How to reserve stock against open orders
Learning to reserve stock against orders is what separates physical quantity from available quantity. In Jestor, an order can commit stock at a defined stage, so the number your team sells against reflects what is genuinely free.
Why overselling happens with accurate inventory
The count can be perfectly correct and the company can still oversell. Physical stock includes items already promised to orders that have not yet shipped.
Selling against the physical number is therefore selling the same unit twice, and the problem appears at picking, when it is most expensive to resolve.
What reservation prevents:
- Two orders promised the same unit
- Shortages discovered at picking
- Customers told an item was available when it was not
- Purchasing decisions based on inflated availability
- Manual checks before confirming each order
Physical, reserved and available
| Quantity | Definition | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Physical | What is in the warehouse | Counting and auditing |
| Reserved | Committed to open orders | Picking planning |
| Available | Physical minus reserved | Selling and purchasing |
| Incoming | Ordered from suppliers | Purchasing decisions |
Step by step to implement it
- Decide the stage at which stock is committed, usually at payment confirmation.
- Connect order items to products as related records.
- Calculate reserved quantity as a formula summing open order items.
- Calculate available as physical minus reserved.
- Show available, not physical, wherever anyone sells or promises.
- Release the reservation on cancellation, explicitly.
- Reconcile physical against records on a regular cycle.
Why showing the wrong number is the whole problem
Most teams have all three quantities somewhere. The failure is that the screen where someone confirms an order shows the physical count, because that is the simplest field. Changing which number is displayed at the point of decision fixes overselling without changing anything else.
Why Jestor is the best complement for Omie
Jestor keeps order items as connected records, so reserved quantity is a formula rather than a manual adjustment, and the available number can be the one displayed wherever orders are confirmed. Stock movements integrate natively with Omie, which remains the system of record for the product catalog and the financial side.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do I oversell when my stock count is correct?
Because the count includes units already committed to open orders. See jestor.com.
When should stock be reserved?
Usually at payment confirmation, though it depends on how firm your orders are.
What must happen on cancellation?
The reservation must be released, or available stock drifts downward permanently.
Video Tutorial: Step by Step
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