New Inventory Tracker
Table of Contents
- 1. Use Cases — 3 common scenarios
- 2. Feature Guide — Form Fields / Tracking Mechanisms / Duplicate Handling
- 3. FAQ — 5 FAQs + Important Notes
- 4. Related Features
1. Use Cases
Quick Links: Dynamic Replenishment Alert | Expiry-Sensitive Monitoring | Stalled Stock Detection
Scenario 1: Dynamic Replenishment Alert for a Hot Seller
Situation: A product sells fast; you want an alert when stock cannot last 7 days.
How to do it:
- Select the merchant after entering the page
- Search for and select the product
- Select the inventory type
- Choose the "Turnover Days" mechanism
- Set "Sales lookback days (avg daily sales window)" (e.g. 30 days) and "Target coverage days (stock should last)" to 7
- Click "Save"
Result: The system calculates the alert threshold from past sales velocity; when stock cannot last 7 days, health falls below 100%.
Scenario 2: Monitoring Expiry-Sensitive Products
Situation: Food products require that counted stock still has at least 14 days of shelf life.
How to do it:
- Select the merchant and product
- Select the inventory type
- Choose the "Stock Quantity" mechanism
- Set "Stock Quantity (Below)" to 100 (safety stock)
- Set "Expiry Days (Above)" to 14
- Click "Save"
Result: Only stock with more than 14 days of shelf life is counted; near-expiry stock is excluded from health.
Scenario 3: Finding Stalled Products
Situation: You want to find products that shipped fewer than 5 units in 90 days.
How to do it:
- Select the merchant and the product to track
- Select the inventory type
- Choose the "Stalled Days" mechanism
- Set "Lookback days (shipment below threshold within N days)" to 90
- Set the "Quantity" threshold to 5 units
- Click "Save"
Result: When shipments fall below 5 units in 90 days, health drops sharply, quickly exposing stalled stock.
2. Feature Guide
When your supervisor asks you to monitor important products, create trackers here. Pick the product, set the tracking rule and threshold, and from then on the tracker list shows at a glance which products need replenishment — no more checking from memory one by one. The same product can have separate tracking rules per inventory type.
Quick Links: Basic Settings | Tracking Mechanisms | Duplicate Handling
2.1 Basic Settings
Fields marked with * are required
| Field | How to Fill | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Merchant | Select from the dropdown | Required; switching merchant clears the selected product and inventory type |
| *Track Product | Search by SKU or name, then select | Required |
| *Inventory Type | Select from the dropdown | Required; the same product can have different trackers per inventory type |
| *Tracking Mechanism | Choose one of three (see 2.2) | Required; the matching parameter fields appear after choosing |
2.2 Tracking Mechanisms in Detail
Mechanism 1: Stock Quantity
Best for: products with fixed safety stock, or volatile sales unsuitable for forecasting.
Fields:
| Field | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Stock Quantity (Below) | Stock below this value counts as insufficient | Set 100 → alert when stock drops below 100 |
| Expiry Days (Above) | Only count stock with shelf life above this (optional) | Set 30 → only stock expiring in more than 30 days counts |
Calculation: Health = current stock ÷ configured quantity × 100%
Mechanism 2: Turnover Days
Best for: products with stable, predictable sales where the threshold should track sales velocity.
Fields:
| Field | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Sales lookback days | Window for computing average daily sales | Set 30 → use the last 30 days of sales |
| Target coverage days | Days the stock should last | Set 14 → stock should last at least 14 days |
| Expiry Days (Above) | Only count stock with shelf life above this (optional) | Set 14 → only stock expiring in more than 14 days counts |
Calculation:
- Average daily sales = total sales in the window ÷ actual days
- Alert threshold = average daily sales × target coverage days
- Health = current stock ÷ threshold × 100%
Note: This mechanism needs historical sales data. For newly launched products, start with "Stock Quantity".
Mechanism 3: Stalled Days
Best for: detecting products with no shipments for long periods, finding stock to clear out.
Fields:
| Field | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Lookback days | Time window to check | Set 60 → check the past 60 days |
| Quantity | Shipments below this count as stalled | Set 10 → fewer than 10 units in 60 days is stalled |
Calculation:
- Current shipments = total shipments over the lookback window
- Health = current shipments ÷ configured quantity × 100%
Note: Under this mechanism the "Current Stock" column shows shipment volume, not stock level.
2.3 Duplicate Handling
The system uses "product + inventory type + mechanism" as the unique key:
| Case | Behavior |
|---|---|
| New combination | A new tracker is created |
| Same combination exists | The existing tracker's parameters are updated |
A reminder also appears below the form: "Settings with same product/inventory type/mechanism will update existing settings".
2.4 Submit Buttons
| Button | Description |
|---|---|
| Save | Create the tracker and return to the list |
| Save and Add Another | Create and stay on this page to add the next tracker |
| Cancel | Discard and return to the list |
3. FAQ
Quick Links: FAQ | Important Notes
3.1 FAQ
▪ I can't find the product when creating a tracker?
Check that:
- the product belongs to the merchant you selected
- the search keyword is correct
- the product has been created in the system
▪ Why is health always 0% under Turnover Days?
Possible reasons:
- the product is newly launched and has no sales records
- there were no sales during the lookback window
Use the "Stock Quantity" mechanism first and switch after sales data accumulates.
▪ Expiry Days has no effect?
Check that:
- the product's inventory has expiration dates set
- stock without an expiration date is counted (treated as never expiring)
- Expiry Days only affects health calculation; it does not filter the list
▪ Can I create multiple trackers for the same product?
Yes, with different combinations:
- different inventory types (e.g. good + defective)
- different mechanisms (e.g. Stock Quantity + Stalled Days)
- creating the same combination again updates the existing settings
▪ How do I choose the right mechanism?
By product trait:
- Stock Quantity: fixed safety stock, or volatile sales
- Turnover Days: stable, predictable sales
- Stalled Days: detecting long periods without shipments
3.2 Important Notes
⚠️ Important Reminders
- New products: start with "Stock Quantity" and consider "Turnover Days" after sales data accumulates
- Expiry setting: only effective when inventory has expiration dates
- Stalled mechanism: "Current Stock" shows shipment volume, not stock level
- Review regularly: revisit tracker settings as sales change
4. Related Features
| Feature | Description | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Trackers | View all trackers | Go |
| Edit Inventory Tracker | Modify tracker parameters | Go |
| Stock Inquiry | View real-time inventory | Go |