Real-Time Inventory Visibility Is Essential
A consumer goods 3PL should provide customers with digital visibility into inventory and warehouse activity.
Brands need to know what inventory is available, what has been received, what has been allocated to orders and what has shipped. This becomes even more important when the same inventory supports multiple customers or sales channels.
Taylor uses Made4net Synapse WMS across applicable warehouse operations and provides customers access through SynapseAnywhere, a web-based customer portal.
Depending on the operation and integration, brands can gain visibility into information such as inventory, receipts, orders and warehouse activity.
Taylor also supports EDI and API integrations to exchange information between systems and reduce manual data entry.
What inventory visibility should a consumer goods 3PL provide?
A consumer goods 3PL should give brands digital visibility into what inventory is on hand and available, what has been received, what has been allocated to orders and what has shipped, by SKU and, where it matters, by lot and date code. That information should be available through a customer portal and, where needed, through EDI or API integrations with the brand’s own systems.
What inventory status should a brand be able to see?
A brand should be able to see each SKU’s inventory by status: on hand, available, allocated, on hold, damaged, expected and shipped. “On hand” alone doesn’t tell you what you can sell.
The same units move through these states every day. Visibility means seeing where they are now, not where they were at last night’s report.
Selling against 1,240 when only 62% is available is how brands oversell and short retail orders.
What warehouse activity should a 3PL report to its customers?
A 3PL should report the activity behind the inventory numbers: what was received and any discrepancies, what was adjusted and why, where each order is in the pick-pack-ship process and what shipped with which carrier.
Balances tell you where inventory is. Activity tells you why it changed. You need both to reconcile with your ERP.
Receipts
ASN or PO against what arrived, overages, shortages and damage, dock-to-stock time.
Inventory
By SKU, lot, date code and location, cycle count results and every adjustment with a reason code.
Orders
Received, released, allocated, picked, packed and shipped, with shorts and backorders flagged.
Shipments
Carrier, tracking, BOL, proof of delivery and ship confirmation back to your system.
Why does inventory visibility matter more when inventory serves multiple channels?
When retail, e-commerce and wholesale draw from the same inventory, every channel needs to see the same available quantity. Without it, one channel can sell or allocate units another channel is counting on.
The same applies when a 3PL building supports several of your customers or business units from shared stock.
For how retailers measure short shipments, see Retail compliance.
What is SynapseAnywhere?
SynapseAnywhere is Taylor’s free, real-time customer portal. It connects to Synapse, the warehouse management system by Made4net that runs Taylor’s applicable warehouse operations, so your team sees inventory, receipts, orders and warehouse activity as the warehouse records them.
When a pallet is received or an order ships, the scan updates Synapse, and SynapseAnywhere shows it. There is no nightly file to wait for and no added charge for access.
How should inventory data reach a brand’s systems?
Most brands use a mix: a customer portal for people to look things up, and EDI or API integrations so orders, receipts, inventory and shipment confirmations move between the 3PL’s WMS and the brand’s ERP or commerce platforms without manual data entry.
Which one fits depends on the systems you already run and how often the data needs to move.
Does Taylor integrate with e-commerce carts?
Yes. Taylor integrates with e-commerce carts so online orders flow into the warehouse without manual entry, and shipment tracking flows back to your storefront and your customer.
Depending on the platform and integration, inventory levels can also sync back to the cart, so your store sells what is actually available in the warehouse. Tell us which carts and marketplaces you use and we’ll confirm the connection.
Does Taylor work with EDI and API partners?
Yes. Taylor works with established EDI and API partners to connect your ERP, e-commerce carts, marketplaces, retailers and carriers to Taylor’s systems.
That means your team doesn’t have to build every connection from scratch. Mapping, testing and go-live are planned as part of onboarding, and the same connections keep information moving after go-live with less manual data entry.
How accurate does 3PL inventory data need to be?
Inventory visibility is only as useful as the data behind it. Ask how the 3PL records transactions, counts inventory, controls lots and dates, documents adjustments and reconciles with your system, and agree how accuracy will be measured and reported.
A fast portal showing the wrong number is worse than no portal. Agree on the definition of inventory accuracy before go-live.
Scan-based transactions
Receipts, moves, picks and loads confirmed by scan, so the system updates when the work happens.
Cycle counting
Counts on a schedule by velocity or value, with results and variances visible to the customer.
Adjustments with reason codes
Every change to inventory recorded with who, when and why.
Lot and date control
Lot and expiration captured at receipt, so holds and FEFO picking work.
Reconciliation
Regular comparison of 3PL and ERP balances, with differences investigated and closed.
What should I ask a 3PL about inventory visibility?
Ask what your team will actually see, how current it is, how it gets into your systems and how its accuracy is measured.
Ask to see the portal live with a real customer’s data masked. For the full evaluation, see How to choose a 3PL.
Inventory visibility: FAQs
What inventory visibility should a consumer goods 3PL provide?
A consumer goods 3PL should give brands digital visibility into what inventory is on hand and available, what has been received, what has been allocated to orders and what has shipped, by SKU and, where it matters, by lot and date code. That information should be available through a customer portal and, where needed, through EDI or API integrations with the brand’s own systems.
What is real-time inventory visibility?
Real-time inventory visibility means inventory and warehouse activity are updated in the 3PL’s system as work is confirmed, such as receipts, moves, picks and shipments, and brands can see those updates through a portal or integration rather than waiting for a daily report.
What is the difference between on-hand and available inventory?
On-hand inventory is everything physically in the warehouse for a SKU. Available inventory is on hand minus units already allocated to orders, on hold or damaged. Available is the number you can sell.
What is inventory allocation in a 3PL?
Allocation reserves specific units for a released order so they can’t be promised to another order. Allocated units are still on hand until they ship.
Why is inventory visibility important for multichannel brands?
When retail, e-commerce and wholesale draw from the same inventory, every channel needs the same available quantity. Without it, channels can oversell, retail orders can ship short and teams spend time reconciling counts by hand.
What should a 3PL customer portal include?
Inventory by SKU and status, lot and date detail where applicable, receipts and discrepancies, order status from release to shipment, shipment tracking and documents, activity history and exportable reports.
What is SynapseAnywhere?
SynapseAnywhere is Taylor’s free, real-time, web-based customer portal, connected to Synapse by Made4net, the WMS used in Taylor’s applicable warehouse operations. Depending on the operation and integration, customers can see information such as inventory, receipts, orders and warehouse activity as it is recorded, with no added fee for portal access.
Is SynapseAnywhere free?
Yes. There is no added fee for SynapseAnywhere customer portal access for Taylor warehousing customers in applicable operations.
Does Taylor integrate with e-commerce carts?
Yes. Taylor integrates with e-commerce carts so online orders flow into the warehouse without manual entry and shipment tracking flows back to the storefront. Depending on the platform and integration, inventory levels can also sync back to the cart.
Does Taylor work with EDI and API partners?
Yes. Taylor works with established EDI and API partners to connect customer ERPs, e-commerce carts, marketplaces, retailers and carriers to Taylor’s systems, so connections don’t have to be built from scratch.
What WMS does Taylor Logistics use?
Taylor uses Made4net Synapse WMS across applicable warehouse operations.
Which EDI documents are used between a brand and its 3PL?
Common warehouse EDI documents include the 940 warehouse shipping order, 945 warehouse shipping advice, 943 stock transfer shipment advice, 944 stock transfer receipt advice, 846 inventory inquiry/advice and 947 inventory adjustment advice.
Should I use EDI or API to connect with my 3PL?
Use EDI when your ERP or trading partners already work in EDI documents. Use API connections when platforms need frequent, automated updates and support them. Many brands use both, plus a portal for people to look things up.
Does Taylor support EDI and API integrations?
Yes. Taylor supports EDI and API integrations to exchange information between systems and reduce manual data entry. Which integrations are used depends on the program.
How is 3PL inventory accuracy measured?
Commonly by comparing system quantities to physical counts, by SKU and location, through cycle counts and periodic reconciliation. Agree on the definition, method and reporting cadence before go-live.
From evaluation to go-live
Six guides that follow the order most consumer goods buyers work through a 3PL decision.
Warehousing, fulfillment and transportation under one partner.
Read →How warehousing, fulfillment and freight are priced.
Read →Evaluating providers, RFPs, proposals and site visits.
Read →Routing guides, labels, ASNs, OTIF and chargebacks.
Read →WMS, customer portal, EDI and API.
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