Use the Catalog section in Inventory Planner to view and configure details related to vendors, variants, and bundles.

Vendors

Variants/Bundles

Maintaining vendor (and variant-to-vendor) details is key for creating purchase orders in Inventory Planner, generating reports, and recommending replenishment accurately. Inventory Planner downloads details when possible from your connected system. For a full list of integrations and details that are pulled from every system, visit https://inventory-planner.com/integrations.

For e-commerce systems that do not have vendor (and variant-to-vendor) details, there are several ways to create vendors, associate variants with vendors, and update vendor catalog details such as cost prices, units of measurement, and minimum order quantities.

Within Catalog, you can use the Vendors section to create new vendors and/or edit details related to Vendors.

Select the 'New Vendor' button to create a new vendor.

Once Vendors are established, update key details related to your vendors from Catalog > Vendors such as email address, currency, default tax, discounts, minimum order quantities (MOQ), and others. Select the gear icon in the top right for options.

View the Vendors article for detailed instructions on creating or importing vendors, and updating vendor catalog details.

Associate variants with vendors; view and manage cost price data; and apply vendor ordering rules (eg. minimum order quantity, units of measurement) to variants.

Select the "+" button next to a variant to add another vendor;

Select a Vendor and add details (eg. Cost Price, Tiered Costs, Vendor Reference);

Select 'Save Changes' to finish updating Vendor Attributes.

Note: You can also 'Set Vendor' from the Replenishment screen by selecting items > Bulk Actions > Set Vendor. Learn more about associating variants with vendors.

Editing attributes directly in the Catalog section overrides the synced attributes information from your platform (if applicable). These can be easily filtered and adjusted at any time to refresh the synced data.

For Example: if Cost Price has been manually edited, in Catalog > Vendor Attributes you can add a Filter for "Cost Price Assigned" to see items that have been manually updated. They will be marked with "Assigned in Inventory Planner" under the Vendor column. To refresh the synced data, you can select the cost price displayed in purple text under each cost price field (displayed with red arrows below).

Select Variant > Bulk Actions (at the bottom) > Clear Attributes Assigned in Inventory Planner to reset manually edited data and restore values from your synced platform.

Import Vendor-Related Details

Use the Import function to update settings in bulk. View instructions on How to Import Data into Inventory Planner, or click into the "Learn More" articles below to view step-by-step instructions based on the action.

Use Listings to connect multiple versions of the same item. Listing level details such as size/volume (CBM) and weight can also be adjusted in this section.

Note: to combine stock and/or sales history of two separate items for forecasting and replenishment purposes, use the 'Combine Sales/Stock' functionality instead. This includes transitional items (new variant replacing an old variant) and brand new items that otherwise have no sales history to reference for forecasting.

There are many cases where you might have different Listings for the same Variant:

Inventory Planner attempts to link together Listings automatically based on matching product information (eg. matching by barcode, ASIN, or SKU). If there is a disconnect, the automatic logic will be disrupted. Contact the IP customer support team if there is a straightforward rule that can be applied in this case to automatically link together Listings for your account.

If there is no straightforward rule to link together Listings (or if you prefer to track Listings manually), you can enable "Manual" mode to add additional listings *. Manual linking also allows users to assign a Master SKU. The 'Master SKU' can be added as a column or filter in the Replenishment and Reporting tabs.

* Note: Enabling "Manual" linking for a variant disables the automatic detection of Listings in the future. Switch back to "Auto" anytime.

Visit the Listings article for detailed instructions related to configuring Manual Listings.

IP Tags and Variant Settings

IP Tags (Inventory Planner tags) allow you to assign tags within your IP account. These allow you to group, filter or search using these labels.

Variant Settings and Attributes can also be added to input information such as size/volume (CBM), Gross Weight, and Net Weight.

Inputting these values also enables the "Scale To" function while creating purchase orders. This action evaluates the existing order quantities on purchase orders and transfers then scales them up or down (using a ratio) depending on user inputted values for total quantity, budget, CBM, or Weight.

Import Listings-Related Data

Use the Import function to adjust settings in bulk. View instructions on How to Import Data into Inventory Planner, or click into the "Learn More" articles below to view step-by-step instructions based on the action.

Connections and warehouses should be configured in Account Settings under Account > Settings > Connections & Warehouses. Visit our Launch Guide for instructions related to connecting your platform, configuring warehouses, account and forecast settings, billing, users, and purchase orders.

Within the Catalog, the Warehouse page is designed to configure warehouse-related information for Variants and Bundles such as replenishment planning settings (eg. Lead Times, Days of Stock), Min/Max Stock, and Alerts.

Import Warehouse-Related Data

Use the Import function to adjust settings in bulk. View instructions on How to Import Data into Inventory Planner, or click into the "Learn More" articles below to view step-by-step instructions based on the action.

This section within the Catalog allows you to configure and manage Forecast Methods and Settings for Variants.

Inventory Planner pulls product, sales, and stock information from other eCommerce and inventory management systems to provide forecasted needs and replenishment recommendations at the Variant (SKU) level. Forecast Settings can be customized by variant, or the same method can be used for all variants using the Default settings.

Default forecast settings should be configured in Account Settings by selecting Account > Settings > Forecast.

To customize Forecast Settings by Variants, you can select Catalog > Forecast Settings then enable the "Custom Forecast Settings" checkbox next to any items

These settings can also be adjusted throughout Inventory Planner by selecting the details icon next to any item > Forecast Settings, or in bulk by selecting multiple items in the Replenishment section > Bulk Actions > Set Forecast Settings.

Import Forecast-Related Data

Use the Import function to adjust settings in bulk. View instructions on How to Import Data into Inventory Planner, or click into the "Learn More" articles below to view step-by-step instructions based on the action.

A Bundle includes one or more Components (Variants) that are either pre-assembled before the sale and fulfillment of an item (produced), or immediately after the sale occurs (non-produced). Forecasting and replenishment is handled differently for items with a Bundle/Component relationship. Configuring bundles properly is key to ensure that enough components are ordered to cover the needs of its individual sales (if applicable) + the sales as part of bundles.

When assembling or manufacturing finished goods, the end product will be a 'bundle' in Inventory Planner. The component parts or raw goods will be viewed as 'variants'. Demand for components and finished products of assemblies, work orders, and BOM (bill of materials) can be managed using Inventory Planner's bundle functionality.

Note: Inventory Planner considers the relationship between bundles and components in order to generate accurate replenishment recommendations. Inventory Planner does not manage the stock of bundles - this should be handled through an inventory management system, or through a 3rd party application for creating bundles and managing bundle stock.

Visit our Bundles and Assemblies article to learn about configuring bundles and components, creating IP variants (to track components manually), Produced vs. Non-Produced Bundles, interpreting forecasts and replenishment recommendations for bundles and variants, and creating Assembly Orders to convert Variants into Bundles.

Within the Catalog, you can manage key settings related to Bundles on the main page. You can also configure new bundles by selecting the button to "Convert Variant To Bundle" in the bottom left;

Select an existing Variant to convert into a new Bundle;

Select 'Apply,' then 'Save Changes' to see the new bundle. A message in red font will display next to the new bundle to add components;

Select the "+" icon to add existing variants, or create a new IP variant;

After adding variants and selecting 'Save Changes,' the bundle/component relationship is configured. Marking the bundle as Produced or Non-Produced is still a key step at this point to ensure accurate forecasting and replenishment planning.

Import Bundles-Related Data

Use the Import function to adjust settings in bulk. View instructions on How to Import Data into Inventory Planner, or click into the "Learn More" articles below to view step-by-step instructions based on the action.