How 3PLs can give clients real-time inventory visibility
The options 3PLs use to share stock and order information with client brands, from emailed reports to client workspaces, and the isolation questions to ask.
Stokrio Team · · 6 min read
Ask a brand what frustrates them about their 3PL and "I don't know what stock I have" will be near the top of the list. Visibility is often the difference between a client who renews and one who shops around. Here are the common ways to provide it.
Option 1: scheduled reports
A daily or weekly stock report by email or shared spreadsheet.
- Good: simple, works with any system.
- Not so good: stale by the time it's read; every question becomes an email to your account manager.
Option 2: data feeds
Push stock levels to the client's own systems through an API or file drop.
- Good: suits clients with their own ERP or planning tools.
- Not so good: each integration is a project, and smaller brands don't have the systems to receive it.
Option 3: a client workspace
Each client logs in to see their own stock, inbound purchase orders and orders.
- Good: self-serve and always current; reduces account-management load.
- Not so good: only as good as the isolation between clients — which is where you need to ask hard questions.
Questions to ask about isolation
If clients log in to a shared system, each one must only ever see its own data. When evaluating software, ask:
- Is each client a separate account, or a filter on a shared one?
- Is access decided on the server for every request, or by what the browser sends?
- Can a client's user be accidentally given access to another client?
- How are your own staff given access to clients, and can that be revoked?
- What happens to a client's access when you suspend or offboard them?
Onboarding clients
The smoothest onboarding gives you control without creating admin work:
- Invite a client's owner by email, and let them invite their own team.
- Or share a signup link and approve brands as they apply.
- Set each user's role so planners, warehouse staff and finance see what they need.
In Stokrio
Each 3PL client is its own organisation with its own users, stock and purchasing. Access is resolved on the server for every request, and your staff reach a client only through your 3PL's membership. You can add clients and invite their owners, or turn on a signup link and approve brands as they apply, and suspend or reactivate a client at any time. Read more on the For 3PLs page.