Inventory Forecasting Archives - FAQ - Inventory Ahead

How to Avoid the Splitting of FBA Shipments

E. Mauas — Thu, 19 Oct 2023 14:34:47 +0000

Have you ever found yourself frustrated with Amazon’s tendency to split your carefully planned FBA shipments, causing delays and extra expenses? We understand your pain, and that’s why we’re excited to introduce the “Re-Route” feature in Inventory Ahead, designed to put the control back in your hands and prevent those split shipments.

How Does the “Re-Route” Feature Work?

Let’s take a closer look at how this feature operates and how it empowers you to keep your shipments intact:

1. Accessing the “Re-Route” Option

The “Re-Route” option becomes available in the second step of the planning process, under the “Plan Status” of FBA shipments. This is where you have the chance to regain control over your FBA shipments.

Note: This option is only available for shipments selected to send by “individual” units.

2. Table Display

When you click on “Re-Route,” a table will appear, providing you with key information to make an informed decision. Here’s what you’ll find in this table:

SKU (Stock Keeping Unit): This column lists all the SKUs within your shipment.
Original Qty: The “Original Qty” column shows the quantity you initially set for each SKU when creating the shipment. This represents the quantity you intended to send to Amazon.
Split Qty: This column displays the quantity Amazon has suggested for each SKU, which is often the cause of the splitting issue.
Suggested Qty: The “Suggested Qty” column is where Inventory Ahead shines. We provide a new quantity suggestion based on a sophisticated calculation. This calculation is designed to outsmart Amazon’s system of splitting shipments by optimizing the quantity to maintain the shipment’s integrity.

3. “Retry with New Suggestion” Button

The real magic happens when you click on the “Retry with New Suggestion” button. This action prompts our system to reevaluate your shipment based on the suggested quantity. We recalculate and optimize the quantity to prevent the splitting of your shipment, ensuring that your products stay together during the fulfillment process.

Note: Once clicked on “Retry with New Suggestion”, give it a minute to load, and “View contents” for new results!

Ready to reclaim control over your FBA shipments? Try out the “Re-Route” feature today and experience the benefits for yourself!

Opting Out of Amazon’s Multiple Destinations Option

Another way to avoid split shipments is by opting out of Amazon’s Multiple Destinations program. This program offers discounts, but if you prefer not to participate, you can opt out by following these steps:

Send an email to fba-ops-mipo@amazon.com.
Include your merchant token in the body of the email.
Clearly state that you want to opt out of the Multiple Destinations program.

For more information on this option, you can refer to the following Help pages:

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What is The Calculation for the Replenish Suggestion?

E. Mauas — Tue, 22 Aug 2023 17:52:20 +0000

The calculations are very simple. However, I must point out, the numbers displayed on the front-end are slightly off with a few numbers depending on the frequency of certain jobs running at different intervals during the day.

In short, this is the calculation:

(Units sold / Days to count) * Days to reorder – FBA Marketplace inventory.

Note, “Days to Count” and “Days to Reorder” are customizable to your preferences. They can be viewed or modified by navigating to Settings > Replenish Rules.

For more details on replenish rules and how to set them up, please refer to this article.

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How to Set Up Favorite Settings

E. Mauas — Thu, 03 Aug 2023 21:23:25 +0000

To establish a global setting in your inventory management system, you’ll want to follow these steps, with a primary focus on your “Favorite Store” and the corresponding “Threshold Level.”

1. Access Inventory Rules

Begin by navigating to the ‘Settings’ section in your Inventory Ahead software. Here, you will find the ‘Inventory Rules’ option.

2. Define Your Favorite Settings

Within ‘Inventory Rules,’ locate the option to “Create Favorite Settings.” This step is pivotal for efficient global inventory management.

Select a “Favorite Store”: Here, you’ll choose a specific store as your “Favorite Store.” This designation means that all your inventory data will be reported for this particular store until it reaches zero stock.
Choose a “Threshold Level”: The “Threshold Level” signifies the stock quantity at which you want the last inventory report to be generated for all stores, except for your designated “favorite store.”

3. Apply Your Preferences

Now, it’s time to apply your chosen settings. You have two options:

“Apply to New Products”: Opt for this option if you want to apply these favorite settings to all items that currently lack specific settings. It streamlines the process for new additions to your inventory.
“Apply to All Products”: Choose this alternative if you wish to apply the favorite settings to all items, effectively overwriting any existing configurations.

4. Save Your Settings

Once you’ve made your selections, don’t forget to hit the “Save” button to ensure your preferences are securely stored.

5. Designate “Favorite Products”

To further refine your inventory management, you can assign specific products as “Favorite Products.” This is based on their order history and ensures a more accurate representation of your most crucial inventory items.

6. Assign and Review

By clicking the “Assign” button, you can effortlessly designate favorites to your products, prioritizing those with the highest order history. However, be cautious when using the “Reset & Assign” option, as it will overwrite your existing product favorites data.

These steps will empower you to create a robust global setting in your Inventory Ahead software, enhancing your inventory management capabilities and facilitating more informed decision-making.

How to override your global settings:

While global settings offer a streamlined approach to inventory management, there may be instances where you want to override these settings for specific items. Here’s how you can do that:

1. Access Product Details Page

To manually override global settings for individual items, begin by navigating to the product details page within your Inventory Ahead software.

2. Locate “Favorite Settings”

Scroll down to the bottom of the product details page. On the bottom left-hand corner, you’ll find the “Favorite Settings” section.

3. Edit Preferences

Within “Favorite Settings,” you can make the following adjustments:

Favorite Store: Choose your preferred store for this specific item.
Favorite Product Amongst All Subs: Select the specific product that stands out within its category or among similar items.
Threshold Amount: Define the threshold level for this particular item.

4. Save or Cancel

Once you’ve made your desired changes, you have two options:

Save: Click this button to confirm your modifications, ensuring that the customized settings take effect.
Close: If you decide not to proceed with the changes, simply click “Close” to cancel any adjustments.

Should you require further assistance or have any inquiries, our dedicated support team is readily available to address your questions, comments, and concerns.

Your inventory management experience is our priority!

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When I Upload an Inventory do I Have to First Remove/Delete the Inventory from that Location?

Hiba Hafeez — Fri, 07 Jul 2023 15:46:00 +0000

When uploading the inventory, it is being updated according to the amount uploaded, regardless of how much inventory this product had before. Therefore, it is not necessary to remove the old inventory.

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What are reorder & replenish rules and how to set them up

qAdminf — Wed, 27 Jul 2022 17:47:47 +0000

To Reorder – Under the Inventory tab, this amount indicates an estimate of how much inventory is needed to reorder from the vendor in order to have enough stock in the warehouse.

Replenish – Under the Listing tab, this amount indicates an estimate of how much inventory is needed to send or replenish to Amazon or a fulfillment center.

How to setup the rules:

Reorder rules
Replenish rules

Setting Up Reorder Rules for Vendor Replenishment Estimation:

Navigate to “settings” and select “Reorder Rules”

You will now see two rules. When reordering, you can always select which rule to use so that the amount will be calculated according to the selected rule.

Customizing the rule>>Click on a rule and you will have the options to customize.

Rule Name>>You can choose the desired name for this rule.

Days To Count: This indicates the number of days in the past that the system should consider for estimation. The system will calculate the average daily sales based on the total units sold in the specified number of days (e.g., past 30 days).

Day Supply Amount To Reorder: This allows you to specify the desired number of days’ supply for reordering. For example, if you choose 60 days, the system will calculate the average daily sales and multiply it by 60 to determine the quantity to reorder.

Same Days Last Year: This option is primarily used for seasonal items. It will calculate the amount compared to same time period last year.

Combine Real Time: When managing mains and subs with a combination of FBA (Fulfilled by Amazon) and FBM (Fulfilled by Merchant) products, enabling the “Combine Real Time” setting ensures that if you have stock available at FBA for any of the products within this group, the system will not suggest a reorder amount for the FBM products.

Out of Stock: If selected, the system will deduct the number of days the item was out of stock. The average will be calculated based only on the days when the item was in stock.

Buy Box: If selected, the system will deduct the number of days the item did not have the buy box. The average will be calculated based only on the days when the item had the buy box.

Show Full Amount: By default, the system calculates the amount needed by deducting the quantity in stock and on open purchase orders. For example, if 100 units are needed for a 60-day supply and you have 10 units in the warehouse, the system will suggest reordering 90 units. However, if “Show Full Amount” is selected, the system will display the full amount needed for reorder without deducting the quantity on hand.

Supplier ETA: For each vendor, you have the option to add an estimated time of arrival (ETA), indicating how long it takes to receive items from that supplier. If “Supplier ETA” is selected, the system will automatically consider the lead time and notify you in advance about the reorder timing, taking into account the specified ETA.

Sales Rank: If selected, the system will calculate the sales rank performance based on the percentage of improvement or decline. It will analyze whether the sales rank has improved or worsened compared to the previous period.

Save Rule!

Please note: It may take up to an hour for the system to calculate the new reorder suggestions after you have saved your settings.

Setting up Replenish Rules for Estimated Amount Calculation

Navigate to the “settings” and select “Replenish Rules”

You will now see two rules. When replenishing, you can always select which rule to use so that the amount will be calculated according to the selected rule.

Customizing the rule>>Click on a rule and you will have the options to customize.

Rule Name>>You can choose the desired name for this rule.

Days To Count: The number of days in the past that the system should consider for estimation. The system will calculate the total units sold during this specified period (e.g., past 30 days) and calculate the average units sold per day.

Day Supply Amount To Replenish: This field determines the desired number of days’ worth of supply you want to maintain. For example, if you select 60 days, the system will calculate the average daily sales and multiply it by 60 to estimate the quantity needed for that duration.

Same Days Last Year: This option is primarily useful for seasonal items. When selected, the system will calculate the quantity based on the sales data from the corresponding period last year.

Out of Stock: If selected, the system will deduct the number of days the item was out of stock. The average will be calculated based only on the days when the item was in stock.

Buy Box: If selected, the system will deduct the number of days the item did not have the buy box. The average will be calculated based only on the days when the item had the buy box.

Show Full Amount: By default, the system calculates the amount needed for replenishment and deducts the quantity already in stock at Amazon/fulfillment center. For example, if 100 units are needed for a 60-day supply and you already have 10 units in stock, the system will suggest sending in only 90 units. However, if you select the “Show Full Amount” option, the system will display the full quantity needed for replenishment without deducting the existing stock.

Save Rule!

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How to create a replenish report in Inventory Ahead

qAdminf — Wed, 27 Jul 2022 17:47:47 +0000

Navigate to the listings page and select “Advanced Filters”.

Click on “Filter by status” and select the desired Replenish rule that you would like to use.

Click on “Add to filters” and select the greater sign (>) to filter and display only products where the replenish rule is greater than the specified number on the side of the window.

Click “Apply” and you will only see the items that have a positive number to replenish.

To export this report as a CSV file, you can select all the products on the page by clicking the checkbox or using the select all option.

Select “Export”

Then you can choose the data that you would like to see on the exported file.

Click the “Export” Button and you are all done!

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What does the “show full amount” mean on the replenishment rules?

qAdminf — Wed, 27 Jul 2022 17:47:45 +0000

The “Show full amount” setting accomplishes the following: for instance, if, based on your settings, you need to have 100 units in stock by FBA, and you do have some units available there, the system will still prompt you to replenish the “full” amount required for the selected days of supply in your settings.

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