How do you handle special orders and drop ships in EBMS purchasing?

In EBMS, a special order or drop ship starts on the sales order: set the line's Purchase Method to Drop Ship, Sync Quantities or Associated. Then open Inventory > Purchasing, go to the Special Orders tab, tick the lines to buy and click Create Order, which links them to a purchase order. Receive and mark shipped promptly so the stock is not sold twice.

This guide is for buyers using EBMS ERP by Koble (formerly Eagle Business Software). It follows Koble's current online help as we read it on 2026-10-01; the pages do not name an EBMS version, so labels may differ slightly on older releases. For the full purchasing picture, see how to automate purchasing in EBMS.

What is the difference between a special order and a drop ship in EBMS?

A special order is an item sold to a customer before you buy it from the vendor. A drop ship is a special order the vendor ships straight to the customer, so it never enters your building.

EBMS offers three special order purchase methods, set in the Purchase Method column of the sales order line:

The item's default comes from its Count tab, and the sales order line can override it. Special order methods also work without an inventory item ID, which suits one-off products you will never stock. Our guide to choosing a purchase method for each EBMS item compares them with Stocked and Replenishment.

How do you set up a special order on the sales order?

Enter the sale under Sales > Invoices and S.O.s as usual, then set the Purchase Method on the line. If the item already defaults to a special order method, there is nothing to change.

1. Open Sales > Invoices and S.O.s and create or open the sales order.
2. Add the line, using the inventory item or a generic line without an item ID.
3. Set the line's Purchase Method to Drop Ship, Sync Quantities or Associated.
4. Make sure the line carries the ship date the customer needs, since the Special Orders tab can filter on ship dates.

If the special order options are missing, check Inventory > Options, General tab, where they can be turned on or off.

How do you buy special orders from the Special Orders tab?

Filter the open special orders, tick the ones to buy and click Create Order. EBMS links each selected line to a purchase order, which ties the purchase back to the sale.

1. Open Inventory > Purchasing and select the Special Orders tab.
2. Set filters: Vendor, Folder and subfolders, Manufacturer, the Purchase Method types to include, and "Ship Dates on or before" a date. Tick "Include vendor lead times" to allow for how long the vendor takes to deliver.
3. Press F5 or click Find to list matching special orders.
4. Tick the Selected column, the first column, for each line to put on the purchase order.
5. Click Create Order.

You can also catch special orders while buying stock. With "View when creating purchase order" turned on under Inventory > Options, General tab, the create-order wizard on the Purchasing tab shows a vendor's open special orders so they ride on the same PO. Our guide to creating purchase orders by vendor covers that wizard.

How do you receive and process special orders?

Mark the sales order shipped as soon as the goods arrive. Until you do, the received items can look available for sale and be sold to someone else.

• Drop Ship and Sync Quantities. The shipped quantity on the sales order follows the received quantity on the purchase order, so receiving does the work.
• Associated. Receive the goods and print product labels that carry the sales order barcode. When pulling the order, scan the sales order barcode to open it and then the product barcode to mark it shipped.
• Put away first, pull later. Scanning items as they are pulled works, but the stock can be sold before it is set aside for the customer.

Process the vendor's invoice against the purchase order under Expenses > Invoices and P.O.s once it arrives.

What are the best practices for special orders and drop ships?

Buy special orders on a fixed rhythm, keep them on their own purpose, and close the loop on receiving. Most problems come from special orders that sit unbought or arrive and are not tied to their customer.

• Run the Special Orders tab daily or on each vendor's order day, filtered by ship date with vendor lead times included, so nothing waits past its due date.
• Combine with stock orders when the vendor is the same, using the wizard option, to share freight.
• Keep special orders out of stock decisions. If a customer-specific buy is entered as an ordinary stock sale, it inflates sales history and can push your stock levels up.
• Receive promptly and mark shipped, especially for Associated items.
• Revisit repeat special orders. An item special-ordered every month may belong on the shelf with the Stocked method.

Where does ReorderOwl fit with special orders?

ReorderOwl is a purchasing agent for EBMS focused on stock reordering: what to buy for the shelf, how much, and from which vendor. Special orders and drop ships still belong on the EBMS Special Orders tab, where each sale drives its own purchase.

For the stock side, it reads EBMS read-only, including sales history, stock on hand, open purchase orders, primary vendors and vendor lead days. It forecasts demand, adds safety-stock days (and the EBMS Minimum if you turn Minimums on), and returns an Excel workbook that explains every line, including a sheet of purchase orders already incoming. You can ask in Slack or ChatGPT and scope a run to one vendor. When you approve, it saves the purchase orders in EBMS. Nothing goes to a vendor until someone on your team sends it. See ReorderOwl for EBMS.

Frequently asked questions

How do I drop ship an order in EBMS?

Set the sales order line's Purchase Method to Drop Ship, then buy it from the Special Orders tab of Inventory > Purchasing by ticking Selected and clicking Create Order. The sales order lines carry over to the purchase order.

Why are my special orders not showing on the Special Orders tab?

Check the filters: Vendor, Folder, the Purchase Method types ticked and the ship date cut-off. Then press F5 or Find, since the list does not fill until you do.

Do special orders affect my inventory count in EBMS?

Drop Ship and Sync Quantities do not affect On Hand, because received and shipped quantities are synced. Associated affects On Hand briefly, between receiving and shipping.

Can I special order something that is not an inventory item?

Yes. Drop Ship, Sync Quantities and Associated can be used on a line without an inventory item ID.

Can I add special orders to a stock purchase order?

Yes. Turn on "View when creating purchase order" under Inventory > Options, General tab, and the create-order wizard on the Purchasing page lists the vendor's open special orders.

Sources

1. Special Order and Drop Shipment Overview, Koble Systems, accessed 2026-10-01
2. Purchasing Special Orders, Koble Systems, accessed 2026-10-01
3. Receiving and Processing Special Orders, Koble Systems, accessed 2026-10-01
4. Purchasing and Special Orders Overview, Koble Systems, accessed 2026-10-01
5. Create Purchase Orders from the Purchasing Page, Koble Systems, accessed 2026-10-01
6. Purchase Order Overview, Koble Systems, accessed 2026-10-01