Inventory management
Commerce+ Inventory overview
- In the ATP inventory model, inventory values can be based on both existing inventory and expected future inventory. Site users are provided back-order functionality for items that are ATP-enabled.
- In the non-ATP inventory model, inventory operations are based on existing on-hand inventory only. That is, shoppers can only add items to the cart if the item is in stock. The store does not support back ordering or reserving items for future purchase.
The Inventory is designed to provide maximum flexibility for retailers of any size. It can be used as the primary inventory management system, or integrated with third party solutions to provide seamless inventory management.
In the context of Commerce+, this service is the primary inventory record for your e-commerce storefronts. In other words, the inventory level for a given product is decremented within the Inventory as site users complete the check out flow. Therefore, it is essential to use this service as part of your encompassing inventory management solution, so that your storefronts and inventory management software of record can reflect accurate availability.
The Inventory dashboard
Get a birds-eye view of your inventory status, and find the specific information that you need to make business decisions through a simple and easy-to-use web application. Inventory dashboard also allows you access to pages that help users configure inventory settings for different items ,override them for different channels, Configure expected inventory, view and manage directory of vendors and items they supply. And view Purchase Orders, Receive and Manage inventory.
- View list of inventory locations. These locations are fetched from Location Service. Create/ Modify/ Delete delivery methods and link them to the inventory locations within the Inventory PBC.
- View your SKUs, and observe their availability at each inventory location .
- View, upload, audit, and track inventory updates made via file upload.
Inventory work-flow
- Inventory when used as primary solution allows file uploads as well as updates in the system via tooling for the inventory to be expanded, managed, and tracked, file uploads allow for your inventory to be expanded, managed, and tracked manually.
- When integrated with other commerce solutions the PBC allows for a seamless integration.
In both cases, the initial PBC setup is completed by uploading data files. Once the setup is complete, users can continue managing inventory either manually through the available tools or, where applicable, by uploading additional files.
Subsequent inventory updates can be applied through additional file uploads or via REST API calls. Regardless of whether updates are performed manually or through automated processes, all changes introduced through file uploads are fully monitored and auditable before being applied to your live inventory in Commerce+.
Extension and integration
The Inventory must be considered when implementing your Commerce+ storefronts in conjunction with physical inventory locations, such as brick-and-mortar stores, warehouses, and distribution centers, unless it is intended to use it as a simple and self-contained solution.
Developers can also modify and extend the Commerce+ Inventory, to respond to unique business requirements.
- Integration with third party inventory management software.
- Extension of your inventory data model to account for business-specific inventory information.
- Remote management of all aspects of your inventory and Inventory Locations, manually or with custom software tools, via secure REST API.