3PL Stock Integration

Stock on hand refers to the quantity of good stock that is physically in the 3PL provider’s warehouse. Good stock which is being processed by the warehouse that is still within warehouse must not decrement the quantity until it has been despatched. This means that good stock must include allocated stock. For example: units allocated to an order, that is being prepared for fulfilment, but it is not despatched yet, client must NOT decrement stock.

Keeping Stock in Sync

To ensure accurate order fulfillment and inventory management, the 3PL system must keep the consumer’s system up to date with the latest stock on hand. This is typically achieved by the 3PL regularly pushing stock updates to the consumer via API. A push will override the quantity to the value provided in the request for the associated item.

Stock Synchronization Flow

1. Stock Update Generation
   The 3PL system monitors inventory changes (such as receipts, shipments, adjustments) and generates stock on hand updates for affected products.

2. Push Stock On Hand
   The 3PL sends stock on hand data to the consumer’s system through the agreed API endpoint. This data includes barcode, available quantities, and warehouse/location reference.

3. Consumer System Update
   The consumer’s system receives the stock on hand data and updates its own inventory records, ensuring that order allocation and availability checks are based on the latest information from the 3PL.

4. Ongoing Synchronization
   This process is repeated at regular intervals or triggered by inventory events, maintaining real-time or near real-time inventory accuracy between the 3PL and the consumer.