Multi-Location Inventory Management

When you hold stock in more than one location — a third-party warehouse, Amazon FBA, a retail store, and your own storage — the same product can be oversupplied in one location and out-of-stock in another simultaneously.

Without a unified view across all locations, you face:

• Overselling (promising stock you don't actually have available)
• Missed sales (stock sitting idle in one location while another stocks out)
• Unnecessary reorders (buying new stock when transferring existing stock would solve the problem)
• Inaccurate landed cost calculations (stock in different locations has different carrying costs)

Connect all your inventory locations to AskBiz:

• Amazon FBA: via Amazon Seller Central integration — syncs FBA inventory levels in real time
• Shopify locations: if you use Shopify with multiple locations (stores, warehouses), AskBiz syncs location-level stock
• 3PL warehouse: most 3PLs offer inventory reports via API or scheduled CSV. Connect via /sources → CSV → Inventory Upload on a daily schedule
• Retail stores: connect via POS integration (see POS Integration guide)

Once all locations are connected, ask AskBiz: *'Show me total stock on hand for [product] broken down by location.'*

A location imbalance is when you have excess stock in one location and low/zero stock in another for the same SKU. Ask AskBiz:

• *'Which products have more than 60 days cover in one location and less than 15 days in another?'*

When an imbalance is identified:

1. Assess whether a stock transfer makes sense: transfer cost (shipping, 3PL handling fee, FBA transfer complexity) vs cost of stockout in the low-stock location

2. For FBA: create a removal order from the overstocked FBA location and reship to another FBA centre, or redirect incoming purchase orders

3. For own warehouses: arrange a stock transfer and update inventory records in both locations

Imbalance resolution is often cheaper than reordering — but only if you have the visibility to spot it.

The further your stock is from your direct control (i.e. in a 3PL or Amazon FBA), the more important it is to regularly reconcile your system stock levels against physical counts.

Monthly reconciliation process:

1. Export your system inventory by location from AskBiz

2. Request a stock report from each 3PL / check FBA inventory in Seller Central

3. Compare line-by-line — investigate any variance > 5 units or 5%

4. Update AskBiz with any corrections

Discrepancies are often caused by goods in transit (ordered but not yet received at the destination), returns not yet processed, or 3PL pick errors. Document and resolve each one — they compound if ignored.