Once a customer places an order for a pre-order item, the sales order is automatically allocated to the purchase order inventory on a first-in, first-out (FIFO) basis. This ensures that customers who place orders first receive their inventory first. However, there are instances when merchandisers need to manually manage these allocations, either due to errors or the need for reallocation. HotWax Commerce provides the flexibility for merchandisers to manually manage purchase orders through the following methods:

Review Allocations

In order to review associated sales orders for a selected item and get overview of the total quantity ordered and consumed ATP for that specific purchase order item, merchandisers can view all the sales orders associated with that purchase order through the following steps:

1. Navigate to the Procurement > Purchase Orders View > Purchase Order Detail page

2. Click on Review Allocation in the line item field to view all associated orders with that purchase order.

3. This will open up a review allocations page where merchandisers get a holistic view of all the sales orders allocated with that purchase order and they can take actions such as removing allocations.

Allocate Sales Orders

In cases where sales orders are not allocated to the purchase order due to any error or if the relevant purchase order is canceled, resulting in unallocated sales orders, merchandisers can manually allocate sales orders to purchase order items efficiently. Here's how:

1. Navigate to the Procurement > Purchase Orders View > Purchase Order Detail page.

2. Click Allocate Sales Order in the line item field, opening a confirmation pop-up. Click yes to view all unallocated sales orders for that product.

3. Select the sales orders to associate with the existing purchase order. This will allocate the sales order with the existing purchase order, and the order will be fulfilled accordingly.

Sync Date with SO

Whenever there's a change in the arrival date of the purchase order items, the same arrival date needs to be synced with the sales order. This ensures an accurate view of when an order needs to be fulfilled, and customers are informed about changes in their product's arrival date. Merchandisers can do this through the following steps:

1. Navigate to the Procurement > Purchase Orders View > Purchase Order Detail page

2. Click on Sync Date with SO in the respective line item field which opens a confirmational pop-up.

3. Click yes to sync the date for all sales orders associated with the existing purchase order.

Remove Allocations

Merchandisers may sometimes encounter inaccurate allocations of sales orders with purchase orders or they want to remove allocations to utilise that inventory for in-store sales. Such issues can be rectified by removing allocations through following steps:

1. Navigate to the Procurement > Purchase Orders View > Purchase Order Detail page

2. Click Remove Allocation in the line item field to open the Review Allocations page.

3. This will display all the sales orders for which the inventory is allocated. Merchandisers can select the sales orders they want to remove the allocation for by clicking on the checkbox and then clicking on the Remove Allocations button.

Once the Purchase order has successfully been uploaded to HotWax Commerce, Merchandisers can view the purchase orders via the Find Purchase Order Page. This can be done by clicking on Procurement > Purchase Orders from the HotWax Commerce’s Hamburger menu.

The Find Purchase Orders page showcases the following details:

• Consolidated View: Offers a comprehensive display of all upcoming purchase orders and their individual items.

• Purchase Order Specifications: Presents purchase orders in an exploded pattern, revealing distinct specifications for each item.

• Purchase Order Status: Indicates the current status of the purchase order, whether it's in a created, approved, completed, or canceled state.

• On-Hand Inventory Overview: Provides insights into available quantities and available-to-promise inventory on Shopify.

• Created Date and Arrival Date: Merchandisers can easily view when the purchase order was created in HotWax Commerce and when will the inventory of the purchase order items arrive.

Merchandisers can easily view individual Purchase orders by searching Purchase Order ID, HotWax Commerce ID, or Product name from the search bar. Moreover, they have the ability to filter search results based on PO status, arrival date, or facilities. Additional functionalities that are available on the Find Purchase Orders page are:

• Grouping: Merchandisers have various options to view purchase order items, they can group the items by order items, products, and their arrival dates, etc. For example, if a merchandiser changes the grouping to a parent product, they will be able to see all the parent products and the inventory overview of that product, irrespective of the variant's inventory.

• Export CSV: Merchandisers can export the CSV files of all the purchase orders for external auditing purposes.

Once the merchandiser has located their desired purchase order, they can execute various flows to ensure precise synchronization of pre-order information with the eCommerce platform.

Cancel Purchase Order

Merchandisers may opt to cancel purchase orders due to various reasons such as supplier issues or lack of demand. HotWax Commerce allows the cancellation of uploaded purchase orders by following these steps:

1. Navigate to Procurement > Purchase Orders > Find Purchase Order.

2. Select the desired purchase order > Open Purchase Order Detail page.

3. The cancel button, located at the top left of the page, facilitates the cancellation process, changing the purchase order status to canceled.

Edit Arrival Date

Merchandisers can modify the purchase order arrival date if there’s a change from the supplier's end. This alteration assists in providing the accurate promise date to the customers

1. Navigate to the desired purchase order detail page.

2. View purchase order item details at the bottom of the page. Click the pencil icon to adjust the arrival date.

3. Changes made can be tracked by clicking on the history icon in the line item field.

For bulk updating of all product arrival dates, merchandisers can import another CSV in the import app and cancel the existing PO.

Change the Quantity of Purchase Order Items

In cases where product demand differs from expectations, merchandisers can alter the quantity of purchase order items rather than create a new purchase order. Steps to execute this adjustment include:

1. Navigate to the Purchase Order Detail page.

2. Click the Edit Items button at the top of the line items to modify quantities. Insert the accurate quantity and click on Save button to sync the latest inventory changes to the e-commerce platform for selling.

Cancel Purchase Order Items

To cancel specific items instead of the complete purchase order, merchandisers can follow these steps:

1. Select the desired purchase order from the Find Purchase Order Page.

2. Click on the Edit Items button at the top of the purchase order line item list.

3. Click on the Delete icon in the last column of the line item. Confirm the deletion process in the pop-up prompt by clicking yes.

HotWax Commerce aids in automating pre-order and back-order management by leveraging purchase orders. This automation includes the automatic listing and de-listing of products which is particularly beneficial for retailers who have large purchase order catalogs.

Purchase orders (POs) provide crucial details about item specifics and upcoming inventory arrivals. Retailers can integrate their ERP systems with HotWax Commerce to synchronize purchase orders automatically or utilize the Import App to manually import purchase order CSV files.

To know how you can manage your purchase orders from your ERP system like NetSuite, please refer to the integration guide. For users who want to import their purchase orders manually, HotWax Commerce’s Import app simplifies the process of importing purchase orders and their inventory into HotWax Commerce. Here’s how retailers can upload purchase orders using the Import App:

Purchase Order Page

1. Head to the Import App> Purchase order page by clicking on the Purchase order in the left menu.

1. Upload the CSV File by simply clicking on the Upload text within the first field.

1. Upon uploading, there might be variations in column names in Hotwax Commerce and the uploaded purchase order, like 'Order ID' in HotWax Commerce can be named as 'Internal ID' in other systems. To avoid errors, users must map these columns accurately. Here are the fields to be mapped:

• Order ID: Acts as a unique identifier for the order.

• Shopify Product SKU: Shopify's distinct product identifier.

• Arrival Date: Expected arrival date of the order.

• Ordered Quantity: Quantity of products ordered.

• Facility ID: Identifies the specific facility.

Users can easily map these fields by selecting the exact field from dropdown menus. For added convenience, HotWax Commerce allows Merchandisers to save these mappings within the Import App by clicking on the New mapping button, streamlining future uploads. Saved mappings appear as buttons above the mapping field for quick access.

Apart from this merchandisers need to create a new field i.e. IsNewProduct and mark the field as either ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. This field helps HotWax commerce identify whether a product is a new product and should be added to the pre-order catalog or the product was already being sold on the e-commerce and currently it is currently out of stock, in such cases, it is added to the backorder catalog.

1. After saving mappings, proceed by clicking on the Review button to transition to the PO review page. This ensures a smooth completion of the process.

Purchase Order Review page

The PO Review page provides a detailed overview of PO CSV data and assists users in identifying and correcting errors within the CSV file.

The purchase order page offers the following functions to ensure accurate importation into HotWax Commerce:

1. Search Products: For Merchandisers managing a large catalog of products in their CSV, getting details about individual products is crucial. Merchandisers can search for individual products for review using the product SKU. In the product fields, the merchandiser will get a comprehensive view of that particular product, including whether it is on backorder or pre-order, the quantity ordered, and the expected inventory arrival date.

1. Bulk Adjustments: Merchandisers can select products for adjustments using checkboxes available in each product's field. To select all products, the merchandiser can click on the checkbox at the top right of the page. Once products are selected, merchandisers need to click on the bulk adjustment screen, which will open a pop-up screen with the following options:

• Buffer days: Refers to additional time added to the expected delivery date of a pre-order product to account for potential delays. For example, if the Purchase order arrival date is 10th January, the user can set a buffer days of 10 so that the dispatch date for Shopify PDP will be shown as 20th January.

• Order Buffer: Refers to the inventory or quantity of a pre-order product that a merchandiser may set to manage inventory discrepancies or excess demand. For example, if a product has an upcoming inventory of 100, the user can set 10 as order buffer so that the available to promise inventory on Shopify becomes 90.

• Catalog: Merchandisers can determine whether the product is on backorder or pre-order.

• Facility: Merchandisers can select the facility where the purchase order for that inventory is received.

1. DateTime Parse Errors: Retailers working in different countries often face issues with time formats (e.g., European countries follow DD/MM/YYYY formats, while US companies follow MM/DD/YYYY format). Similarly, purchase orders can have different formats. If there's any format mismatch, the error message will be available in this field. Merchandisers can specify the date format easily by clicking on the DateTime Parse Errors and adjusting the date according to the PO.

1. Missing Facilities: There may be instances when the facility name in the purchase order is inaccurate, causing errors in the uploading process. For example, if the Times Square facility is incorrectly mentioned as Time Square in the Purchase order, this field will show an error. Merchandisers can rectify this error by clicking on the Missing Facilities field which will open up a missing facilities pop up card. Merchandisers can rectify the mistake by typing the correct facility name and click on the save button to update the changes.

1. Missing Products: Similarly, there can be errors in product namings. If a product is not available in HotWax Commerce, this field will display an error. Merchandisers can rectify the mistake by clicking on this field, and opening a pop-up menu where they can correct and save it.

1. Reset Changes: If a merchandiser wants to start afresh with the changes, they can click on the reset icon at the top right of the page.

1. Filter Products: Purchase orders for different facilities can be included in the same CSV file. If a merchandiser wants to view upcoming purchase orders of a specific facility, they can filter by clicking on the Purchase order IDs at the bottom of the page.

2. Upload Purchase Order: Once the review is complete, merchandisers can click on the blue upload icon at the bottom right to upload the purchase order in HotWax Commerce.

HotWax Commerce automatically handles the release and brokering of Shopify Pre-Orders, ensuring fulfillment from the most suitable location without requiring manual intervention. However, for merchandisers seeking greater control over online Pre-Order inventory, manual release becomes preferable over automatic processing. This preference often emerges among merchants managing both physical stores and eCommerce platforms. They opt for manual release to prevent allocating all available inventory solely to online Pre-Orders, reserving a portion for their physical stores instead.

Automatic Release

HotWax Commerce strategically organizes all pre-orders in a dedicated queue until their physical inventory is received. This approach ensures that brokering processes are not initiated for orders lacking available inventory. Once the pre-order inventory arrives, HotWax Commerce transfers all orders from the pre-order queue to the brokering queue. This allows the system's engine to efficiently match the most suitable inventory with specific orders for fulfillment. To accommodate diverse retailer preferences, HotWax Commerce offers two methods for automatically releasing Pre-Orders:

1. Daily Job: Merchandisers can schedule this job through the Job Manager App > Pre-Order Page by enabling the Run Daily checkbox in the auto-releasing card. This automated process releases pre-orders where the shipping date has arrived and inventory is available for release.

2. Immediate Release: This method doesn't require scheduling. Merchandisers can trigger instant release by clicking the release button associated with the Release Pre-orders job name. This action promptly releases all pre-orders in the queue, facilitating their allocation to the respective fulfillment locations.

Manual Release

Manual release grants merchants precise control over order releases, allowing merchandisers to release pre-orders either by product or by order.

Releasing by Products

When merchants opt to release Pre-Orders By Product, they gain control over available product inventory allocation. Merchants can determine the number of Pre-Orders they wish to release for online orders and how much inventory to reserve for their physical stores. For instance, if 100 units of inventory are received for 100 pre-orders, a retailer might choose to release 80 units for 80 pre-orders online and retain the remaining 20 units for in-store customers. The pending 20 pre-orders can be fulfilled using subsequent inventory from future purchase orders.

Here's the process for releasing pre-orders by products:

1. Navigate to the Product page in the Pre-Order App.

2. Search for the desired product by Product name or Product ID.

3. Merchandisers can view the badges displaying quantities of pre-orders, available stock, and orders in the brokering queue for that product.

4. To release a specific quantity, merchandisers can input the desired quantity in the Pieces field. Alternatively, to release all pre-ordered quantities, simply click on the badge to insert the total quantity at once.

5. Finally, click on the release button at the bottom of the page to release the ordered quantities from the pre-order queue to the brokering queue for fulfillment.

6. Merchandisers can also select the Release to the Warehouse button to specify the location for brokering. This action bypasses the brokering queue and directly releases the order from the pre-order queue to the warehouse for fulfillment.

1. Merchandisers can also cancel a specific quantity of pre-orders by clicking on the cancel button.

Releasing by Orders:

When merchants specifically aim to release a particular customer's Pre-Order, they have the option to release it By Order.

This method becomes valuable when a customer requests expedited delivery, and if the On-Order inventory has been received. Opting for the By Order release method allows the merchant to choose that specific order and release it earlier than its estimated ship date. This action caters to meeting the customer’s delivery expectations promptly. Instead of releasing all Pre-Orders together on the estimated ship date, a merchant can prioritize the fulfillment of a particular Pre-Order. Here are the steps to release pre-orders by orders:

1. Navigate to the Orders Page in the Pre-Order App.

2. Search for specific orders using order ID, product name, style name, SKU customer name, UPCA, or external ID from the search bar.

3. Merchandisers can utilize filters for orders, such as:

• Order After Date: Lists all orders after the specified date.

• Order Before Date: Lists all orders before the specified date.

• Promised After Date: Lists orders with a promised date after a specific date.

• Promise Before Date: Lists orders before a specific promise date.

• Loyalty Status: Filters orders based on loyalty status awarded to customers based on their purchase history.

1. Once orders are filtered, merchandisers can select multiple orders or use the options icon on individual orders to perform actions like:

• Release: Initiate orders for brokering and fulfillment.

• Release to a warehouse: Release the pre-order to a specified location for fulfillment.

• Edit Promise date: Set a new promise date for these orders, which will be used for inventory allocation and order fulfillment.

• Cancel: Cancel all selected orders with the cancel button available at the bottom right.

Once Purchase Orders have successfully been uploaded to HotWax Commerce, the subsequent step involves seamlessly syncing the pre-orders with the e-commerce platform. Merchandisers can set up various jobs in HotWax Commerce to ensure the accurate listing of pre-orders on the e-commerce platform. Some of these jobs are internal to HotWax Commerce and facilitate the creation of jobs within the system.

All Pre-order jobs have a defined frequency of 15 minutes to ensure the smooth running of the process. However, should the merchandiser wish to modify the job frequency, they can do so by following these steps:

1. Navigate to the Job Manager> Pipeline Page.

2. Utilize the search bar at the top of the page to locate the specific job.

3. The desired job card will appear in the results, displaying all the job details, including the last run time, frequency, and other relevant job data.

4. Clicking on the job card reveals a detailed view, offering merchandisers various options to modify the job, such as altering the run time, adjusting the frequency, and adding custom parameters if required.

5. Once the changes are made, merchandisers can save them by clicking on the save changes button. This action ensures that all future runs of the job reflect the updated settings. Additionally, if there are no pre-orders, merchandisers can also cancel the job to reduce system load.

Jobs for Pre-Order Catalog Management in HotWax Commerce

In HotWax Commerce, merchandisers have the option to schedule the Auto Refresh Pre-sell Catalog job, which automatically manages the addition or removal of pre-sell products from the HotWax Pre-order/Backorder category. This job checks for new products eligible for pre-order/backorder and adds them to the pre-order catalog based on specific eligibility criteria:

• Status of PO items must be created or approved, ensuring canceled PO items are not considered for Pre-Order.

• Promise date of a PO item must be in the future, guaranteeing that purchase order items will arrive in the future, not from an old PO.

• Current inventory of the item must be 0, indicating it's out of stock and qualified for Pre-Order or backorder.

• If the 'isNewProduct' field of a PO is marked as “yes”, it’s identified as a Pre-Order product; if marked “no”, it's categorized as a backorder product.

Products from purchase orders that don't meet these criteria won't be listed in HotWax Commerce's pre-order catalog. It's important to ensure that purchase order items adhere to these criteria for accurate listing.

Moreover, this job also manages the removal of pre-sell items from the pre-order/backorder category in HotWax Commerce under specific circumstances:

• When all future inventory pre-orders are received.

• When the Purchase Order status changes to “Canceled” or “Completed”.

• Upon physical receipt of inventory at the fulfillment center.

• When the Purchase Order arrival date (promised fulfillment date) has passed.

You can schedule the job by accessing the Job Manager App > Pre-order page and selecting the checkbox next to the Auto refresh pre-sell catalog job name.

Jobs for Synchronizing the Pre-Order Catalog with eCommerce:

To schedule the job, Merchandisers navigate to the Job Manager > Pre Orders page, where they can schedule the presell catalog sync by checking the box next to Sync variant details. This job facilitates updates to the Presell catalog on Shopify, working through these steps:

1. HotWax Commerce generates a GraphQL file encapsulating all pre-order-related changes, including promised delivery dates, product categories, and statuses. This file is placed in an SFTP location.

2. Shopify processes these GraphQL files in sequence from the SFTP location to execute the required updates. However, for multiple sequential GraphQL file uploads, Shopify doesn’t fetch the next file automatically. To initiate processing for the subsequent files, Merchandisers should schedule Process Upload jobs in HotWax Commerce through the following steps:

• Navigate to Job Manager > Initial Load > Process uploads card.

• Activate the File Upload Status job, which monitors file processing and potential errors via the Shopify webhook.

• Schedule the Upload Pending Process job to prompt Shopify for the next GraphQL file upon receiving Upload Status updates.

Upon listing all products on Shopify, it's crucial to appropriately tag them with HC: Pre-order or HC: Backorder. This tagging process is easily managed by enabling the checkbox for the Add pre-order tags and Add backorder tags jobs, running every 15 minutes. These jobs utilize the pre-order category in the meta fields to add the suitable tag to the parent product on Shopify.

The HotWax Commerce Pre-order PDP app employs tags and meta fields to modify the Add to Cart button and display the expected delivery date on Shopify PDP. Products labeled with HC: Pre-order tags will alter the Add to Cart button to Pre-Order, while those with HC: Backorder tags will display Backorder.

Likewise, it's essential to schedule the Remove pre-order tags and Remove backorder tags jobs to eliminate the HC: Pre-order and HC: Backorder tags when a product is removed from the pre-order catalog.

Update Pre-Order Category Item Arrival Date

The Sync Variant Details job ensure that if there is any change in the purchase order arrival date the promise dates of the product is also updated on Shopify. However, when there are changes in the arrival dates of the multiple items in the purchase orders, the promise dates need to be first updated in HotWax Commerce pre-sell category. These changes happen through Update Pre-Order Category Item Arrival Date job which creates a file and process all the updated date changes in HotWax Commerce category, after this the Sync Variant Details updates the changes on Shopify.

Jobs for Sales Orders with Pre-Order Items

Ensuring accurate representation of pre-order information and changes in customer sales orders post their e-commerce purchase is crucial. While pre-orders are downloaded alongside regular orders, specific notes are included in these sales orders for easy identification of pre-orders. Here are the various jobs that can be scheduled in HotWax Commerce for managing sales orders with pre-order items:

Add Pre-order/Backorder Tags- These jobs assign pre-order/backorder tags to orders containing pre-selling items. This simplifies identification for the operations team. The job is scheduled by selecting the respective checkbox against the Add Pre-Order Tag or Add Backorder Tag.

Add Promise Date- Adding promise dates to sales orders, mirroring the dates provided to customers upon order placement. This job, when activated via checkbox, appends promise date notes to sales orders.

Update Promise Date- In cases where promise dates change due to shifts in the arrival date of purchase orders, updates to the promise dates in sales orders are necessary. The update promise date job update the promise date notes of the sales orders.

Adjust ATP on Early PO in Bulk– Merchandisers frequently handle multiple Purchase Orders for identical SKUs. Sometimes, they might upload a new Purchase Order with an earlier promised date, even if there's an existing Purchase Order for the same SKU in the system. In such cases, reallocating sales orders from the initial Purchase Order to the latest one with an earlier date becomes vital. This ensures that customers who placed pre-orders first are given priority, guaranteeing timely delivery. The task automatically adjusts Purchase Order ATP allocations and reallocates pre-orders accordingly. To schedule this, enable and set up the Adjust ATP on Early PO in Bulk job found in the More Jobs section.

Auto Sync Date to order- Merchants can change the promise dates in sales orders if there are any changes in the promise date due to arrival date changes in Purchase order through this job. This job can be scheduled by checking the box against the file name.

Email Customers- To efficiently manage customer expectations regarding changes in promised dates, activating the Email customers checkbox initiates a job that triggers automatic emails to customers. This action ensures customers are informed whenever there's a modification in the promised date.

Challenge

Despite having 0 inventory in both HotWax Commerce and the Shopify store, the pre-order option is unavailable for a product. The root cause is the absence of proper linking between the product in HotWax Commerce and the Shopify store.

Description

HotWax Commerce encounters difficulties in showcasing products for pre-orders on the Shopify store when there is no linkage between the products in HotWax Commerce and the corresponding Shopify store. This issue commonly arises when a retailer manages the same product catalog across multiple Shopify stores.

Explanation

Products within Shopify

Retailers streamline their operations by employing a unified product catalog across multiple Shopify stores. Consequently, products obtain distinct internal IDs on each store, while retaining a consistent and unique identifier, typically the SKU. It's important to note that not all stores carry the entire product range; instead, a hierarchical structure is established with one store functioning as the master catalog and others as child catalogs, each tailored to specific product offerings. This approach facilitates efficient management and customization of product availability across diverse Shopify storefronts.

Products in HotWax

In instances where a common product catalog is employed across multiple Shopify stores, HotWax adopts a structured approach. It designates one specific Shopify store as the master catalog, responsible for comprehensive product information. The same set of products is then associated with other Shopify stores, considering them as child catalogs. To establish a connection with HotWax, a product must be initially configured in the parent store and subsequently linked to the corresponding child store. Failure to follow this setup process inhibits HotWax from establishing a connection with the Shopify store and transmitting updated product information. This systematic approach ensures a cohesive and organized integration between HotWax and the various Shopify stores within the shared product ecosystem.

Association in HotWax Commerce

Troubleshooting Steps

Step 1: Verify Product Association with the Shopify Store

1. Locate the Product in HotWax

   • Open the Audit page and examine the Shop listing status card to check the stores to which the product is currently listed. If it's not linked to the desired store, proceed with the following steps:

Step 2: Link product to Shopify store

1. Access the Find Product Page

   • Visit the Find Product page:https://{instanceName}.hotwax.io/commerce/control/FindProduct.

   • Open the detailed page for the specific product.

2. Inspect the Shopify Shop Product Section

   • On the detailed page, review the Shopify shop product section to identify the store with which the product is currently connected.

3. Establish the Connection

   • Initiate the connection by clicking the Add button.

   • Select the Shopify store designated as the Shop in OMS.

   • Input the Shopify product ID and Inventory ID (extracted from the product on the Shopify store).

Step 3: Refresh products to reflect changes

1. Execute Jobs in the Job Manager App

   • Within the Job Manager app, initiate the following jobs: Auto refresh pre-order catalog and Sync variant details by searching them from the pipeline page.

2. Review products in Hotwax and Shopify

By following these steps meticulously, you ensure a seamless and accurate linking of products, ultimately improving the functionality of the pre-order option on the Shopify store.

Merchandisers need a clear picture of their presell catalog to understand the status of pre-orders and back orders. This helps them figure out when these pre-orders will show up on Shopify. This overview also lets them check and confirm listed items, even after they're on the e-commerce platform.

To see their complete presell catalog, merchandisers can go to the catalog page through the left menu in the Pre-Order app.

The Catalog page shows all items in pre-orders or backorders in one place. On the right side, users can see when the last pre-order computation job commenced and when will the next job run.

Users can search for product SKUs for which they want to audit by their SKU, Product name, Product ID, or keywords in the search bar. They can also filter products by clicking Pre-order or Backorder to see items in those categories. Only items in those categories will appear in the filtered list. Products not added to the catalog won’t show up in the search results.

Once a merchandiser identifies their desired SKU, clicking on the product leads to the product detail page. This page facilitates an audit of the pre-order catalog through the following steps:

1. Variants View: Auditors can explore all product variants, such as colors and sizes, click on each variant to access specific information about that SKU.

2. Verify Shopify Pre-Order listing details such as:

• Pre-order Eligibility: Check the product's qualification for the presell category based on future and current inventory. Merchants will view Yes if product is eligible No if product is ineligible You can check the pre-order eligibility criteria to identify when a product is eligible for pre-order/backorder.

• Verify Category: Confirm if the product is correctly categorized on Shopify by checking for the ✅ icon in the UI. When the category is incorrect on Shopify, the auditors will see a warning sign that the product is incorrectly categorized. The incorrect categorization on Shopify is mostly due to the Job for syncing on Shopify has not commenced yet. Check Jobs for Pre-Order Catalog Synchronization with eCommerce to ensure accurate categorization.

• Verify Shopify Listing Status: Ensure the product is listed on all associated Shopify stores. When listed accurately it will reflect ‘listed on all stores’. If the product is not listed, check the respective job to push listing data on Shopify has run in the Job Manager App.

• Verify Promise Date: Every product that is eligible for pre-order will have a promise date for the future. Promise date can also be verified from the active purchase order card.

• Verify Presell Timeline: Review each eligible pre-order product for a future promise date. Auditors can monitor the timeline to observe when the preselling commenced and ceased, and the reasons behind halting the preselling process.

1. Verify Active Purchase Orders- Auditors can view the status of the active purchase orders for that specific products under Verify Active Purchase Order card. This card offers complete information if there’s any purchase order for this product that is scheduled to arrive and is not completed yet. The Active Purchase Order Page offers the following information:

• Pre-selling category: This field shows whether the product is in pre-order or backorder

• Ordered value: Check how many quantities are ordered in this purchase order

• Available: Check if there’s already a purchase order received for the same product and if yes what is the current status of the inventory.

• Corresponding sales orders: Check how many sales orders have already been received for this product

• Total PO items: Check how many items are going to be received in this purchase order

• Total PO ATP: Check how many available to promise inventory can be deduced from this PO. if the merchandiser has added any order buffer, yes then the ATP for the PO will be less than the incoming inventory

1. Check Online ATP computation- Online ATP calculation card offers the complete inventory explainability about how the pre-order item reaches the online ATP from the ordered quantity., This card contains the following information:

• Online ATP: The inventory available to promised online or the inventory on which the pre-orders can be taken will be visible in this field.

• Quantity on Hand: The total inventory that the retailer receives at the physical location will be visible in this field.

• Excluded ATP: Retailers can view how much inventory is excluded from the quantity on hand. The inventory can be excluded due to, already received online orders on it, the inventory also may have an order buffer which serves as safety stock for pre-orders.

• Reserve Inventory: This toggle allows Hotwax Commerce to reserve the inventory in the brokering queue when accounting for ATP calculation. Retailers who use Shopify as inventory master for pre-order computation need to toggle these settings off. Shopify already reduces the inventory at the time of the order's arrival. HotWax Commerce does not need to reduce the inventory from the ATP at the time of fulfillment otherwise it may result in double inventory deductions.

• Hold Physical Inventory: Shopify retailers managing Pre-Order inventory balance it between eCommerce and physical stores. For retailers with brick-and-mortar stores, HotWax Commerce allows a Hold Physical Inventory setting. This setting reserves excess Pre-Order stock for physical stores before pushing surplus to eCommerce. For example, if the 100 inventory is received for 80 online orders, the remaining 20 won’t be immediately available online to sell as available products. Instead, the retailer can hold the surplus inventory exclusively for their offline customers.

1. Related Job Information: Auditors have access to all product listing-related jobs, including their last execution time and upcoming run schedules. This quick access allows auditors to verify the completion of pre-sell computations, order brokering, and pre-order release jobs. Merchandisers can quickly run or cancel jobs by clicking on their respective names.

2. Shopify Shop Listing Status: Auditors can track product listings and delistings across Shopify stores. In case of any discrepancies due to job failures causing inaccurate listings or delistings, this information helps identify errors. Merchandisers can investigate the issue manually and resolve it to ensure accurate product category on Shopify.

HotWax Commerce’s Pre-order Solution empowers retailers to maximize revenue potential and operational efficiency. With intuitive applications and workflows, managing Pre-orders becomes straightforward.

Our solution enables retailers to sell inventory at full price before arrival, reducing end-of-season markdowns and securing increased revenues. By handling mixed cart orders, allocating inventory for online and physical stores, and facilitating Pre-order fulfillment without risking overselling, HotWax Commerce simplifies the entire Pre-order process.

Challenge

Unavailability of Pre-Order Option for a product on Shopify Store Despite 0 Inventory and Linkage to HotWax Commerce

Description

HotWax is encountering issues accurately reflecting product availability, notably during pre-orders for specific items. The problem arises when HotWax depends on Shopify for inventory data, resulting in products being inaccurately displayed as in stock when they are, in fact, out of stock.

Explanation

Inventory within Shopify:

• Shopify's available inventory is computed by deducting open orders from the physical inventory published by the ERP.

• During pre-selling, inventory levels can go below zero due to overcommitment of inventory, causing negative inventory.

HotWax's Inventory Computation when reading inventory from Shopify:

• HotWax deliberately disables specific functionalities to reserve inventory for committed orders, ensuring that committed inventory is not deducted twice. This precaution is taken because Shopify already incorporates committed inventory within its shared inventory levels.

Current State of Inventory Deduction in HotWax

• HotWax relies on Shopify's inventory-level webhooks as a crucial mechanism to determine the available inventory for its products. In HotWax, negative inventory values from Shopify are systematically treated as zero, mitigating the risk of inaccurate stock calculations. The issue arises when HotWax reads inventory from multiple locations. This process introduces a potential for inaccuracies in product availability computations, particularly when Shopify indicates negative stock levels.

Troubleshooting Steps

For Shopify

1. Navigate to the Product on Shopify:

   • Locate the specific product within your Shopify admin panel.

2. Check Inventory:

   • Review the inventory level for the product at all the locations. Hint: There must be locations with negative inventory numbers.

3. Verify the sum of location Inventories:

   • Ensure that the combined inventory from all locations sums to 0.

For HotWax

1. Find the Product in HotWax:

   • Locate the corresponding product in the HotWax Commerce Pre-order app's Catalog page and click the product to open the Product Audit page.

2. Check Inventory in the Online ATP calculation card:

   • Examine the inventory level for the product within HotWax. The online ATP would be more than 0.

To see how HotWax allocates pre-orders to physical inventory when HotWax is the source of inventory, check out this blog: https://www.hotwax.co/blog/how-to-capture-and-release-shopify-pre-orders-with-ease