How do I manage stock?

Here there are defined the steps to follow to manage stock from LogiCommerce.

1. Stock management
   When it is enabled it will be possible to have control of the product stock management. It will only be possible to buy a product if its stock is higher than zero (except if the option Allow backorder is enabled). When it is disabled, as there is no control, all the visible products will be always on sale (so, this option should be enabled only in case we have unlimited stock).

   Stock management can also be enabled or disabled on an individual basis. The important factor here is the product's individual record card. The option chosen there will override any other or later options. So, you can disable stock management on a general level, but activate it for a number of products or vice versa; activate it at a general level and disable it for a specific set of products.

2. Stock system
   It defines how we want to manage the display of the stock system in the FrontOffice, according to the system that adjusts your business better, by units or by availability. If stock is not going to be displayed in the FrontOffice, this option will not be taken into account.

3. Default availability
   This option is related to the previous one. In case that we need to view the stock by availability, it is possible to set a parameter to display a default availability definition.

   In general, it is possible to create as many availability definitions as needed (FrontOffice Settings > Product availability). In case it is needed, it is possible to link certain availability to a group of products in their file card (in the Advanced parameters block).

   The message about product availability is calculated according to the number of available products. For example, it can be set that, when a product is between 5 and 50 units, in its card there is a text saying “Available product” whereas when it is between 1 and 4 units the text says “Almost out-of-stock product” and, when it is out of stock, the text in its file card says “Out of stock” or “Available in 15 days”.

4. Show out-of-stock products
   When option No is enabled it means that if there is no stock of a product, it is not displayed in the FrontOffice. If we enable the option Yes, it means that the product is displayed in the FrontOffice although it has no stock, and it cannot be bought (except if Allow backorder option is enabled) but it is displayed with an informative aim.

5. Allow backorder
   When this option is a Yes, it means that it is allowed to buy a product without stock, and to create by this orders in the Reservations status instead of Incoming; while if this field is a No we will disable the option to buy out-of-stock products.

   If reservations are allowed, the orders that have some product with insufficient stock will be created in the Reservations status and we will be able to change it to the Incoming status (starting point) only if all the products have enough stock to process the order. This implies that it is necessary to add stock before changing its status.

   When a product is in Reservations, the basket shows a message indicating it, and it shows as well a message indicating that stock is insufficient in case the reservation is not allowed. If reservations are allowed it is recommended, when possible, to indicate the period or the date of future availability of the out-of-stock product.