Audience: All users in Logicbroker.
In this article, you will find information related to Inventory Feeds. The sections within this article are outlined below:
- Overview
- Inventory Feeds Page
- Matching File
- Standard Feed
- 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 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's e-Comm site is updated accordingly
Inventory Feeds Page
The Inventory Feeds page is where users can view and maintain feeds sent to partners, set up Matching Files and set up configure Feed Settings by partner. See page-specific details below.
Select a Partner from the dropdown to see item information, feed settings and events specific to that partner.
- All Partners
-
Available to: Retailers
Retailers can select All Partners from the dropdown to download one file with all their partner information using Merchant, Standard or UnmatchedItems feed. Please note: The supplier name will not appear on these files since it uses our standard Inventory template which does not include this field. However, if suppliers are sending in Vendor Number on feeds, this information will appear on the file and can be used to determine items by partner.
- Remove All Items
- Selecting this will remove all item information set up for your partner and will ensure no inventory feed is sent to the retailer.
- Clear All SKU Matches
- Selecting this will remove the MerchantSKU for all items set up. All other information will be retained and will allow you to set up new MerchantSKUs on those items. Use this if incorrect MerchantSKUs were set up on your items but want to retain all other item information.
- Clear After
- Retailers and suppliers can set up a clear-after threshold that will clear SKU quantities as well as warehouse quantities that have not been updated after the selected time. We allow periods of 7, 30 and 60 days. Once cleared, suppliers need to send/upload an updated inventory feed in order to have item information transmitted to the retailer. This should be used to maintain an up-to-date list of products.
- Vendor Number
- This value is established between suppliers and retailers. Users can choose to input this to be reflected on the inventory feed sent to the retailer. Some trading partner relationships require this field to be populated in order to send a file successfully.
For retailers using vendor-based sourcing, this setting will control order sourcing for inventory items.
- Minimum Quantity
- Users can set a value so that when the quantity for a particular SKU reaches this value, the quantity will automatically be set to 0 and will be reflected in the next feed sent to the retailer. Use this setting to reduce out-of-stock instances. For example, if you set the minimum quantity to 5, when one of your SKUs reaches a quantity of 5, Logicbroker will set it to 0 on your inventory feed.
- Allocation
- Users that are sending the same inventory counts across all partners can use the slider or percentage-input field to control which percentage of inventory quantity is allocated to a specific partner. This allocation will be done for all products within the inventory feed. For example, if you select 50% and submit an inventory count for an item of 20, the update sent to your partner will be 10.
- Auto-match
- This allows users to submit all inventory feeds using the Standard Feed and any products not matched will automatically get created with the MerchantSKU matching the SupplierSKU provided. This should be used in cases where the MerchantSKU is the same as the SupplierSKU (it is not required to provide the MerchantSKU in another field). The MerchantSKU can only be set to a different value than the SupplierSKU through a Matching File.
- Ignore Unmatched
- If this is toggled on and items are sent that aren't matched they will not show up in the Unmatched Items report in the Download Files section.
- Case-sensitive
- When submitting inventory feeds, all updates depend on matching the SupplierSKU. If you do not want your SupplierSKUs to match when the case doesn't match, then select this option.
- Latest Feed Only
- If you send multiple feeds before an update is transmitted to your partner, and only want to include information from the last feed select this option. For example, if you send 2 feeds, one with 20 items and another with 10, the update sent to your partner will only include the 10.
This section will display the Last Update and the number of Updated Items from the latest inventory feed.
Users who need to upload feeds manually into the portal will do so using the Upload Files tool.
- Standard Feed
- This is the standard file used most commonly for inventory feeds and requires our standard inventory template to be used. To view our standard template, in the portal go to Products > Inventory Feeds > Download Files > download the Standard Feed. The only required fields on a Standard Feed upload are SupplierSKU and Quantity unless otherwise stated by the trading partner.
- Supplier Feed
- Suppliers that have special field mappings with Logicbroker can use their own file to upload inventory instead of using our standard inventory template. If users upload through this option using our standard template, the upload will register as a Standard Feed.
Note:
This feature is only available to Logicbroker customers. To become a Logicbroker customer, click here. If you are already a customer and want to learn more about setting this up, reach out to support@logicbroker.com.
- 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. This is done to prevent sending products that are not set up in the channel/retailer's system. Some trading partner relationships require items to be matched to be successfully sent. 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.
- Merchant Feed
- This file will populate a merchant-specific file in the case where the merchant has a CSV template configured with Logicbroker using their format and fields. Downloading this file will display the Standard Feed in the case where there is no mapping configured.
- Standard Feed
- This is used to download the standard Logicbroker Inventory Template or view the current file that is being transmitted to the retailer and will include matched SKU information if provided. For more details on all the field attributes see our Inventory Specificationarticle and navigate to the Document Standards section.
- Unmatched Items
- This file will pull a list of all SKUs that do not have a SupplierSKU matched to a Merchant SKU. Use this to take note of what SKUs need to be matched in the case that the retailer requires items to be matched to be sent. Please note: If Ignore Unmatched under Feed Settings is set, no unmatched records will appear in the list.
- 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.
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.
Standard Feed
This is the file used to update item information and reflect accurate quantity among other attributes. For more details on all the field attributes see our Inventory Specification article and navigate to the Document Standards section. Once the feed is uploaded, we will validate the format for that partner. Please note: We only check to verify all proper fields are populated for the partner selected, we do not do any validation to verify the SKUs match in the partner's system.
Logicbroker will send inventory information to the retailer based on the retailer's requirements. This schedule differs between channels/retailers, but typically will be sent at least once every 24 hours.
Tip:
If you have a custom inventory CSV or XLSX mapped to our standard you can use the Supplier Feed. This feature is only available to Logicbroker customers. To become a Logicbroker customer, click here. If you are already a customer and want to learn more about setting this up, reach out to support@logicbroker.com.
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 |
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