Inventory availability and dynamic buffers

A Dynamic Buffer holds back a quantity from availability without changing stock in your source system. Use it to leave a safety margin for store sales or stock discrepancies.

On-hand and available inventory

On-hand inventory is the quantity recorded at a Location. Available inventory is the quantity a Connection or routing rule can use after the relevant inventory settings and buffers apply.

For example, a Location with 12 units and a Location buffer of 3 has 9 buffered units available. The buffer does not physically reserve or move those three units.

What a buffer can target

Choose a Connection, Location, SKU, or a combination of them. Leave a field unselected when the buffer should apply broadly.

Scope	Effect when buffers are applied
Global, no selected fields	Reduces each SKU’s pooled total across sales Connections
Connection	Reduces each SKU’s pooled total for that Connection
SKU	Reduces that SKU’s pooled total across Connections
Connection and SKU	Reduces that SKU’s pooled total for one Connection
Location	Reduces stock at that Location for every SKU
Connection and Location	Reduces stock at that Location for one Connection
Location and SKU	Reduces one SKU’s stock at that Location
Connection, Location, and SKU	Reduces stock for that exact combination

Matching buffers add together. A broad buffer does not replace a more specific one.

Pooled and location inventory behave differently

Buffers without a Location reduce the combined total. They do not reduce each Location’s quantity. Location buffers reduce the relevant Location’s stock and also reduce the pooled total.

Start with 10 units in Store A and 10 in Store B.

SKU buffer only

Store A

10

Store B

10

Pooled availability

10 + 10 − 3 = 17

17 of 20 units available

Location buffer only

Store A

7

Store B

10

Pooled availability

7 + 10 = 17

17 of 20 units available

Both buffers

Store A

7

Store B

10

Pooled availability

7 + 10 − 3 = 14

14 of 20 units available

Each buffer is 3 units. The Location buffer targets Store A; the SKU-only buffer reduces the pool. On-hand stock stays at 10 units per store.

If a sales Connection publishes inventory by location, use Location-specific buffers to protect those quantities. Check whether the Connection is configured to apply buffers before relying on the reduction.

Check buffers that combine a SKU and Location

A buffer with both a SKU and Location can reduce the pooled total more than once in the current calculation. Check the exported total before applying this scope broadly, and contact Sqquid support if the reduction is larger than expected.

Buffers and order routing

The Apply inventory buffers routing constraint uses buffers that include a Location. It affects Fewest locations first, Ranked locations, and Closest location.

Global, Connection-only, and SKU-only buffers do not reduce the inventory used by these routing rules. Route by sales channel, pickup, dropship, and fallback routing have separate behavior.

For example, to keep two units at a busy store out of both online location inventory and normal inventory-based routing, create a Location buffer of 2. Confirm that the sales Connection applies buffers and turn on the routing constraint.

Create and check a buffer

Follow the Dynamic Buffers guide to create, edit, or delete buffers and check when changes reach your stores. Before saving, check for existing buffers that cover the same stock.

After saving, review the next inventory sync and check the quantity on the sales Connection. See when buffer changes appear online. Use the routing preview to check fulfillment assignments separately.