Inventory glossary

What is Standing order?

A standing order is a recurring purchase order you set up once with a supplier to deliver a fixed quantity of a product on a fixed schedule, without placing a new order each time.

Standing orders work well for products with steady, predictable demand, like a coffee roaster buying the same weight of green beans every two weeks or a candle maker reordering jars every month. Instead of checking stock and raising a new purchase order each cycle, you agree a fixed quantity and delivery frequency with the supplier upfront, which saves admin time and keeps supply steady.

The risk is that demand does not stay flat forever. If sales slow down, a standing order can pile up stock you do not need. If sales pick up, the fixed quantity may fall short. Review standing orders regularly against actual sales, and treat them as a starting point rather than a set-and-forget arrangement.

Example

A candle store sets a standing order with its jar supplier for 500 jars every four weeks, matching average usage of about 125 jars a week. After a slow month where the store only sold through 400 jars, it has 100 extra jars on hand before the next standing order arrives, so it skips one delivery to avoid overstock.

Common mistakes

  • Treating a standing order as fixed forever instead of adjusting it as sales trends change.
  • Not tracking actual sell-through against the standing order quantity, which leads to silent overstock.
  • Using a standing order for seasonal or irregular products, where demand swings make a fixed schedule unreliable.

Standing order and SteadyShelf

SteadyShelf forecasts demand per variant so you can check whether a standing order quantity still matches actual sales before it ships.

SteadyShelf is launching on the Shopify App Store. Join early access to get the install link first.

Related terms

Reorder point · Replenishment · Purchase order · Par level · Order cycle

Full inventory glossary

FAQ

Is a standing order the same as a regular purchase order?

No. A regular purchase order is placed each time you need stock. A standing order is agreed once and repeats automatically on a set schedule until you change or cancel it.

When should a small store avoid using standing orders?

Avoid them for products with seasonal or unpredictable demand, since a fixed quantity on a fixed schedule will not match sales swings and can cause overstock or shortages.

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