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Inventory Batch API

Essential knowledge

Intended Audience:

Technical User

Author:

Fluent Commerce

Changed on:

24 Mar 2025

Overview

The Inventory Batch is designed to send large volumes of inventory data, primarily to update the Last On Hand inventory quantities for inventory positions. While its primary purpose is to handle large-scale inventory updates and ensure the OMS reflects the latest inventory levels after a few days of operations, it is flexible enough to support other inventory types as needed, providing adaptability for diverse inventory management scenarios.

Key points

  • Create new Inventory Batches using the Job API 
  • Sample Inventory batch payload 
  • Inventory batch details

Inventory Batch Submission

In order to create/update inventory data,  one can submit an inventory batch using the `/job/{jobId}/batch` endpoint (see link). Multiple Inventory can be updated in a single batch by providing multiple `entities`.

Inventory Batch Model

The Inventory Batch Model consists of:
  • Batch-Level Fields: Define overall batch properties.
  • Entities Array: Contains individual inventory items to process.
FieldTypeMandatory?Possible ValuesDefault ValueDescriptionNotes
actionString"UPSERT"N/ASpecifies the operation on inventory entities (e.g., "UPSERT" to insert/update).Must be a valid action type for inventory operations.
entityTypeString"INVENTORY"N/ADefines the type of entity being processed.Must be "INVENTORY".
sourceStringAny valid source identifier"batch"Identifies the origin of the batch data (e.g., "ERP", "POS").Defaults to "batch" if not provided.
eventStringAny valid event name"InventoryChanged"Custom event name associated with the batch operation.Defaults to "InventoryChanged" if not provided.
catalogueRefStringAny valid catalogue reference"DEFAULT:<retailerId>"References the catalogue associated with the inventory batch.Influences `catalogueType` in `ref` construction.
conditionsObjectConfiguration objectUses default transient settingsConfigurations like transient types and statuses are used in de-duplication checks.
entitiesArrayList of inventory itemsN/AList of inventory itemsFollows the entities object model. Nonconforming inputs are ignored. 


The conditions object has the following fields :

FieldTypeMandatory?Possible ValuesDefault ValueDescription
hasRelatedInventoryQuantitiesArrayList of transient IQ types and statusesDefault transient types and statusesDefines custom transient types and statuses for checking during de-duplication
       eg) `"hasRelatedInventoryQuantities": `
`[`` {"type": "SALE", "status": "ACTIVE"}, ``{"type": "SALE", "status": "CREATED"}, ``{"type": "CORRECTION", "status": "ACTIVE"} ``]`




Each object within the `entities` array should follow this structure:
FieldTypeMandatory?Possible ValuesConstraintsDescriptionNotes
locationRefStringAny valid location referenceN/AThe location reference used to match the inventory.
skuRefStringAny valid SKU referenceN/AThe SKU reference of the inventory item.
qtyIntegerAny non-negative integerN/AThe quantity to match the on-hand inventory.
correctedQtyIntegerAny non-negative integerDefaults to 0 if not providedThe current outstanding correction quantity to be saved.
typeStringAny valid type identifierN/ASpecifies the type of inventory operation (e.g., "LAST_ON_HAND").Defaults to "LAST_ON_HAND" if not provided.
refStringAny valid referenceMust follow `<skuRef>:<locationRef>:<catalogueType>:<type>`A reference identifier for the inventory entity.If not provided, constructed using `skuRef`, `locationRef`, `catalogueType`, and `type`.
statusStringAny valid status valueN/AThe status of the inventory entity (e.g., "ACTIVE").
retailerIdStringAny valid retailer IDN/AThe retailer ID for which the inventory is uploading.
attributesObjectAny complex key-value pairsKeys must be strings; values can be any valid JSON typeAdditional attributes for flexible metadata storage.
The following describes the fields which can be submitted as part of an inventory batch record. 

Example Request Payload :

1{
2    "action": "UPSERT",
3    "entityType": "INVENTORY",
4    "source": "SAP_ERP",
5    "event" :"InventoryChanged",
6    "catalogueRef": "FUTURE:2",
7      "conditions": {
8    "hasRelatedInventoryQuantities": [
9      {"type": "SALE", "status": "ACTIVE"},
10      {"type": "SALE", "status": "CREATED"},
11      {"type": "CORRECTION", "status": "ACTIVE"}
12    ]
13  },
14    "entities": [
15        {
16            "locationRef": "LOC_MEL",
17            "skuRef": "D45",
18            "qty": 350,
19            "correctedQty": 0,
20            "retailerId": 2,
21            "type": "FUTURE",
22            "ref": "24-MG02:LOC_MELB_RET2:FUTURE",
23            "status": "ACTIVE",
24            "attributes": {
25                "expectedOn": "2024-10-31T00:00:00.00Z", // ISO 8601 format
26                "storageAreaRef": "LOC_MELB_RET2-SR1",
27                "condition": "NEW",
28                "countryOfOrigin": "China",
29                "expiryDate": "2025-12-31T23:59:59.00Z", // ISO 8601 format
30                "supplierId": "SUP12345",
31                "unitOfMeasurement": "PCS",
32                "serialNumber": "SN123456789",
33                "purchaseOrderNumber": "PO987654321",
34                "transferFrom": "STORE01",
35                "inventoryPurpose": "For Sale",
36                "manufacturingBatchInfo": {
37                    "batchNumber": "BATCH001",
38                    "productionDate": "2024-01-15T00:00:00.00Z" // ISO 8601 format
39                }
40                    }
41
42            }
43        
44    ]
45}

Example Response

1{
2  "id": "331"
3}


Examples of Incorrect Entries


1. Null Entry
An entry that is `null` does not conform to the model structure and will be ignored. 
1"entities": [
2  null,
3  {
4    "locationRef": "LOC_MEL",
5    "skuRef": "D45",
6    "qty": 350,
7    "correctedQty": 0,
8    "retailerId": 2,
9    "type": "FUTURE",
10    "ref": "24-MG02:LOC_MELB_RET2:FUTURE",
11    "status": "ACTIVE",
12    "attributes": { /* valid attributes */ }
13  }
14]
2. String Instead of Object
A string value in the array is not a valid entity object and is thus ignored. 
1"entities": [
2  "Invalid Entry",
3  {
4    "locationRef": "LOC_MEL",
5    "skuRef": "D45",
6    "qty": 350,
7    "correctedQty": 0,
8    "retailerId": 2,
9    "type": "FUTURE",
10    "ref": "24-MG02:LOC_MELB_RET2:FUTURE",
11    "status": "ACTIVE",
12    "attributes": { /* valid attributes */ }
13  }
14]
3. Number Instead of Object
Similarly, a numeric entry does not meet the required structure and is ignored. 
1"entities": [
2  12345,
3  {
4    "locationRef": "LOC_MEL",
5    "skuRef": "D45",
6    "qty": 350,
7    "correctedQty": 0,
8    "retailerId": 2,
9    "type": "FUTURE",
10    "ref": "24-MG02:LOC_MELB_RET2:FUTURE",
11    "status": "ACTIVE",
12    "attributes": { /* valid attributes */ }
13  }
14]

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