The high cost of invisible inventory
A day in the life of Available to Promise
Omnichannel retail runs on timely data
And item availability in digital channels is completely dependent on inventory
being Available to Promise. Every OMS integration that lags behind real time risks inventory becoming 'invisible' to ATP.
It's easy to see how digital channels can be out of business even when there is stock on hand if the OMS isn't able to deliver near real-time integration to every enterprise system.
What was the omnichannel cost of invisible inventory on this particular day?
Let’s look at what happens to Available to Promise during a typical day when OMS integration lags behind on just these two processes.
We can see that invisible inventory adds up throughout the day:
Sales channels call OMS for inventory availability
Data from all channels feeds OMS in near real-time
Merchandising
Warehouse
Management
Point of Sale
Fulfillment
Ecommerce
Point of Sale
Website
Mobile POS
Social
Available to Promise
Order Management
Ecommerce
Warehouse
Management
OFF
Take the warehouse and digital channels, for example.
Invisible data from anywhere in the enterprise can make revenue disappear.
It’s clear to see that omnichannel retail requires real-time order management.
Aptos | The leader in Unified Commerce
Integrated order management is the heartbeat of Aptos Unified Commerce, as it ensures near real-time updates from – and to – every corner of the enterprise:
Inventory | Orders | Sales | Returns | Purchases | Receipts | Shipments | Transfers
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BACK TO TOP
100
500
DC ON HAND
STORE ON HAND
100
500
DC ON HAND
STORE ON HAND
Overnight merchandising system updates complete
0
4
:
:
0
0
AM
PM
Real-Time OMS
Not Real-Time OMS
600
Actual available to promise
600
Recorded available to promise
0
Invisible to ATP
Real-Time OMS
Not Real-Time OMS
Inventory begins to move around the enterprise
0
8
:
:
0
0
AM
PM
+500
-80
DC RECEIPT
ONLINE ORDERS
+500
-80
DC RECEIPT
ONLINE ORDERS
1020
Actual available to promise
600
Recorded available to promise
420
Invisible to ATP
Real-Time OMS
Not Real-Time OMS
Sales and inventory begin to pick up the pace
1
2
:
:
0
0
AM
PM
-300
+200
POS SALES
STORE RECEIPTS
+200
STORE RECEIPTS
920
Actual available to promise
300
Recorded available to promise
620
Invisible to ATP
-300
POS SALES
The business is fully engaged and people are shopping
0
4
:
:
0
0
AM
PM
-300
+50
POS SALES
ONLINE RETURNS
+50
ONLINE RETURNS
670
Actual available to promise
0
Recorded available to promise
670
Invisible to ATP
-300
POS SALES
Real-Time OMS
Not Real-Time OMS
Real-Time OMS
Not Real-Time OMS
Prime time shopping has been in full swing for hours
0
8
:
:
0
0
AM
PM
-250
ONLINE ORDERS
420
Actual available to promise
0
Recorded available to promise
0
ONLINE ORDERS
0
5
:
:
0
0
AM
PM
0
6
:
:
0
0
AM
PM
0
7
:
:
0
0
AM
PM
0
1
:
:
0
0
AM
PM
0
2
:
:
0
0
AM
PM
0
3
:
:
0
0
AM
PM
0
9
:
:
0
0
AM
PM
1
0
:
:
0
0
AM
PM
1
1
:
:
0
0
AM
PM
0
5
:
:
0
0
AM
PM
0
6
:
:
0
0
AM
PM
0
7
:
:
0
0
AM
PM
In this scenario, the not real-time retailer is forced to remove the items with "invisible" inventory from their digital channels at 4:00 pm (when available to promise reaches zero), causing them to miss 250 online orders.
And that’s just one day.
250 Fewer. Units. Sold.
4:00 pm
This item is no longer available for sale on digital channels, even though there are 670 units on hand.
8:00 pm
The real-time retailer has sold an additional 250 units since the not real-time retailer removed the items from their digital channels.
From Real-time Inventory to Customer/Order Integration: OMS Lessons Learned
View the list
ON
Omnichannel retail runs on timely data
And item availability in digital channels is completely dependent on inventory being Available to Promise. Every OMS integration that lags behind real time risks inventory becoming 'invisible' to ATP.
Sales channels call OMS for inventory availability
Data from all channels feeds OMS in near real-time
Merchandising
Warehouse
Management
Point of Sale
Fulfillment
Ecommerce
Point of Sale
Website
Mobile POS
Social
Available to Promise
Order Management
Take the warehouse and digital channels, for example.
OFF
ON
Ecommerce
Warehouse
Management
600
Recorded available to promise
100
500
DC ON HAND
STORE ON HAND
0
Invisible to ATP
Real-Time OMS
Not Real-Time OMS
Inventory begins to move around the enterprise
0
8
:
:
0
0
AM
PM
1020
Actual available to promise
+500
-80
DC RECEIPT
ONLINE ORDERS
600
Recorded available to promise
100
500
DC ON HAND
STORE ON HAND
420
Invisible to ATP
+500
-80
DC RECEIPT
ONLINE ORDERS
Real-Time OMS
Not Real-Time OMS
Sales and inventory begin to pick up the pace
920
Actual available to promise
-300
+200
POS SALES
STORE RECEIPTS
300
Recorded available to promise
-300
POS SALES
620
Invisible to ATP
+200
STORE RECEIPTS
Real-Time OMS
Not Real-Time OMS
The business is fully engaged and people are shopping
670
Actual available to promise
-300
+50
POS SALES
ONLINE RETURNS
0
Recorded available to promise
-300
POS SALES
670
Invisible
to ATP
+50
ONLINE RETURNS
Real-Time OMS
Not Real-Time OMS
Prime time shopping has been in full swing for hours
420
Actual
available to promise
0
Recorded available to promise
0 ONLINE ORDERS
-250 ONLINE ORDERS
8:00 pm
The real-time retailer has sold an additional 250 units since the not real-time retailer removed the items from their digital channels.
We have drawn on our experience with retailers around the world to compile a list of four critical factors that we typically see leading retailers consider when developing order management strategies for today’s omnichannel journeys.