Syncing wholesaler inventory with your store
When products ship from a wholesaler's warehouse, your store's stock figure is only as good as your last update from them. Keeping that figure accurate is what separates a smooth dropshipping or drop-to-order business from one that spends its days cancelling orders and apologising to customers.
How wholesalers share stock
- In the price list: a quantity or status column, updated when the file is regenerated.
- A separate stock file: smaller and updated more often than the full price list.
- An API: current stock on request.
- A B2B portal only: stock visible on their website, which then has to be collected from there.
Ask each wholesaler which options they have. A separate stock file or an API is usually worth the extra setup.
Turning wholesaler stock into store stock
- Convert statuses like "in stock", "low" or ">50" into numbers with fixed rules.
- Convert packs to units if the wholesaler counts in boxes.
- Apply a safety margin for low quantities, which are often already reserved.
- Combine wholesalers for products available from several, using priority instead of simply adding up quantities.
- Zero out products that disappear from the wholesaler's file.
Timing
Sync shortly after each wholesaler publishes new data. If a wholesaler updates twice a day, two syncs a day give you current data; ten would only reload the same file.
Show delivery times honestly
Products from a wholesaler's warehouse usually take longer to ship than items you hold yourself. Showing "ships in 2–4 days" next to such products avoids disappointment and reduces support questions.
Wholesaler inventory sync with YfiFX
YfiFX takes stock from wholesaler price lists, separate stock files and APIs, by link, e-mail, FTP or cloud storage, and can collect it from a wholesaler's website with the scraper. Stock from several wholesalers and warehouses is combined in one catalog with supplier priority, and you can export only products that are actually available. Import, recalculation and export run as one chain on your schedule, so the store reflects wholesaler stock shortly after it changes.
Set it up once. YfiFX does the rest
14 Days Free Trial. Sign up and import your first price list today.