How invisible inventory can sabotage Unified Commerce
A day without a real-time inventory system of record
Unified Commerce requires timely data
And item availability in digital channels is completely dependent on inventory being Available to Promise, which is fed by the inventory system of record in Merchandising. Every Merchandising integration that lags behind real time risks inventory becoming 'invisible' to ATP and therefore unsellable in any digital experience.
It's easy to see how digital channels can be out of business even when there is stock on hand if Merchandising isn’t integrated to every enterprise system in real time.
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 Merchandising integration lags behind on just these two processes.
We can see that invisible inventory adds up throughout the day:
The sales channels look to Available to Promise for inventory available to sell
All systems that impact inventory feed Merchandising in near real time
Order Management
Warehouse
Management
Point of Sale
Fulfillment
Ecommerce
Point of Sale
Website
Mobile POS
Social
System of Record
Merchandising
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 Unified Commerce requires Unified Inventory.
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Unified Inventory is the heartbeat of 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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100
500
DC ON HAND
STORE ON HAND
100
500
DC ON HAND
STORE ON HAND
Overnight inventory activity updates are complete
0
4
:
:
0
0
AM
PM
Real-time Merchandising
Not Real-time Merchandising
600
Actual available inventory
600
Recorded available inventory
0
Invisible to ATP
Real-time Merchandising
Not Real-time Merchandising
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 inventory
600
Recorded available inventory
420
Invisible to ATP
Real-time Merchandising
Not Real-time Merchandising
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 inventory
300
Recorded available inventory
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 inventory
0
Recorded available inventory
670
Invisible to ATP
-300
POS SALES
Real-time Merchandising
Not Real-time Merchandising
Real-time Merchandising
Not Real-time Merchandising
Prime time shopping has been in full swing for hours
0
8
:
:
0
0
AM
PM
-250
ONLINE ORDERS
420
Actual available inventory
0
Recorded available inventory
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.
How integrated Merchandising can help eliminate invisible inventory
Get the Guide
ON
Unified Commerce requires 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.
The sales channels look to Available to Promise for inventory available to sell
All systems that impact inventory feed Merchandising in near real time
Order Management
Warehouse
Management
Point of Sale
Fulfillment
Ecommerce
Point of Sale
Website
Mobile POS
Social
System of Record
Merchandising
Take the warehouse and digital channels, for example.
OFF
ON
Ecommerce
Warehouse
Management
600
Recorded available inventory
100
500
DC ON HAND
STORE ON HAND
0
Invisible to ATP
Real-time Merchandising
Not Real-time Merchandising
Inventory begins to move around the enterprise
0
8
:
:
0
0
AM
PM
1020
Actual available inventory
+500
-80
DC RECEIPT
ONLINE ORDERS
600
Recorded available inventory
100
500
DC ON HAND
STORE ON HAND
420
Invisible to ATP
+500
-80
DC RECEIPT
ONLINE ORDERS
Real-time Merchandising
Not Real-time Merchandising
Sales and inventory begin to pick up the pace
920
Actual available inventory
-300
+200
POS SALES
STORE RECEIPTS
300
Recorded available inventory
-300
POS SALES
620
Invisible to ATP
+200
STORE RECEIPTS
Real-time Merchandising
Not Real-time Merchandising
The business is fully engaged and people are shopping
670
Actual available inventory
-300
+50
POS SALES
ONLINE RETURNS
0
Recorded available inventory
-300
POS SALES
670
Invisible
to ATP
+50
ONLINE RETURNS
Real-time Merchandising
Not Real-time Merchandising
Prime time shopping has been in full swing for hours
420
Actual available inventory
0
Recorded available inventory
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.
The real-time quantity, location, value and status of every piece of inventory in every location is key to achieving Unified Commerce. However, polling delays, batch updates, pending in-transit updates and fragile interfaces all impact the visibility of inventory.
When inventory’s status is invisible to your enterprise it isn’t visible to your stores, your digital channels or your customers, which impacts their experience – and your revenue.
Our latest eBook will show you how integrated Merchandising prevents inventory from becoming invisible.
ATP