How To Use Inventory Forecasting

Inventory Forecasting is a simple yet useful tool which can be configured to send alerts based on either remaining quantity or projected time left before quantity runs out. Go the My Account -> Preferences -> Inventory Forecasting and Alerts to set it up. After pressing Edit, the screen will change to this allowing you to pick from the different options:

 

By Quantity

The system will show different alerts based on how many items are remaining, but you can set the thresholds for these alerts. For example a yellow alert when you have 10 items left, orange alert for five left, or red alert when one single item is remaining. Note that this is set for all SKUs whether they are frequently sold or not. For example, an product of which you only keep five items in the warehouse would always show orange alert, but an item which is shipped 20 times a day would need to have wider thresholds to be useful. 

By Time Left

Alternatively you can use the time left option. The system projects how much time you have quantity remaining for and uses that to determine when to set alerts. For example, if you sell one product every three days, and you have 10 items, then you have product for 30 days. This option may be more useful for sellers with a wide variance in the frequency of products being ordered because it is relative to the SKU. 

Do Not Include One-Time Products

Check this box to set the option to ignore forecasting for items which will be discontinued when they run out of quantity. Set a SKU as a one-time product by going to Inventory -> Edit Attributes before selecting the SKU and pressing edit. 

Include Products In Transit Replenishments

This option will count products on the way to the warehouse in a replenishment in addition to products in the warehouse. They won’t count as available inventory as far as backorders are concerned, but it will prevent the system from sending alerts for products that are already on their way. 

Auto Discontinue All SKUs

Essentially sets all SKUs for the warehouse as One-Time Products which will discontinue them when their quantity hits zero. If the “Do Not Include One-Time Products” is also selected then no alerts will be sent. 

*Note*

In order to receive inventory alert emails, the SMTP email must be configured from the WMS side and the OMS seller must be set to receive inventory forecasting emails. The SMTP configuration must be done by the warehouse side, but the set-up in the OMS is done in My Account -> Preferences -> Communication Settings.