Just in time replenishment (JIT)

Just in time replenishment (JIT) is a feature that is currently available to only reserve storage users. It is an inventory management method in which inventory will be moved from reserve storage to fulfilment warehouses only when required. This would help you to reduce out of stock scenarios and inventory holding costs.

🚀 JIT replenishment is now available for Amazon FBA transfers. Learn more

Note: JIT replenishment is not available B2B orders.

How does it work?

Our systems will continuously monitor your inventory across all regions, and when a SKU has low levels of inventory in any region, system would automatically suggest to replenish the inventory from Reserve storage to e-commerce fulfilment warehouses. 

• An email will be sent to you each week detailing the SKUs to be replenished as shown below.
• A draft transfer will be automatically created for the recommended SKUs, for which the details are shared in the email
• You can view/edit the draft transfer and confirm it to initiate the transfer of inventory from reserve storage to mentioned regions. 
  • You can also opt-in to automatically confirm these transfers as described below

Note: The minimum amount we replenish is one case pack per region. 

Please note this would only work if the SKU has inventory in reserve storage and has/had inventory in e-commerce fulfilment warehouses.

Auto Confirm Transfers

If you find the recommendations suggested by system for JIT replenishment useful, you can choose to enable auto confirm for your transfers.

What does this mean?

This means that you will not need to manually confirm the transfers each time and instead our systems will automatically confirm and initiate these transfers. You will however still receive email with details of the transfer and review the confirmed transfer in Flexport portal.

Step to enable auto-confirm

1. Visit Settings->Inventory page in the Flexport portal
2. Check on "Confirm recommended transfers automatically"
3. Click on "Save Changes"

You can read here to know more about storage to e-commerce transfers

How do I change the recommendation strategy?

Visit Settings->Inventory page on the Flexport Portal

Select "Optimal Coverage" if you want Flexport to select optimal strategy (i.e., Flexport will decide to use either of High, Standard and Lean coverage while computing recommendation) based on your inventory levels and order history.

Select your preferred strategy as per your requirement:

• High coverage (If there is less than 8 weeks of inventory left, replenish with 4 weeks of inventory. Recommended if your inventory demand variablity is high.)
• Standard coverage (If there is less than 5 weeks of inventory left, replenish with 3 weeks of inventory.)
• Lean coverage (If there is less than 3 weeks of inventory left, replenish with 2 weeks of inventory.)

Can I opt out of JIT recommendations?

Yes, you can choose to opt out of JIT recommendations that you receive and creation of draft transfers. 

1. Visit Settings->Inventory page in the Flexport Portal
2. Toggle off "Recommend transfers from Reserve Storage into Ecom Fulfillment Network"
3. Click on "Save Changes"

Frequently Asked Questions:

Who is enrolled in JIT?

Currently, if a seller inbounds to reserve storage will be automatically be enrolled in JIT recommendations. It means the seller will receive a weekly email detailing about all the SKUs which are low in inventory in various regions.

You can however choose to opt-out of JIT as described above.

How long does the transfers take?

It takes 5-7 business days for a transfer shipment to change from Ready to Ship to Forwarding status. Forwarding means your inventory has passed through cross docks and on its way to fulfillment centers. 

Once in forwarding status, the shipment will now follow our normal forwarding estimated receiving times outlined here.

I have enough inventory but still the program suggests me to replenish my inventory in FC's?

Let us take example of below SKU

Now although the inventory is 100 and demand is 15, we still ask to replenish 204 units is because 

- Its possible all or most of the inventory is in Texas region (which is not included in regions to replenish column), hence we ask to replenish other regions as the inventory might be low in them

- Currently we only replenish in multiples of case pack, so if the recommended quantity is 10 or 20 to replenish but if the case pack size is 500 units per case pack then we will suggest to replenish 500 units i.e., 1 case pack.

- The minimum amount we replenish is one case pack per region.

Can I reserve inventory for other channels (eg: FBA) if I opt-in to auto transfers?

As of now, inventory in reserve storage cannot be reserved for specific channels eg: FBA. However, if you want to ensure you have enough inventory for other channels while opting-in to auto confirming transfers, you can chose to replenish with Lean Coverage strategy. This would be beneficial as you would be replenishing minimum required quantity for your e-commerce while keeping enough inventory in reserve storage for other channels.

How is demand for new products forecasted?

1. We are able to map a given old product to the new product to learn the demand patterns from old product. This pattern will then be applied to new product to forecast it's demand until it builds enough demand pattern of it's own. You can provide the old-new product mapping by contacting us.
2. If there no old product mapped, the new products would be replenished with a bare minimum quantities across regions and as the product builds demand pattern, we would forecast and replenish accordingly.

Need help?

If you have any questions, please connect with our support team by following these steps.