Stock updates: closing the gap between supplier and store
For a store that sells supplier products, there is always a delay between the moment stock changes at the supplier and the moment your store shows it. The goal of a stock update process is to keep that delay as short as your suppliers allow, and to make sure nothing gets lost along the way.
Where the delay comes from
The first limit is the supplier. Many export stock only once or twice a day, and you cannot be more current than their data. The second is delivery: a file e-mailed once a day is slower than a feed you can download at any time, or an API.
Then comes your own schedule. If you import before the supplier updates, you simply reload old data. The last step is processing and export, the time it takes to recalculate everything and send it to the store and other channels.
Each step adds hours if it is not coordinated with the others.
Shorten each step
- Ask suppliers when they update and whether a feed by link or an API is available.
- Where a supplier offers a separate stock-only file, use it for frequent updates.
- Schedule imports shortly after each supplier's update time.
- Run import, recalculation and export as one chain, so updated stock reaches the store in the same run.
Make the figures reliable
A fast update is useless if the numbers are wrong. Pay attention to:
- text statuses like "available" or ">10", which need clear conversion rules;
- products missing from the latest file, which should become unavailable;
- very low supplier stock, which is often already reserved;
- products from several suppliers, where stock should not be double counted.
Tell customers what to expect
When items ship from a supplier's warehouse, show the expected delivery time rather than just "in stock". It sets the right expectation and reduces support questions.
Stock updates with YfiFX
YfiFX takes stock data from supplier price lists, feeds by link, e-mail, FTP, cloud storage and APIs, combines it in one catalog and sends it to your store and other channels in the same scheduled run that recalculates prices. You choose when the chain runs and can export only products that are actually available. The number of automatic runs per day depends on your plan.
Set it up once. YfiFX does the rest
14 Days Free Trial. Sign up and import your first price list today.