Client & field operations / GUIDE + WORKSHEET
Which inventory count should you trust?
Reconcile inventory across channels by separating physical stock, reservations, availability, and unprocessed movements.
THE STARTING POINT
First establish what each inventory number means. Physical stock, reserved stock, and available-to-sell stock are different measures. Match products and locations consistently, then trace receipts, orders, cancellations, returns, and adjustments. Choose an authoritative rule for each movement rather than forcing every screen to show the same number.
Align product, location, and state
Check SKU mappings, variants, bundles, and location identifiers before comparing totals. One system may report warehouse stock while another reports sellable stock across locations. Identify whether pending orders reserve units and when reservations are released. A mismatch can be a definition difference rather than a synchronization failure, so document the state each number represents.
Build a movement trail
For a small sample, list the starting balance and each receipt, sale, cancellation, return, transfer, or adjustment. Keep source event identifiers so repeated messages can be recognized. Check timing when channels update at different intervals. Investigate missing and repeated movements separately from mapping errors; they need different repairs.
Make exceptions owned
Decide who resolves an unknown SKU, rejected update, or stock adjustment without a clear source. Avoid silently overwriting one system to match another without explaining the difference. Test recovery after delayed events and verify the resulting availability. Track exceptions by age and business impact so the team can prioritize affected orders.
WORKED EXAMPLE / ILLUSTRATIVE
A fictional single-SKU reconciliation
A warehouse has ten physical units and three are reserved for orders. Available-to-sell stock is seven under this simplified rule. A channel showing ten may be reading the physical count rather than accounting for reservations.
| Measure | Units | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Physical stock | 10 | Units present |
| Reserved | 3 | Allocated to open orders |
| Available | 7 | 10 minus 3 under this rule |
MAKE IT USEFUL
Inventory reconciliation
Start with one SKU and one location.
Your notes stay in this page and are not sent to Smithers. Download or copy them before leaving; refreshing clears them.
Before you put it to work
- Compare matching SKUs and locations.
- Separate physical from available stock.
- Trace movements with event IDs.
- Explain corrections before overwriting counts.
Inventory semantics differ by platform and configuration. Verify reservation and return behavior in the tools you actually use.
IF THIS LOOKS FAMILIAR
Your tools. Your particular mess.
The worksheet is yours to use. If the difficult part is making it work with the systems you already have, that's the kind of thing we help with.
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