Stock by warehouse, in view in the showroom

A customer asks "Do you have it?" and the consultant's answer becomes a promise. In a distributor's showroom, where the shelf holds a sample and the goods are in the warehouse, stock by warehouse decides whether that promise can be kept. This article shows what the consultant sees on the terminal and how showroom stock control connects to the order that is about to be created.

Why "we have it in stock" is not enough

A single total hides what matters. The goods may exist, but in another warehouse the customer does not know about. They may exist but already be reserved for other orders. Or they may be only partly available. Without a view by warehouse, the consultant either promises too much or turns down a sale that could have been made.

What the consultant sees on the terminal

When the consultant scans the sample or price tag, they immediately see the price and the real stock in the warehouses, not just a total: availability in the showroom, in the central warehouse and in the other warehouses. The data comes from the company's ERP system. They enter the quantity in the unit that suits the product: square metres, pieces or packs. The whole flow is described on the page about sales by samples.

Available, reserved, in another warehouse

Three simple questions matter to the consultant. Is the item available now? Is it already reserved? Is it in the warehouse we can ship it from? Each answer is read from the warehouse data, and exactly how it appears in the app depends on how the company's ERP system is configured. If a quantity is reserved or sits in another warehouse, the consultant can explain the situation honestly instead of discovering it later.

How to avoid promises you cannot keep

1. Check before you promise

   Stock is read at the moment of scanning, not from memory or an old list.

2. Say where the goods are

   If they are in another warehouse, the customer can decide whether that lead time suits them.

3. Enter the right quantity

   In the right unit, so that what was promised and what is picked do not drift apart.

4. Create the order straight away

   With a short code, so the promise becomes an order that can be tracked.

From stock to the order

Once created, the order goes to the ERP system by itself, the warehouse picks it, and the customer sees the stage on the screen in the showroom. Read more about the ERP link on the ERP integration page. The warehouse side, from picking to confirmation, is described on the warehouse and picking page.

What the customer and the company gain

The customer gets a concrete answer right at the shelf and does not have to come back for bad news. The company has fewer orders that stall at picking, because what was promised was checked at the time of sale.

A few practical rules

• Ask consultants to check stock on the terminal before they quote a lead time
• Keep warehouses clearly named in the ERP system so everyone recognises them
• Do not promise goods from another warehouse without saying they are elsewhere
• For products sold in several units, check the unit every time

For the device that makes this check possible at the shelf, see the page on the consultant's mobile terminal and the retail terminals section.

Read next

• How to organize sales by samples
• The consultant's mobile terminal
• ERP integration
• Request a demo