Managing your online store's stock effectively is key for smooth operations and happy customers. Reserving Inventory is a powerful tool that allows you to set aside specific amounts of your products for various needs, ensuring they aren't sold through your regular channels.
Some common reasons to reserve inventory include:
- Prepare for sales events and meet customer demand.
- Improve the returns and exchanges process for better customer satisfaction.
- Handle specific customer groups or order types.
- Maintain control over your stock levels and avoid selling items you don't have.
ShipHero offers two main ways to reserve inventory:
- Using the Reserved product setting.
- Utilizing Non-sellable locations in your warehouse.
This guide will walk you through both methods, helping you take control of your product availability and streamline your e-commerce operations. Let's get started!
Understanding and Using the Reserve Product Setting
The Reserved setting on a product only decreases the available quantity pushed to a store platform; the Available quantity displayed in ShipHero will not update when this setting is used.
How to Edit the Reserved Amount
- Open the product details page.
- Click the edit pencil icon.
- Enter the number of units you want to reserve in the Reserve field.
- Click the Update button to save your changes.
Important Notes when using the Reserve Setting
- When manually creating orders in ShipHero, the Reserved inventory is not considered.
- Entering a negative number in the Reserved Inventory field will increase the number of units available on your Sales Channel.
- The reserve setting does not prevent inventory from being picked in the warehouse.
- Reserve quantities set at the component level will not push to the associated Kit SKUs; you will need to set the reserve quantity at the Kit SKU as well to adjust the amount pushed to the store platform.
Reserving Inventory with Non-Sellable Locations
Reserving inventory via non-sellable locations provides a physical separation, ensuring these items are not included in the available quantities pushed to sales channels while also preventing the warehouse from being able to pick them throughout their daily flows. This is ideal for damaged goods or items you want to hold back.
- Set up your Non-Sellable Locations
- Move the inventory you want to reserve into the designated non-sellable locations
Viewing Non-Sellable Inventory:
- Locations Page: Filter by "non-sellable."
- Products Page: Add the "Non-Sellable Total" column.
- Product Details Page: Inventory in a non-sellable location is shown separately from the On Hand total.