Plan demand and supply
Combine orders, forecasts, usage, lead times, safety stock, constraints, and policy into a time-phased plan.
Platform module 04
Inventory + Purchasing
Put the right stock in the right place—at the real landed cost and the right time.
The outcome
What must become true.
- Higher service level with less working capital
- Fewer expedites, stockouts, and excess purchases
- Reliable available-to-promise by location
- Supplier decisions reflect price, lead time, quality, and reliability
End-to-end workflows
The operating loop, not isolated features.
Source to purchase
Create RFQ, compare total cost and risk, approve supplier, issue PO, confirm dates, and manage exceptions.
Receive to available
Schedule inbound, inspect, capture lot or serial, resolve variance, allocate landed cost, and release stock.
Count to reconcile
Run risk-based cycle counts, approve adjustments, investigate causes, and update controls.
Best-of-breed capability set
Built to replace gaps, not copy legacy menus.
Inventory control tower
On hand, available, committed, inbound, transfer, backorder, quarantine, and projected stock by location.
Policy-based replenishment
Min/max, reorder point, make/buy/transfer, order cycles, safety stock, demand forecast, and exceptions.
Sourcing and vendor intelligence
RFQs, agreements, price breaks, lead times, minimums, quality, on-time delivery, and concentration risk.
Warehouse execution
Receiving, directed putaway, pick/pack/ship, transfers, kitting, mobile scans, lots, serials, and expiry.
True landed margin
Allocate freight, duty, brokerage, handling, rebates, and variance to inventory and fulfilled demand.
Core data model
Records that make the module coherent.
ItemSKULocationBinLot/serialInventory balanceDemandSupply orderReplenishment policySupplierRFQPurchase orderReceiptTransferCount
Roles and authority
Planner
Forecast, replenishment policies, recommendations, and exception queue.
Buyer
RFQ, supplier terms, purchase orders, acknowledgments, and expedites.
Warehouse operator
Assigned locations and mobile receive, move, pick, ship, and count tasks.
Inventory controller
Costing, adjustments, count approval, and reconciliation.
Governed AI
More useful as trust is earned.
Detect stockout risk, slow stock, late supply, unusual consumption, and count variance.
Explain demand and lead-time evidence.Suggest buy, transfer, expedite, defer, substitute, or markdown.
Show service, cash, and margin tradeoffs.Prepare RFQs, POs, transfer orders, supplier messages, and count plans.
Respect approved suppliers and purchasing limits.Release approved replenishment inside policy.
Spend, quantity, supplier, and exception thresholds.MVP completion boundary
Works end to end.
- Multi-location on-hand and available stock
- Reorder policies and exception workbench
- RFQ-to-PO-to-receipt
- Transfers and cycle counts
- Vendor scorecard and landed-cost allocation
Later phases
Expand after proof.
- Constraint optimization and probabilistic safety stock
- Warehouse wave and labor planning
- Supplier portal and EDI network
- Manufacturing and advanced quality
Research basis
Patterns drawn from category leaders.
Next platform module
05People + Work ↗