📦 Use Supplier Stock
The Supplier Stock feature allows you to see exactly how much inventory your supplier currently has available for purchase for a given product.
Having this visibility directly within Optiply empowers you to make highly strategic purchase decisions. For example, if you see your supplier is running critically low on a top-selling item, you might decide to order more than the standard amount to secure the remaining stock before they run out!
Here is how to view this data and keep it automatically updated.
🔍 1. Where to View Supplier Stock
You can access your supplier's available stock levels in two different areas of the Optiply platform:
Location A: Inside a Purchase Order
When you are actively reviewing and editing a purchase order, look for the "Available products" folder or tab. Clicking this will display the supplier's current stock data directly inside your purchase order editor, allowing you to adjust your order quantities on the fly based on their actual availability.
Location B: On the Supplier's Page
If you want to browse a vendor's catalogue outside of an active order, navigate to the main Suppliers page. Select the specific supplier you want to review and click on the "Supplier Products" folder. This will display a comprehensive list of all products associated with that vendor, alongside their current available stock.
⚙️ 2. How to Upload and Update the Data
To make use of this feature, Optiply needs to know what the supplier actually has in their warehouse. This data is fed into the system programmatically via our Public API.
The Technical Method: Your development team or integration partner can upload the supplier stock by sending a
PATCHrequest to update thefreeStockattribute on thesupplierProductAPI endpoint.Best Practice: We highly advise setting up an automated process that updates this data in Optiply every time there is a change in your supplier's data feed. This ensures you always have the most accurate, real-time information when placing your purchase orders.
❓ 3. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What happens if Optiply advises more than the supplier has in stock?
This is exactly why this feature is so useful! If you see your supplier only has 50 units left, but Optiply advises you to buy 100, you can manually lower your order quantity to 50 to match their available stock. This prevents you from sending an unfulfillable order and allows you to immediately start looking for alternative sourcing for the remaining 50 units.
Do all suppliers support this feature?
This depends entirely on your supplier's technological capabilities. To use this feature, your supplier must be able to provide you with a regular data feed (like an XML link, CSV export, or API connection) of their inventory levels so you can push that data into Optiply.
Where can I find the API documentation?
Your development team can find all the necessary endpoints, authentication details, and payload structures for the supplierProduct API in Optiply's official developer documentation portal.