How stock is shared between networks
Each fulfillment network has a need of its own, worked out as described in How a network's send is calculated. This page covers the other side: how much stock your warehouses can give, what the planner keeps back for the orders you ship yourself, and who gets what when there isn't enough for everyone.
For each SKU, the planner works through these stages:
Where the stock comes from
The planner sends only from your own warehouses and your 3PL warehouses: the ship-from sources. A warehouse that's archived, or that you exclude from planning, isn't a source, and a network's own warehouse never is. You choose which source can ship to which network on the Network rules tab; see Choose where sends ship from.
From each source, the planner counts the available quantity. Available is already net of everything set aside: units allocated to sales orders, stock holds and other allocations, including the planner's own allocations for earlier sends. Backorders waiting for stock are kept back on top of that. So the planner never offers stock that's already promised. For how allocations reduce what's available, see How allocations work.
On top of what's on the shelf, the planner can count two more things.
Kits you can build
For a kit, the stock to share includes the kits already built plus the kits you could assemble from component stock. Components are planned first, so only the component stock left after the components' own self-fulfilled demand and their own sends goes toward kits. The Why these numbers drawer says how many: Includes N kits buildable from components, sometimes followed by how many more all the component stock could make, with the rest kept for the components' own demand.
When a kit's send is more than the kits already built, the line gets the Needs kit build flag, and the drawer says how many kits this plan needs built, with a button to assemble them. If you allocate stock for a kit that's short on the shelf, the planner allocates the built kits plus the components for the rest. See Cover a shortfall and Assemble a kit.
Stock on the way
By default the planner plans from what's on hand. You can also have it count production and purchase orders due at your warehouses soon, as if they'd already arrived. Choose how far ahead under Count stock on the way in Tune plan (On hand only, 14 days or 30 days), or set any number of days from 0 to 180 under Count stock on the way (days) on the Network rules tab. 0 means on hand only.
What it counts, when it's due within that window:
- Open purchase orders delivering to a source warehouse. Draft purchase orders you created yourself don't count; draft purchase orders released from MRP do (next bullet).
- Manufacturing orders that are confirmed, in progress or partly completed.
- Planned orders released from MRP that aren't counted above yet: a draft manufacturing order, a draft purchase order, or a transfer into a source that hasn't been received.
Each order is judged by its own expected date, so an order without an expected date is never counted. Units planned from stock on the way stay tied to that order: they can't be allocated or drafted until the order is received. The drawer marks them as incoming supply and says Includes N units of incoming supply. To count one SKU's next order from the drawer, use Count it, as described in See why a SKU gets its quantity.
For how SKU.io tracks incoming stock in general, see Stock states and How a PO becomes inventory.
What's kept for your self-fulfilled orders
Before any network gets a unit, the planner sets aside enough for the orders you ship from your own warehouses: your web store, eBay, Amazon orders you fulfill yourself, wholesale and so on. These are your self-fulfilled orders. The planner keeps:
- Forecast self-fulfilled demand: what those orders sell per day at your source warehouses × Keep for self-fulfilled orders (days), 21 days by default.
- Plus open orders that aren't allocated yet.
- Plus backorders.
The Why these numbers drawer shows the sum under Kept for self-fulfilled orders, for example 44.0/day × 21 d = 924, then any + N open wholesale, + N other open orders and + N backordered. Units already allocated to open orders aren't counted again, because they're no longer in available; the drawer notes them as N more already allocated to open orders (not in available, so not counted again).
The kept stock is taken first from the sources where Ships self-fulfilled orders is on, shortest-dated lots first, so the networks get the longer-dated stock.
If you turn off Protect self-fulfilled orders: include forecast demand on the Network rules tab, the forecast part is dropped and only open orders and backorders are kept. You can also change the days for one plan under Keep for self-fulfilled orders in Tune the plan.
When a network runs out of a SKU, some buyers order it from your own store instead. That can raise your self-fulfilled sales, and so what's kept back. The planner notes it in the explanation but doesn't correct for it.
Stock to share
What's left is the Stock to share, the second column of the plan grid. Each cell reads, for example, 4,036 to share with 4,960 on hand · 924 kept underneath.
When everything available is kept back, the SKU has nothing to share. It gets the All protected flag, and the drawer explains which kind of stock used it all: stock allocated to open orders, stock kept for open self-fulfilled orders, or stock kept for self-fulfilled demand. That isn't an error. If you'd rather send some anyway, lower the days kept back, or override one quantity and confirm Use protected stock; see Change a send quantity.
Favoring a network
The grid's When stock is short toggle lets you favor one network over your own orders. Protect self-fulfilled orders is the normal setting. Favor Amazon FBA US (or another selling network) lets that network use the stock kept for self-fulfilled demand too, and the drawer shows − N released to a favored network. See Tune the plan.
Three controls decide whether a network may take the stock kept for your self-fulfilled orders. The network card and the grid use the same words: Protect self-fulfilled orders or Favor network.
| Control | Where | Saved or preview | Scope | How it interacts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| When stock is short on a network card: Protect self-fulfilled orders or Favor network | Each network's card on Network rules | Saved rule | That network, in every plan | The starting point for every plan. |
| When stock is short on the grid: Protect self-fulfilled orders or Favor network | Filters panel on the Plan tab | Purple preview until you click Apply & recalculate | One favored network at a time; picking it sets every other selling network to protect | Once applied, it's saved on the working plan and wins over the card for every later recalculation, like other tuning, until you use Reset to Network rules. See What a promoted scenario or applied tuning leaves on the working plan. |
| Protect self-fulfilled orders: include forecast demand | Planner settings on Network rules | Saved switch | All networks | When it's off, nothing is kept for forecast demand, so there's nothing for a favored network to take. Open orders and backorders stay kept either way. |
When there isn't enough for every network
When the stock to share covers every network's need, each network gets its need and the rest Stays at source. When it doesn't, the SKU is short, and the planner shares it in three passes:
- Floors first. Every network is lifted toward its Floor: the days of cover it should never drop below while stock lasts. This pass treats every network equally, whatever its priority. If the stock can't even cover every floor, the floors are shared equally and those lines get the Below floor flag.
- Then by priority. What's left is shared by each network's Priority, evening out days of cover: a network at priority 2 ends up with about twice the days of cover of a network at 1, but never below either one's floor.
- Buffers last. A buffer network such as Amazon AWD gets only what's left after the selling networks.
The why N? card in the drawer shows these passes as steps, such as Pool short → floor first (14 d cover) and Then share the remaining pool by weight 0.8. The SKU gets the Short flag, and the drawer's red alert says how many units it's short: Short 329 units across networks after sharing the pool by priority.
Sharing never takes from the stock kept for your self-fulfilled orders, never sends a negative number, and a network whose stock is already running out still gets its floor first.
The plan summary adds up the short SKUs in N SKUs can't reach target, with the units short underneath. To close the gap, see Cover a shortfall.
Shelf life on arrival
Some networks only accept stock with enough shelf life left when it arrives. Amazon FBA and AWD have defaults; the AWD default, 185 days, is much longer. You can set Shelf life on arrival on any network's card in Network rules. For selling networks, a product's own minimum shelf life raises the network's minimum when it's longer.
A network with a minimum only draws lots that will still meet it on arrival, counting the network's days to check in. Among those lots, it takes the shortest-dated first. The network with the strictest minimum gets first pick of the long-dated lots. Stock with no expiry date always qualifies.
Lots that expire too soon for a network aren't sent there, but they stay available for your self-fulfilled orders, which have no minimum. The why N? card says N units excluded: expire too soon (Amazon AWD US needs N days of shelf life left on arrival), and the line gets the Expires too soon flag. If only some warehouses hold lots with enough shelf life, the card may also say Limited by lots with enough shelf life at the warehouses allowed to ship here.