Future Inventory

The Future Available to Promise (ATP) feature in OneTruth provides enterprises with visibility into anticipated inventory or future inventory. This enables better inventory management, demand forecasting, and informed decision-making regarding stock levels.

Future ATP enables OneTruth to monitor in-transit supply across various date ranges and factor it into future availability calculations. Enterprises can accept reservations against future inventory at both the segment and fulfillment type levels.

For example, if an enterprise has 100 units of an item on hand and 50 more units in transit expected to arrive in two days, it can present a total availability of 150 units. This allows the enterprise to accept reservations against the incoming inventory, reducing the risk of lost sales.

Key Applications of Future ATP

• Demand Forecasting: Allows for inventory managers to forecast demand more accurately by providing visibility into future inventory availability. This supports better planning and aligns inventory with expected demand, minimizing the risk of stockouts and overstocking. For example, an enterprise has 200 units of an item in stock, with 300 units arriving in 5 days and 400 in 10 days. With a forecasted demand of 100 units per day, Future ATP helps the enterprise identify potential stock gaps and manage reservations to prevent lost sales.

• Inventory Planning: Combines future supply data with current stock levels to facilitate effective inventory planning. This ensures optimal purchasing and stocking strategies, improving inventory levels and cash flow management. For example, an enterprise with 150 units of an item on hand, 200 units arriving in 3 days, and 300 in a week can use Future ATP to forecast a demand of 100 units per day. This allows them to optimize replenishment schedules, maintain sufficient inventory levels, and ensure smooth order fulfillment.

• Customer Order Fulfillment: Enhances customer service by providing visibility into future inventory availability for order fulfillment. This supports accurate delivery commitments and helps manage customer expectations for out-of-stock items that will soon be replenished. For example, an enterprise has 100 units of an item in stock, but demand exceeds availability. With 500 units scheduled to arrive in 3 days, Future ATP enables the enterprise to provide customers with precise delivery dates based on upcoming inventory. This allows the business to set realistic expectations and ensure customer satisfaction.

• Reservation Against Future Supply: Allows customers to place orders against future inventory, preventing opportunity loss. This ensures anticipated demand is captured and managed, minimizing the risk of lost sales due to stockouts while aligning orders with upcoming supply availability. For example, an enterprise expects 500 units of an item to arrive in 7 days, but the current stock is insufficient to meet rising demand. With Future ATP, the enterprise allows customers to reserve these future units, capturing demand before stockouts occur and ensuring orders are aligned with the incoming inventory.

Availability Based on Future Supply

OneTruth allows enterprises to track future supply and estimated receive dates by monitoring supply buckets such as On Hand and In Transit. This functionality supports accurate management and anticipation of incoming inventory, enabling enterprises to display availability for a specific time period.

Note: The maximum date for inventory visibility is configurable. For example, one enterprise may choose to display availability for a 15-day period, while another may select a 10-day period, and so on.

Note: The maximum date for inventory visibility is configurable. For example, one enterprise may choose to display availability for a 15-day period, while another may select a 10-day period, and so on.

Reservation Against Future Supply

OneTruth enables enterprises to accept customer orders for items that are currently out of stock or have limited availability but are expected to be replenished soon. By allowing reservations against future supply, enterprises can align customer orders with incoming inventory, ensuring a smoother and more efficient fulfillment process. This capability is especially valuable for managing high-demand products or during peak sales periods.

For example, if an enterprise expects to receive 500 units of an item in two weeks, customers can place orders in advance against this anticipated inventory. The enterprise can then efficiently manage these reservations, optimizing inventory planning and fulfillment workflows to ensure timely delivery.