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Assign Inventory and Product Notifications

Lori Krell edited this page Jul 30, 2018 · 25 revisions

When first accessing MSI, all products and quantities are assigned to the Default Source. Single and Multi Source merchants can update sources, inventory quantities, and thresholds per supported product.

  • Single Source merchants can update product quantities for the Default Source; this is the total amount of products available for sale.
  • Multi Source merchants can assign multiple sources and quantities per product. We recommend having Sources added prior to setting inventory amounts.

You have a few options when updating these totals:

For information on supported product types, see Magento product types.

Magento product types

MSI supports inventory and order management for all product types in Magento. The options and requirements may differ per product type. Consider the following when planning sources, stocks, and inventory configurations.

Product Type Multi-Source Source and Stock Source Selection Algorithm
Simple Yes Default Source, Default Stock, and custom Supports SSA recommendations and overrides at shipping
Configurable Yes Default Source, Default Stock, and custom Supports SSA recommendations and overrides at shipping
Virtual/Downloadable Yes Default Source, Default Stock, and custom Supports SSA recommendations and overrides at shipping
Bundle No Default Source, Default Stock only Supports SSA recommendations at shipping
Grouped No Default Source, Default Stock only Supports SSA recommendations at shipping

In MSI Beta 1.0.0, Bundle and Grouped products do not support multi-sourcing, supporting only assignment to the Default Source and Stock. Multi-sourcing will be supported in a later release.

For information creating products, see the Magento User Guide.

Configure inventory defaults

All merchants can configure inventory settings at the product and global level, including quantities, threshold settings, and so on. For full details on inventory configurations, see Global and Product Settings. For detailed information on backorders, see Configure MSI backorders.

Prior to allocating inventory to sources, you may want to consider your threshold notification configurations. These amounts are deducted from the available quantity to provide the total salable quantity.

The following configurations are available through the Magento Admin.

  • Only X left Threshold - Set the stock quantity to send a notification that the product stock is nearing out of stock. The system default is 0.
  • Out-of-Stock Threshold - Sets the stock quantity to consider a product as out of stock. In MSI, if backorders is enabled, we recommend setting a negative value. This sets a maximum threshold for all orders. For details, see Configure MSI backorders.
  • Notify for Quantity Below - Typically, this option and value sets the stock quantity to send a notification of low stock for a product. In MSI, it also deducts from the Salable Quantity to ensure you do not oversell a product based on on-hand inventory. You can override this amount per product through Assigned Sources.

Assigning products to sources in the Admin

  1. On the Admin sidebar, tap Catalog. Then, choose Products.

    Products Page
  2. Select a product to edit. Scroll down the page to the Sources area. This section allows you to modify the source, update inventory quantities, and more.

    Currently, only Simple, Configurable, Virtual, and Downloadable products support multiple sources. Bundle and Grouped products can be created and managed with only the Default Source and Stock.

    Sources Area of Edit Product Page
  3. To add a source, tap Assign Sources. The Assign Sources page displays.

    Assign Sources Page
  4. Browse or search for a source you want to add. Click the checkbox next to the source(s) you want to add for the product.

  5. Tap Done to save. See the next section to review and update the quantity of inventory at each source.

Modifying quantities and notifications in the Admin

To modify quantity and notifications:

  1. If the product page is not open, on the Admin sidebar, tap Catalog. Then, choose Products. Select a product to edit. and scroll down the page to the Sources area.

  2. To change the available quantity of product per source, update the Qty field.

    Quantity per Source
  3. To send a notification for inventory quantities, do one of the following:

    • To configure a specific amount, enter an inventory amount for Notify Quantity and leave the checkbox unchecked.
    • To use the system default, tap Notify Quantity Use default. The default is set in the Notify for Quantity Below in the Advanced Inventory page.
  4. To hide a source's inventory from shipments without removing the source, select Out of Stock for Source Item Status. The SSA and shipment options only access sources listed as In Stock with available inventory quantity.

  5. To save, in the upper-right corner, tap Save or Save and Close.

After updating amounts, each product displays the inventory quantity (total available for sale) and salable inventory (quantity minus threshold amounts).

Single Source merchants see normal columns and content per product.

Multi Source merchants see a Quantity per Source column with inventory amounts per source and a Salable Quantity column with aggregated totals per stock.

Quantity per Source

Transferring product inventory between sources

This information is for 1.0.0 Beta. To transfer stock between sources, complete any physical movement of those goods. When ready, you can modify the amounts through the Magento Admin.

In development, the Mass Action Tool will include product stock transfer features.

  1. On the Admin sidebar, tap Catalog. Then, choose Products.

  2. Select a product to edit. Scroll down the product page to the Sources area.

  3. If you need to add another source, tap Assign Source. Locate and add the source(s). The list of assigned sources does not affect the priority used by SSA for order fulfillment.

  4. Update the product quantities per source:

    • For the source you are removing the inventory from, deduct the amount from the Qty field.
    • For the source receiving the new stock, add the amount to the Qty field.
  5. To save, in the upper-right corner, tap Save or Save and Close.

MSI Documentation:

  1. Technical Vision. Catalog Inventory
  2. Installation Guide
  3. List of Inventory APIs and their legacy analogs
  4. MSI Roadmap
  5. Known Issues in Order Lifecycle
  6. MSI User Guide
  7. DevDocs Documentation
  8. User Stories
  9. User Scenarios:
  10. Technical Designs:
  11. Admin UI
  12. MFTF Extension Tests
  13. Weekly MSI Demos
  14. Tutorials
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