Prevent short-pick cancellations with real-time inventory reservation
Authors:
Michael Wholohan, Holger Lierse
Changed on:
17 Nov 2025
Problem
Inventory discrepancies between systems and physical stock result in orders being allocated to items that aren't actually available when picking begins.
Without real-time inventory accuracy and reservation mechanisms, retailers experience high cancellation rates during the fulfillment process, leading to disappointed customers, lost revenue, and increased service costs. This gap between promised and actual availability damages customer trust and operational efficiency.
Example
A beauty retailer's inventory system showed products as available, but physical stock discrepancies from theft, damage, or misplaced items meant warehouse staff frequently couldn't locate items during picking. Without real-time inventory accuracy, they averaged a 12% short-pick rate, forcing them to cancel items after customers had already received order confirmations. These post-allocation cancellations damaged customer trust, required service team intervention, and resulted in significant revenue loss during promotional periods when customers had already committed to purchases.
Solution Overview
Fluent Commerce Order Management eliminates short-pick cancellations by maintaining a single, accurate view of inventory and instantly reserving stock to an order once an order is placed, thereby bridging the gap between the customer promise and the fulfilment process.
Fluent Order Management first ensures accurate selling by calculating a Real-Time Global Available-to-Promise (ATP) figure based on aggregated stock data across the network. As soon as an order is placed, the corresponding units are immediately and securely reserved (soft reserved or allocated) for that specific order within the OMS. This instant Inventory Reservation guarantees that the physical stock is locked and protected from being sold by other channels, drastically reducing short-picks.
Additionally, retailers can configure Inventory Buffer Management to strategically withhold safety stock, providing a necessary layer of protection against minor, unavoidable physical discrepancies or overselling.
Finally, the OMS integrates directly with fulfilment applications (like WMS or Fluent Store) to communicate only reserved order details, ensuring staff are only picking against confirmed stock.
By implementing Fluent OMS for real-time inventory reservation, retailers achieve reliability and minimises post-sale friction, driving the following benefits:
- Elimination of Post-Allocation Cancellations: Order and item cancellation rates are drastically reduced, preserving revenue and eliminating the need for service team intervention on cancelled items.
- Protected Customer Trust: Customers receive accurate confirmations and reliable fulfilment, reinforcing brand loyalty and encouraging repeat purchases.
- Operational Efficiency: Warehouse and store staff waste less time searching for non-existent stock, improving picking efficiency and lowering labor costs.
