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Managing Pre-orders
on Shopify Fulfillment Network

Shopify Fulfillment Network (SFN)

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Shopify Fulfillment Network (SFN) is Shopify’s own fulfillment solution (powered by Flexport) that syncs products, orders, and inventory in real time. It respects “on hold” orders for pre-orders, supports partial fulfillment, and can hold orders until all items are ready. While Shopify doesn’t allow negative inventory by default, merchants can configure out-of-stock items for pre-orders, which SFN will then fulfill once stock is available.

This guide will break down how Shopify Fulfillment Network 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 Shopify Fulfillment Network

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 Shopify Fulfillment Network interacts with Shopify pre-orders and what you might need to adjust.

Syncing Shopify Products and Inventory

Yes. SFN automatically syncs product data (titles, SKUs, inventory) from your Shopify store to streamline order fulfillment.

Syncing Shopify Orders

Yes. SFN synchronizes order data—statuses, line items, customer details—with Shopify in real time, updating the store when orders are fulfilled or shipped.

Custom Workflows with Shopify Tags and Metafields

Use Shopify Flow, plus any third-party apps or custom code, to build advanced workflows around pre-orders, partial shipments, or on-hold orders. SFN executes the fulfillment steps accordingly.

Resources:

• Shopify Flow Reference

Respecting Shopify’s “On Hold” Status

SFN recognizes Shopify’s “on hold” fulfillment status for pre-orders (or any reason you choose to hold them). Orders remain unfulfilled until the hold is released in Shopify.

Resources:

• Manually holding fulfillments (your pre-order app should do this for you)

Pre-Order-Specific Features

Whislt Shopify does have a “continue selling when out of stock” box. Merchants typically use third-party pre-order apps in Shopify.

Resources:

• Shopify Pre-Orders Blog

Partial Order fulfillment

SFN can fulfill only in-stock items and hold back the rest, marking the order as “Partially Fulfilled” in Shopify. This ensures customers get available items promptly.

Re-syncs orders from platform

SFN automatically re-syncs any changes to Shopify orders or products, reflecting updated line items, statuses, or holds. Manual intervention is rarely needed unless you’re drastically editing orders after fulfillment starts.

Summary

Shopify Fulfillment Network support for
Shopify Pre-orders

Pre-order touchpoint	Shopify Fulfillment Network support
Products sync with Shopify	✅ Automatic sync of product data (SKUs, inventory) with Shopify
Orders sync with Shopify	✅ Real-time orders, statuses, and line items flow both ways
Negative custom workflows or automations	✅ Use Shopify Flow / third-party apps for advanced pre-order, partial, or hold logic
Shopify “On Hold” status recognition	✅ Respects Shopify “on hold” so fulfillment doesn’t proceed prematurely
Specific pre-order support	✅ Basic native pre-order support; but good support when a third-party pre-order app is used
partial order fulfilment	✅ Can partially fulfill in-stock items, hold the rest
Re-syncs orders	✅ Auto-updates from Shopify; typically no manual refresh needed

Strengths & Limitations

✅ Strengths
• Direct, native integration for Shopify stores
• Full or partial fulfillment, plus hold capabilities
• Unified billing, shipping, and store management in one ecosystem

⚠️ Limitations
• Advanced custom workflows may need Shopify Flow and external solutions

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