Inventory and buying

Inventory management software, warehouse to shelf

Run the stock on iVendNext, the open retail platform: one stock ledger across every store.

Inventory management software for retail chains, where every store sells from one stock ledger. Track batch, serial and expiry, buy with purchase orders and receipts, move stock between stores, count shelves with iVendNext Handheld, and let Foresight draft the next order. Your warehouse system, 3PL or marketplace connects to the same ledger.

Three phones running iVendNext Handheld: a delivery received against its purchase order at Harbour Lane Sandton, a stock count with its variances, and a transfer request between two stores
One stock ledger

Stock management software every store shares

Every sale, receipt, transfer and count is a stock document on the same ledger, so every store reads the same figure.

  • Set up each item once and see its stock in every store and warehouse.
  • See what is on hand, on order and reserved in one place.
  • At the till, a cashier sees the item in other stores and can send it home or set it for collection there.
iVendNext POS for a cordless drill with none on hand at Sandton City: 11 on hand at V and A Waterfront, collect the same day, and 7 at Gateway in Durban, ships in 24 hours, with Ship to home and Collect at another store
Out of stock here, on the shelf elsewhere: the sale is saved.
Batch, serial and expiry

Every lot and every serial, from receipt to sale

Lots and expiry dates

Each lot keeps its expiry date. At the till the lot that expires first is offered first, and an expired lot is stopped at an online till.

Choosing the lot of fresh milk on iVendNext POS, oldest first: the lot expiring 29 October 2026 is taken before the one expiring 6 November 2026
The lot that expires first is offered first.

Serial numbers

Capture each unit's serial at receipt, at the count and at the sale, and find the sale a serial belongs to on a return.

A count on iVendNext Handheld: a graphite 256 GB smartphone with 5 of 6 serials scanned and a variance of one
A serial count that shows which unit is missing.

Markdowns and recalls

Mark down lots near their expiry date by your own steps, and block a recalled lot at every online till at once, with its stock found in every store.

Buying

Purchase orders and receipts, store by store

Buy centrally or let each store order, and receive every delivery against what was ordered.

A purchase order in iVendNext Desk to the supplier Coastal Home Goods for the Harbour Lane Cape Town store: five items with their quantities, rates and amounts in rand, 138 units in all
A purchase order for one store, waiting to be received.

Order

  • Compare supplier quotes side by side.
  • Combine demand from stores and approve orders centrally.
  • Blanket and drop-ship purchase orders.
  • A purchase request raised when stock reaches its reorder point.

Receive and cost

  • Receive against the purchase order on a phone or a rugged scanner.
  • Return to the supplier from the same app.
  • Add freight and duties to get the true landed cost of every item.
  • With your ERP connected, purchase orders and receipts stay in step with it.
iVendNext Handheld

Receive, move, count and pick where the stock sits

iVendNext Handheld puts stock work on a phone or a rugged scanner, from the warehouse to the shelf. Every scan posts to the same ledger the tills sell from.

  • Count a shelf and see each line's variance before you save.
  • Move stock between stores and locations in a few scans.
  • Pick, pack and deliver orders, and look up any item and its stock in every store.
  • Queue shelf labels to print from iVendNext Desk.
A pick list on iVendNext Handheld for a sales order at Harbour Lane Sandton: items asked for and picked, two of four lines done
Picking an order, line by line.
An item looked up on iVendNext Handheld: a scented candle at R 129.00 with its stock at Harbour Lane Sandton, Durban and Cape Town
An item and its stock in every store.
Foresight

Foresight drafts the next purchase order

Retail inventory planning software that works from your own sales: Foresight forecasts what each warehouse will use and drafts a purchase order when stock runs low. Your buyer reviews it before it goes.

The Foresight inventory dashboard in iVendNext Desk: items analysed, reorder alerts, critical, fast-moving and slow-moving items, and a chart of items by status
The Foresight inventory dashboard.
Connect anything

Your ERP keeps the books. iVendNext runs the stock.

Receipts, transfers and counts post to the ERP you already run, and items, prices and vendors come back. iVendNext connects to SAP Business One, SAP S/4HANA, Acumatica, NetSuite, Sage X3 and many others. Want one system for everything? See the complete back office.

Any other system connects too: a warehouse system, a 3PL, a supplier portal or a marketplace. It links through the REST API or the event feed, or your iVendNext partner builds the connection with the partner kit.

Ready connectorsConnectors built on the Integrations HubREST API and event feedBuilt by your partner with the kit
Questions

Inventory management software questions

What is inventory management software for a retail chain?

It keeps one record of every item's stock in every store and warehouse, and of every movement that changed it. In iVendNext the tills, Handheld and buying all post to the same stock ledger.

How do I see stock across every store and warehouse?

From one screen in iVendNext Desk, or at the till itself: a cashier sees the item's stock in the other stores and can send it home or set it for collection there.

Can the system suggest what to reorder?

Yes. A reorder point raises a purchase request on its own, and Foresight drafts a purchase order from its forecast for your buyer to review.

How are transfers between stores handled?

A transfer is a stock document: staff scan the items on Handheld, choose the store they go to and save, and the stock moves on the same ledger.

Does a sale update stock at once?

Yes. A sale posts to the stock ledger when it is booked. A sale made while the network was down posts when the till sends it on reconnecting.

Which scanners does Handheld run on?

Rugged Android handhelds, and phones and tablets, in the browser. Your partner helps you choose the devices for your stores.

See your stock on one ledger

We will show you a delivery received against its order, a shelf counted with Handheld, and Foresight drafting the next order.

Building retail solutions? Talk to our partner team.