That 13-unit difference might not seem like much until a customer places an order for inventory that isn’t there.
For every item you sell, there are really two numbers: what your system says you have and what’s physically available.
Ideally, they match. But inventory moves quickly, and it doesn’t take much for those numbers to drift apart.
An order goes through between inventory checks. The warehouse count gets updated late. Someone forgets to enter an adjustment. A return hasn’t made it back into the system yet.
Most of the time, a small discrepancy doesn’t cause a problem.
Until you oversell.
Why Outdated Inventory Data Leads to Overselling
When your inventory data falls behind what’s actually happening in the warehouse, it creates work for everyone.
A customer or trading partner places an order based on inventory you can’t fulfill. Your team must figure out what happened, adjust the order, communicate the shortage and potentially deal with a backorder, cancellation or retailer penalty.
With hundreds or thousands of SKUs moving every day, those small discrepancies add up.
It’s not necessarily that your team is doing anything wrong.
Inventory can simply change faster than a manual process can keep up.
How EDI 846 Closes the Inventory Gap
The EDI 846 Inventory Inquiry/Advice transaction is used to exchange inventory information between businesses and their trading partners.
Rather than relying on someone to manually update inventory availability, an EDI 846 can send that information automatically between connected systems.
For example, if you’re receiving inventory information from a supplier, warehouse or other trading partner, an inbound EDI 846 can bring that data into your business system without someone having to manually enter it.
The result is a much smaller gap between inventory changing and your system knowing about it.
1Your Inventory Data Stays Current
Inventory shouldn’t depend on someone remembering to update a spreadsheet or check a portal.
With automated inventory exchanges, new information can be passed between systems as it becomes available.
Your team is working with more current inventory data instead of relying on the last manual update.
2Less Risk of Overselling and Backorders
If your system thinks you have 50 units but only 30 are available, someone can make a promise you can’t keep.
Keeping inventory information more current reduces that risk and gives sales, operations and your trading partner a better idea of what’s actually available.
That can mean fewer backorders, fewer cancellations, and less time spent fixing inventory issues after an order has already been placed.
3One Less Manual Inventory Process
Once EDI 846 is set up, inventory information can move in the background as part of your existing EDI environment.
There’s no spreadsheet someone has to remember to update or another portal your team needs to keep checking.
The data simply gets where it needs to go.
Getting EDI 846 Inventory Data Into Your ERP
Of course, receiving an EDI 846 is only part of the equation. The information still needs to make it into the right place in your system.
That’s where Vantree comes in.
We manage the EDI connection between your trading partners and your business systems, so inventory information can flow into the systems your team already uses.
Instead of downloading files, checking trading partner portals or manually re-entering inventory information, that exchange can happen automatically.
For your team, that means less manual entry, fewer delays, and more reliable inventory information to work with.
Vantree integrates EDI with ERP systems including:
- Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
- Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations
- SAP Business One
- SAP S/4HANA
- Acumatica
So rather than adding another standalone system your team must manage, EDI data can flow directly into your existing ERP environment.
Why the Inventory Gap Grows With Your Business
A manual inventory check might work when you have a smaller number of products and orders.
But add more SKUs, warehouses, retailers, trading partners and daily transactions, and keeping everything aligned manually gets much harder.
At that point, the question isn’t really:
“Did someone update the inventory?”
It’s:
“Why are we still relying on someone to update it?”
Automating inventory exchanges with EDI 846 can help keep your trading partners, inventory data and ERP better aligned without adding another manual task to your team’s day.
Is Inbound EDI 846 Active on Your Vantree Account?
If you’re already a Vantree customer, we can take a look at your current setup and let you know whether inbound EDI 846 is already active or whether it makes sense to add it.
Because “in stock” should mean in stock.
Not sure if EDI 846 is turned on? We’ll check your setup for you. Check if EDI 846 is active on my account →
