'When is the next lot in?'
A good customer wants a large quantity of a line you are out of. Your sales rep knows a container is coming, but not when exactly, how much of that line is on it, or how much is already promised to other customers. They ask the buyer, who checks the spreadsheet, the purchase orders and the ETA, and gives a rough answer.
Two reps promise the same incoming stock to different customers. The container arrives a week late. One customer gets their order; the other gets a phone call.
Why incoming stock is invisible to sales
Your stock system shows what is on the shelf. Incoming stock sits in purchase orders, and its arrival date in a shipments spreadsheet or the forwarder's portal. Orders taken against it are in the sales system, sometimes marked, sometimes not. Nothing puts those together into a single answer to 'how many can I promise, and for when?'.
- Purchase orders are not linked to container ETAs.
- Sales cannot see incoming stock by line and date.
- Orders promised against incoming stock are not allocated.
- ETA changes do not update promised dates.
- The buyer is the only person who can answer.
What that costs you
Overselling means letting customers down, sometimes the best ones. Being too cautious means turning away orders for stock you will have in weeks. The buyer becomes a bottleneck for every sales question. And customers learn not to trust your dates, so they order from whoever can give a firm one.
Pre-selling is often the whole point of importing well. If you can commit incoming stock to customers before it lands, the container sells through faster and ties up less cash and warehouse space. Without a reliable view of what is coming and what is already promised, that advantage goes to a competitor who can see it.
The available-to-promise view we build
- Purchase order lines are linked to their shipments, and each shipment carries its latest expected arrival date from your tracking.
- A buffer you set for clearance and unloading turns the arrival date into an expected available date for each line.
- Customer orders for lines that are short are allocated to stock on hand first, then to incoming shipments in order of arrival.
- Sales see, for each product, how many are available now and how many will be available by each date, after existing allocations.
- When an ETA moves, the expected dates on allocated customer orders move too, and the affected reps and customers can be told.
- When a container is booked in, allocated orders are released for picking.
| Question from sales | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| How many can I promise? | Ask the buyer | On screen, after allocations |
| For when? | Rough guess | Latest expected date |
| Is this stock already promised? | Unknown | Allocations shown |
| Container is late, who is affected? | Work it out | Listed automatically |
What sales conversations sound like after
Reps give customers a date that reflects the latest shipment information, and it holds more often. Incoming stock is shared out in a clear order, not by whoever asked first. The buyer gets fewer interruptions. And when a container slips, the customers affected are known straight away.
Is this your sales team?
- Reps ask the buyer when stock will arrive.
- Incoming stock has been promised to more than one customer.
- You turn away orders for stock that is weeks away.
- Customers are not told when a container is delayed.
- Your stock system shows only what is on the shelf.