Products sync with Shopify	✅ Imports product SKUs & weights from Shopify; manual dimension input needed
Orders sync with Shopify	✅ Pulls orders (status, items, address) automatically; updates in real time
Negative custom workflows or automations	✅ Supports advanced shipping rules
Shopify “On Hold” status recognition	⚠️ Does not parse Shopify’s “on hold” status for pre-orders
Specific pre-order support	⚠️ No dedicated feature—coordinate with Shopify for pre-orders, then ship via Easyship
partial order fulfilment	✅ Supports partial shipments—ship ready items now, hold rest later
Re-syncs orders	⚠️ Auto sync for new orders; changes after import may need manual re-import

Strengths & Limitations

✅ Strengths
• Shipping rule automations
• Automatic order import from Shopify
• Partial fulfillment workflows to handle partial shipments

⚠️ Limitations
• No native negative inventory or “on hold” recognition
• Pre-order management must be handled in Shopify
• Manual dimension input needed for accurate shipping calculations