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Inventory Management Lifecycle

Big Inventory, Inventory Processing (Batch Pre-Processing & Events), Inventory Monitoring, Inventory Entities (Inventory Position, Virtual Position, Controls, etc.) and Availability Management (Inventory Feeds Management).

Stock Segmentation - Data Model and API Overview

Essential knowledgeStock Segmentation extends Fluent’s Inventory and Virtual Catalog data models to represent multiple logical segments for the same product and location using explicit, queryable factors.Stock Segmentation supports scenarios such as channel-specific reservations, manufacturing batch traceability, compliance restrictions (for example by country of origin), and supplier-level inventory management while preserving a single physical inventory model per product and location.This document explains the data model and GraphQL API capabilities introduced for Stock Segmentation.
  • Physical stock in the Inventory Catalog is represented through Inventory Quantities that can be segmented using dedicated fields such as `condition`, `expiresOn`, `countryOfOrigin`, `channel`, `manufacturer`, `manufacturerBatchNumber`, `supplier`, and `segment1/2/3`
  • Inventory Quantities support parent-child hierarchies, allowing multi-level segmentation trees to be modeled explicitly via the parent relationship
  • Inventory Quantities can be linked to operational entities using `associationType` and `associationRef`, particularly for reservation linkage and traceability
  • Virtual availability can expose a single customer-facing segment using Virtual Segments
  • Segmentation fields are exact-match searchable to ensure predictable query behavior (partial matching is not supported)

Future Inventory - Data Model and API Overview

Essential knowledgeFuture Inventory extends the Inventory and Virtual Catalog data models to represent inventory that is not yet physically available but is expected to arrive at a known point in time. It enables availability and reservation decisions against future stock using explicit dates and quantities.Future Inventory supports scenarios such as pre-orders and wholesale commitments, where inventory must be promised before receipt, while preserving a single physical inventory model per product and location.This document explains the data model and GraphQL API capabilities introduced for Future Inventory.
  • Prerequisites: You should have knowledge of Inventory Module, GraphQL API (Fluent Platform Integrations), and Workflow Framework
  • Future Inventory represents expected stock with defined arrival dates, not forecasts
  • Future Inventory can be reserved and committed prior to physical receipt
  • Available-to-Promise (ATP) quantities can be queried as of a future date, accounting for on-hand, expected, and already-reserved inventory
  • Inventory lifecycle states (for example: on order → in transit → received) are represented explicitly within the data model

Send Enhanced Inventory Attributes in Your Payloads

Essential knowledgeInventory payloads can include additional Inventory Quantity attributes to capture richer stock context.This article explains how to use the `attributes` object to include additional data in inventory payloads. It supports both simple key-value pairs and custom JSON structures to meet diverse business requirements - whether you’re:
  • managing detailed product information
  • optimizing warehouse processes
  • or integrating with custom workflows
The Inventory Reference Module supports a set of reference attributes that are persisted automatically, while custom attributes provide additional flexibility.
  • Prerequisites: To fully leverage the extended attributes functionality within the inventory payload, ensure that you are using the Inventory Reference Module v2.3.0 or later
  • Flexible attribute structure: The `attributes` object supports any combination of key-value pairs, including complex JSON structures and arrays. This flexibility allows you to customize the data sent in your inventory payloads to meet specific business needs
  • Use reference attributes first: Certain key attributes (such as `associationType`, `associationRef`, `parentRef`, `expectedOn`, `expiresOn`, `condition`, `storageAreaRef`, `supplier`, `manufacturer`, `manufacturerBatchNumber`, `countryOfOrigin`, and `channel`) will be directly updated in the Inventory Quantity associated with the incoming record, facilitating seamless integration with existing fields
  • Use segment fields for flexible key-value extensions: `segment1`, `segment2`, and `segment3` provide flexibility for additional flat classification data without introducing new custom attributes
  • Custom attribute availability: Any custom attributes that you include in the `attributes` object will be available in workflows via `inventoryPosition.inventoryQuantity.attributes.<fieldName>`. This enables you to incorporate custom data into rule-based processes or other logic tailored to your business requirements

Inventory Batch Pre-Processing: Technical Guide with Examples

Essential knowledgeThis page describes how Inventory Batch Pre-Processing (BPP) works and what technical aspects need to be considered as part of an implementation.
  • Prerequisites: You should have knowledge of Inventory Batch Pre-Processing, How Inventory Batch Pre-Processing works, and How Job API works
  • Optimize Inventory Updates: Batch Pre-Processing enhances system efficiency by processing only necessary changes, reducing unnecessary load on the workflow engine
  • Structured Batch Updates: Properly structuring your batch updates with the correct use of fields like `ref`, `type`, and `status` is essential for accurate change detection and effective use of Batch Pre-Processing
  • Essential Knowledge: Precise batch update structures are crucial. Pay special attention to how the `ref` field is constructed and the default behaviors when certain fields are not specified
  • New Fields and Defaults: Be aware of the new fields introduced by this feature and understand the default transient types and statuses. This knowledge will help you implement Batch Pre-Processing correctly and avoid potential pitfalls

How Inventory Batch Pre-Processing works

Essential knowledgeThis document outlines the functionality of Inventory Batch Pre-Processing, offering insights into how unchanged records are filtered during the inventory ingestion process using Inventory Batches.
  • Prerequisites: You should have knowledge of Global Inventory, Inventory Batch Pre-Processing, and Workflow Engine
  • Efficient Processing: Inventory Batch Pre-Processing handles batch inventory updates before they reach the inventory workflows, streamlining the process
  • Change Detection: Identifying inventory records that have changed, ensuring the workflow engine processes only necessary updates
  • Performance Improvement: Reduces workflow engine load by filtering unchanged records, enabling faster and more efficient inventory processing
  • Enhanced Flexibility: Supports additional fields in batch records, allowing for more precise control and management of inventory updates

Inventory Modeling Guide

Essential knowledgeThis document explains the foundational concepts behind stock segmentation in Fluent Commerce and provides guidance on how to approach segmentation when designing inventory models.Stock segmentation is not a single feature or configuration option. It emerges from how inventory data is modeled and how stock attributes are preserved throughout the data flow from ingestion to availability calculation.The goal is to establish a shared mental model to clarify when different segmentation approaches should be considered, understand their trade-offs, and avoid common anti-patterns.
  • Stock segmentation is a modeling decision, not just a configuration shortcut
  • Effective solutions:
    • Place segmentation at the correct level of the model
    • Avoid forcing different concerns into the same abstraction
  • A clear segmentation strategy enables scalable, maintainable inventory and availability solutions as business requirements evolve

Fluent Big Inventory Web App Overview

Essential knowledgeThe Fluent Big Inventory Web App is a powerful tool for managing products, inventory, feeds, and sources. Key features include:
  • Feeds: View inventory feed details.
  • Sources: Track inventory update integrations.
  • Products: Manage catalogs and product data.
  • Unifies View of Inventory: Gain real-time inventory insights across locations and channels for optimal stock management.
  • Inventory: Monitor allocation, Stock On-Hand (SOH), real-time updates, and buffers.
  • Stores: Oversee individual and network locations.
  • Insights: Track system events.
  • Admin: Configure user access and settings.
  • The Fluent Big Inventory Web App offers a comprehensive suite of functionality.
  • With dedicated interfaces for Sources, Products, Inventory, Stores, Insights, and Admin, the web-based interface provides users with a holistic toolset, allowing them to observe and track integrated sources, manage product catalogues, exercise precise control over inventory, oversee individual and networked store locations, monitor system events comprehensively, and efficiently administer the entire inventory availability system for a seamless and valuable user experience.

REST Event API

Essential knowledgeEvents are a fundamental part of the Fluent Platform. Not only are they used to trigger workflow logic, but they also capture everything that happens within the system. Events are categorized by type.
  • Event Types: Understand the different event categories such as ORCHESTRATION, ORCHESTRATION_AUDIT, API, and GENERAL events, each serving distinct purposes within the Fluent Platform.
  • Event Retrieval: Use the GET methods with appropriate parameters to retrieve specific events or a filtered list of events, ensuring you handle possible 404 errors for not found items.
  • Event Creation: Leverage the POST methods to create new events either asynchronously (/event/async) or synchronously (/event/sync) based on the workflow requirements.
  • Authentication: Remember that authentication is required for all operations within the Event API, ensuring secure access and interaction with the event system.
  • Request Size: The request size is limited to `10MB`. Requests over `10MB` will return `HTTP 413 Request Entity Too Large` response.

Reference behaviour: Inventory Batch, Inventory Position and Inventory Quantity (Quantities) with DELTA

Essential knowledgeReference behaviour: Batch Inventory, Inventory Position and Inventory Quantity (Quantities) with CORRECTION
  • This article will give a good understanding of Last On Hand and how OMS calculates the Inventory On Hand quantity.  
  • Covers how inventory quantity values are handled during the batch process.
  • For the Virtual Catalogue and Virtual Positions, please refer to the training articles.

Reference behaviour: Inventory Batch, Inventory Position and Inventory Quantity (Quantities)with CORRECTION

Essential knowledgeReference behaviour: Inventory Batch, Inventory Position and Inventory Quantity (Quantities) with CORRECTION
  • This article will give a good understanding of Last On Hand and how OMS calculates the Inventory On Hand quantity.  
  • Covers how inventory quantity values are handled during the batch process.
  • For the Virtual Catalogue and Virtual Positions, please refer to the training articles.

Reference behaviour: Inventory Batch, Inventory Position and Inventory Quantity (Quantities)with RESERVED & SALE

Essential knowledgeReference behaviour: Inventory Batch, Inventory Position and Inventory Quantity (Quantities)with RESERVED & SALE
  • This article will give a good understanding of Last On Hand and how OMS calculates the Inventory On Hand quantity.  
  • Covers how inventory quantity values are handled during the batch process.
  • For the Virtual Catalogue and Virtual Positions, please refer to the training articles.

Unified View of Inventory Interface

Essential knowledgeThe Unified View of Inventory (UVOI) interface consolidates data from multiple locations and channels into a single, real-time interface. It provides centralized inventory search, advanced filtering, and customizable views. It enables you to monitor, analyze, and act on inventory data.
  • Centralized Inventory Management: The Unified View of Inventory (UVOI) consolidates data from multiple locations and channels into a single, real-time interface, simplifying inventory management and improving decision-making.
  • Advanced Filtering Capabilities: UVOI offers flexible filters for refining search results, including catalog, stock status, on-hand quantities, and product or location-specific criteria.
  • Comprehensive and Customizable Views: The Inventory Search page provides a detailed overview of inventory, with drill-down capabilities for stock levels, available-to-sell quantities, and update histories. Users can navigate to location-specific or product-specific views and customize filters and criteria to tailor the experience to their operational needs.

Inventory Batch Pre-Processing

Essential knowledgeThis page describes how Inventory Batch Pre-Processing (BPP) works, the opportunities available for configuration, and the implementation improvements enabled by using Inventory Batch Pre-Processing.
  • Inventory Batch Pre-Processing optimises the performance of inventory ingestion using Inventory Batches
  • This optimization can reduce the processing time for Inventory Batches, depending on the volume and data redundancy ratio.
  • Inventory Batch Pre-Processing can be enabled per Account and Retailer as needed

Inventory Interface

Essential knowledgeThe Inventory interface of the Fluent Web app provides comprehensive inventory management capabilities:
  • Inventory visibility
  • Inventory allocation
  • The total quantity of stock for a specific item (stock on hand(SOH)) and the status of that inventory
  • Available to promise inventory levels
  • Inventory buffers to reduce overselling of products
  • The Fluent Web app's Inventory interface offers a comprehensive suite of capabilities, including inventory visibility, allocation, total stock quantity (stock on hand), inventory status, available-to-promise levels, and strategically implemented buffers to prevent product overselling.
  • The interface is equipped with various configurations, such as Inventory Catalogues, Control Groups, Virtual Catalogues, Cross-Catalogue Views, and Location Inventory Views, providing users with versatile tools to tailor their inventory management approach according to specific business needs and scenarios.

Inventory Ingestion

Essential knowledgeInventory Ingestion in Fluent Commerce ensures that stock levels across all sales channels remain accurate and up-to-date, enabling effective inventory management. It allows businesses to send inventory updates to the platform using two distinct methods: Inventory Batch and Inventory Delta. Each method is tailored to different scenarios, depending on data volume, frequency, and operational needs.
  • Inventory Batches handle large-scale updates (thousands to millions of records), while Delta updates are ideal for smaller, incremental changes in real time.
  • Batches use asynchronous processing for bulk data, grouped into Jobs for tracking, whereas Deltas are processed individually directly by the workflow engine.
  • Batches are suited for periodic updates like ERP integrations and stocktakes, while Inventory Deltas are designed for real-time changes to reflect inventory movements such as store sales, returns, or daily adjustments.
  • Batches require management of file sizes and grouping, while Deltas focus only on incremental updates, ensuring simplicity and speed for smaller changes.

Inventory Feeds

Essential knowledgeThis document is intended to introduce the Inventory Feeds feature to Customers and Partners. This page will describe the Inventory Feeds feature and how they fit within the Fluent Big Inventory Product and will direct the reader to resources describing how to use Inventory Feeds.
  • Inventory Feeds allows you to export views of Inventory Availability for your own use and consumption
  • It requires setting up your own AWS S3 storage location
  • Inventory Feeds are set and configured via the GraphQL API

Inventory Batch

Essential knowledgeInventory Batch enables bulk uploading of inventory updates to the Fluent Commerce platform, handling high data volumes from thousands to million updates per operation. Leveraging Fluent Big Inventory's Batch API and Inventory Batch Pre-Processing, it ensures faster processing and accurate inventory availability in the Fluent Order Management System. This scalable solution keeps inventory data synchronized across channels, empowering businesses to manage stock efficiently and meet customer expectations with accurate, up-to-date stock information.
  • Use Cases for Inventory Batch
  • Platform Capabilities leveraged
  • Best practices for Inventory Batch
  • Reference Inventory Module and Inventory Batch

Inventory Module Getting Started Guide

Essential knowledgeThe Inventory Reference Module is the foundation for inventory-related implementations. It provides reference Workflows for inventory ingestion and processing. Extensible by design, use this Module as a base to build a solution to your customers' needs.
  • Understanding the prerequisites is crucial before you begin using the Inventory Module.
  • Learn how to enable the Inventory Module for your system.
  • Get familiar with the Module Workflows to effectively manage your Inventory.
  • Ensure proper configuration of the Inventory Module to suit your business needs.

Insights

Essential knowledgeThe Insights interface is a comprehensive repository of system Events, representing occurrences or triggers within the Fluent Platform. These Events, like changes in inventory position or entity states, act as notifications, prompting specific workflows and providing a dynamic overview accessible through a user-friendly configuration featuring the Events Search Form, the Events Search Results, and the Event Details Drawer for efficient information retrieval.
  • The Insights interface is a comprehensive repository providing full information about system Events, representing occurrences and triggers that prompt actions or log activities within the Fluent Platform.
  • With a user-friendly configuration, the module enables efficient interaction through the Events Search Form, providing filtered event searches and responsive Events Search Results. The Event Details Drawer ensures users can seamlessly access detailed event information without losing search results or experiencing delays in page navigation.

Feeds Interface

Essential knowledgeThe Feeds interface provides visibility into inventory feeds for an account, enabling monitoring and analysis of feed activity over selected time periods.It includes:
  • Feeds Dashboard—This dashboard displays general information about inventory feeds within the selected time frame (default: last 30 minutes, 1 hour, 8 hours, 24 hours). Learn how to configure custom periods in this guide. The dashboard consists of:
    • Overview: Summarizes overall feed status and key metrics.
    • Feeds: Lists individual feed details for deeper insight.
  • You should know about Inventory Feeds.
  • The Feeds Dashboard offers a comprehensive overview of inventory feeds. It presents general information for selected periods and provides users with insights into their account's feed activities.

Sources Interface

Essential knowledgeThe Sources interface provides inventory and batch-processing metrics visibility, enabling data ingestion and processing efficiency tracking. It includes:
  • Sources Dashboard – Monitors inventory updates, failure rates, and processing times.
  • BPP Metrics Dashboard – Tracks batch-processing efficiency, showing processed, changed, and unchanged records with a date range filter of up to 31 days.
Both dashboards use structured data, support trend analysis within configurable time frames, and require METRICS_VIEW permission for access.
  • Sources Dashboard provides real-time tracking of failed updates, update frequency, total received updates, and estimated processing times.
  • BPP Metrics Dashboard enhances visibility into batch data ingestion by tracking record modifications.

Inventory Ingestion

Essential knowledgeInventory Ingestion in Fluent Commerce ensures that stock levels across all sales channels remain accurate and up-to-date, enabling effective inventory management. It allows businesses to send inventory updates to the platform using two distinct methods: Inventory Batch and Inventory Delta. Each method is tailored to different scenarios, depending on data volume, frequency, and operational needs.
  • Inventory Batches handle large-scale updates (thousands to millions of records), while Delta updates are ideal for smaller, incremental changes in real time.
  • Batches use asynchronous processing for bulk data, grouped into Jobs for tracking, whereas Deltas are processed individually directly by the workflow engine.
  • Batches are suited for periodic updates like ERP integrations and stocktakes, while Inventory Deltas are designed for real-time changes to reflect inventory movements such as store sales, returns, or daily adjustments.
  • Batches require management of file sizes and grouping, while Deltas focus only on incremental updates, ensuring simplicity and speed for smaller changes.

Getting Started Configuring Fluent Big Inventory Web App

Essential knowledgeThe Fluent Big Inventory Web App is pre-configured with standard functions that provide the interface for managing products, inventory, feeds, and sources and serve as a starting point for your projects.The default UX templates are hosted on the platform, so you don't have to create the manifest settings unless you need to customize the existing baseline configuration.
  • The Fluent Big Inventory Web App comes with pre-configured standard functions, offering a user-friendly interface for effective management of products, inventory, feeds, and sources.
  • Default UX templates are readily available on the platform, eliminating the need to create manifest settings unless customization of the existing baseline configuration is required, streamlining the setup process for a seamless user experience.

Reports page

Essential knowledgeDiscover how the Reports page in the Big Inventory Web App enables understanding an account Inventory Position Update and Inventory Position Change usage for selected periods.
  • The reports provided enable a user to understand an account Inventory Position Update and Inventory Position Change usage for selected periods of time
  • These usage metrics are split into two different reports so the user can analyze the metric that is most important

Metrics Overview

Essential knowledgeThis document is intended to introduce the Metrics and describe their place within the Fluent Big Inventory product.Pre-requisites:
  • You should have knowledge of the Inventory.
  • You should have knowledge of OMX Workflow Framework.
  • You should have knowledge of Events.
  • You should have knowledge of GraphQL.
  • Metrics are available for all Fluent Order Management and Fluent Big Inventory customers.
  • Metrics data is captured, uploaded, and stored in a monitoring system.
  • Metrics data is retrieved via the Metrics API.
  • Metrics data can be visualized with the OMX UX Framework, Business intelligence tools, and third-party Metrics analytics platforms.

Inventory Feeds

Essential knowledgeThis document is intended to introduce the Inventory Feeds feature to Customers and Partners. This page will describe the Inventory Feeds feature and how they fit within the Fluent Big Inventory Product and will direct the reader to resources describing how to use Inventory Feeds.
  • Inventory Feeds allows you to export views of Inventory Availability for your own use and consumption
  • It requires setting up your own AWS S3 storage location
  • Inventory Feeds are set and configured via the GraphQL API

How do Inventory Feeds work

Essential knowledgeThis document will describe how Inventory Feeds work and guide users through understanding any prerequisites to integrate with Inventory Feeds.
  • Inventory Feeds will export a view of inventory data from the Fluent platform into a Customer environment
  • The schedule of the export is configurable based on the Customer requirements
  • The exported data is ready to be synced with any further systems within a Customer ecosystem to provide real time inventory availability

How Metrics works

Essential knowledgeThis document is intended to describe to implementers Metrics technical details within the Fluent Big Inventory product.Pre-requisites:
  • You should have knowledge of Metrics
  • You should have knowledge of OMX Workflow Framework.
  • You should have knowledge of Events.
  • You should have knowledge of GraphQL.
  • All customers' Metrics are isolated in the dedicated workspaces.
  • Metrics are captured from the Fluent APIs, Orchestration Engine (Rubix), Batch Pre-Processing, and Inventory Feeds.
  • Use `metricInstant` and `metricRange` GraphQL queries to retrieve the Metrics data.

Getting Started with Metrics API

Essential knowledgeThis guide is intended to provide implementers with information about the Metrics API within the Fluent Big Inventory product, describing its functionalities and utilization principles within the Fluent Platform.Pre-requisites:
  • You should have knowledge of How Metrics works.
  • You should have knowledge of Metrics usage for Platform Observability.
  • You should have knowledge of GraphQL.
  • You should configure your User role with `METRICS_VIEW` permission for Metrics data access.
  • Metrics data is fetched and visualized for the Fluent Platform Observability enablement.
  • Use `metricInstant` and `metricRange` GraphQL queries to retrieve the Metrics data.
  • Prometheus Query Language is utilized for the Metrics API queries construction.

Metrics usage for Platform Observability

Essential knowledgeThis document is intended to describe to implementers which Metrics are available within the Fluent Big Inventory product and what kind of data they provide to achieve Platform Observability.Pre-requisites:
  • You should have knowledge of How Metrics works.
  • You should have knowledge of Events.
  • You should have knowledge of Fluent APIs.
  • Metrics are available for all customers with Fluent Order Management and Fluent Big Inventory.
  • Metrics data is captured, uploaded, and stored in the Metrics workspace.
  • Metrics data is fetched and visualized for the Platform Observability enablement.

Getting Started with Fluent Big Inventory

Essential knowledgeThis document will explain how to use Big Inventory for existing Customers and Partners. Additionally, we will cover any pre-requisites for each new feature and any existing configuration needed.
  • Fluent Big Inventory has added many new features and capabilities to the Fluent Commerce platform. These features must be configured to ensure they work to their full potential.
  • These are:
    • Batch Pre-Processing
    • Global Inventory
    • Metrics API
    • Inventory Web App
    • Inventory Feeds

Fluent Big Inventory - Features Overview

Essential knowledgeFluent Big Inventory is an enterprise inventory hub provided by Fluent Commerce. Fluent Big Inventory is designed to work within your omnichannel ecosystem, managing inventory availability across all your channels to ensure you have a single, unified view of inventory across all of your different go-to-market channels.
  • Fluent Big Inventory is made up of multiple services
    • Intelligent Inventory Processing
    • Enterprise Inventory Availability
    • Available to Promise Data
  • Each service includes a range of features detailed below

Sales Channel Availability Management

Essential knowledgeThis article provides information on managing inventory visibility of your inventory across various sales channels.
  • Relationship between Available to Sell (ATS) / Available to Promise (ATP) and Stock on Hand (SOH).
  • Types of Virtual Catalogues (VCs) available Out of the Box (OOTB).

Inventory Feeds User Guide

Essential knowledgeThis document will guide you through how to use Inventory Feeds and some example cases where an Inventory Feed is a preferred data export option.
  • Use the guides here to create a new Inventory Feed via GraphQL
  • Additional guide also provides insight into troubleshooting Inventory Feed issues
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