Audience: All users in Logicbroker.
In this article, you will find information related to Inventory. The sections within this article are outlined below:
- Overview
- Feeds
- Events
- Settings
- Export
- Add Item
- Import
- Permissions
- Matching File
- Automate the Process
- Vendor Sourcing
- Consolidating Inventory
Overview
Logicbroker identifies Inventory (EDI 846) as a document used to provide retailers with item information. This document is sent in a cadence set by the retailer (ex. twice a day, once a week).
Retailers and suppliers receive/send inventory information depending on how they are integrated with Logicbroker (EDI, API, JSON, XML, CSV, Flat File, Logicbroker Portal).
Inventory Flow
-
- Suppliers send/upload updated inventory feeds to Logicbroker
- Logicbroker uses a supplier or retailer-uploaded Matching File to dictate which item information is sent to the retailer
- Logicbroker transforms the data to a format the retailer accepts
- Logicbroker sends inventory to the retailer
- The retailer uses that information to update their e-Comm site
Feeds
The Feeds page provides users with the ability to search through inventory, filter results, update items in bulk and update individual items.
Helpful Tip! Wildcard Search: Add an asterisk to the search term as a wildcard/placeholder to broaden the search. For example, if you want to search for all SKUs beginning with 123, you can search ‘123*’ and all items with that prefix will populate.
Events
The Events will display any events relating to the inventory feeds. For each event, you’ll see a date and time stamp, the severity, a summary, and more details around the user and update. Click on View for more information. Use this tab to backtrack changes and troubleshoot.
- Matching File Imported
- A file has been imported manually through the portal using the Matching File option. This can be uploaded by a supplier or retailer.
- Inventory Imported
- An file has been manually uploaded through the portal using the standard Inventory Template or transmitted to Logicbroker using the retailer's inventory specifications through EDI and API.
- Inventory Feed Cleared
- A user has clicked on the Remove all items button found in the Clear Feeds section.
- SKU Matches Cleared
- A user has clicked on the Clear all SKU matches button found in the Clear Feeds section.
- Inventory Configuration Updated
- A user has made a change to the Feed Settings. If there was a previous configuration set up, visibility into the previous setting will be provided.
- Deleted Item
- A user has deleted an item in the Inventory Search page in the portal. This is the only item-specific event provided.
- Inventory Upload Failed
- An inventory upload made through a connector such as Shopify has failed. Click on View to see more details about the failure.
- Inventory Import Error
- An inventory upload made manually through the portal has an error such as the file has a missing SKU. Click on View to see more details about the error.
- Inventory Sent
- Inventory information has been transmitted to another system such as Shopify. This event will not alert users when feeds are transmitted to retailers or trading partners - only through a connector.
- Inventory Updated
- Inventory has been pulled in and updated from another system such as Magento.
Settings
The Settings page (available to Logicbroker customers) will allow users to configure settings specific to inventory. Each setting is defined within the portal and all updates are tracked within the Setting Events. Please note settings are configured on a company-level. View the information below on how settings are applied accross All Partners.
Select All Partners from the dropdown to configure feed settings and see feed setting events set up for all partners.
Feed Settings
- Settings applied to All Partners will take effect accross all suppliers and will only take place on a per setting basis (ex. if a supplier has Auto match enabled and the retailer enables Case sensitive across All Partners, the supplier's Auto match setting will remain unchanged and will stay enabled)
- Resetting to default from the All Partners page will clear all settings to 0
- Resetting to default from a supplier's page will apply the settings configured by the retailer in the All Partners page
- For the Clear after and Minumim Quantity settings, retailers can configure them on an All Partners level, but can only edit them on a per-supplier basis if they set Clear after to the largest value and set Minumum Quantity to 0
Export
The Export page will allow users to export inventory feeds and apply filters to the items being exported.
Helpful Tip! When applying filters, please remember to use quotation marks for the Field expression. See the example below:
Add Item
The Add Item modal will allow users to create an individual item. Select a partner to see the specifications for that partner. Required fields will be indicated with an asterisc. If the partner has EDI specifications available, they will be linked on the right hand side under EDI Specifications.
Import
The Import page will allow users to take bulk actions and upload inventory feeds. To import inventory into the portal,
- Select a Partner
- Download a Template
- Reference the Retailer's Specifications
- Fill out the Template
- Select the Feed Typs
- Upload the File
- Confirm the Upload is successful from the Events tab
Permissions
This section will provide info on what user types have access to what actions/controls within the Inventory page.
| Action | All Users | Logicbroker Customer |
|---|---|---|
|
Feeds Page |
✔ |
|
|
Bulk Edit |
✔ |
|
|
Bulk Unmatch |
|
✔ |
|
Bulk Delete |
✔ |
|
|
Settings Page |
|
✔ |
|
All Partner Settings |
|
✔ |
|
Import Page |
✔ |
|
|
Zero Our Items |
✔ |
|
|
Delete All Items |
|
✔ |
|
Clear All SKU Matches |
|
✔ |
|
Reupload Items |
✔ |
|
|
* Please note: Some actions are limited to certain users to limit or reduce the instance of mistakes made |
||
Matching File
This file creates a link between the SupplierSKU and the MerchantSKU. Creating this link for each item allows suppliers to send inventory updates with only the SupplierSKU and will automatically match and update the quantity for that product and retain the MerchantSKU, even if it wasn't provided in the update. Some trading partner integrations require SupplierSKUs to be matched to MerchantSKUs in order to be successfully transmitted. This file type allows suppliers to upload full feeds without needing to create one specific to the partner they are uploading for - as long as there is a Matching File in place, only matched SKUs will be sent to the retailer.
The matching is also required if you use Logicbroker's AI sourcing tools for order sourcing. When this functionality is used, Logicbroker's system matches the SKU sent on the order to the supplier's version of the SKU (SupplierSKU), then transmits that version to your supplier. This makes it easier for suppliers to identify which products you are sending them.
The Matching File also controls which products will be sent to your system on inventory feeds. Any unmatched items will not be sent to your system.
By managing the values in Logicbroker, you do not need to set up a cross-reference table in your own system. The Matching File also controls which products will be sent to your trading partner. Any un-matched items will not be sent on inventory files.
Automate the Process
Users can automate the process of sending inventory feeds by integrating through:
- SFTP/FTP
- See our SFTP/FTP article for more information
-
Once connected you will need to upload the Matching File to the following directory: /ManagedInventory/<PartnerAccount>/OutboundMatching
The <PartnerAccount> will be the supplier's Account Number. To find this information in the portal, go to Settings > Account Information > Partners > Account Number.
- API
- See our Logicbroker Commerce API documentation and navigate to the Retailer Inventory section for more information
Vendor Sourcing
Matching Files are also used to source orders to the correct vendor (when sourcing by SKU). When a sales order is being processed, the Matching File is used to identify which vendor each line will be sourced to based on SKU. If a product is encountered that has not set up for a specific vendor (the product does not appear on any Matching File), the order will not be able to complete the sourcing process. In this case, the item must be matched and the sales order should be reprocessed.
Consolidating Inventory
There may be instances where inventory will need to be consolidated for 3PL warehouses so suppliers can broadcast across retail channels. Logicbroker is able to configure a workflow for these scenarios which will aggregate inventory from connected fulfillment sources and automatically push it to suppliers so the inventory quantities can be shared with connected channels.
When this type of workflow is configured, warehouses will provide quantity counts for the MerchantSKU and Logicbroker will pull these into the system, consolidate them, and push the quantities to the Supplier to be broadcasted as the SupplierSKU.
| Field | Description |
|
SupplierSKU |
This is pulled from the MerchantSKU on the customer retailer's account |
|
Quantity |
This is the total quantity of all items with the provided SKU |
|
NextAvailableDate |
This is the minimum available date that is after the current time |
|
NextAvailableQuantity |
This field is the quantity corresponding to the next available date |
Comments
Article is closed for comments.