Inventory updates occur when a store changes the quantity of units of an SKU. This update occurs via Inventory on the VTEX platform.

There are three ways to update inventory items:

• Via API: you can use the Update inventory for SKUs and warehouses API.
• Via Admin, using a template: you can download the inventory template generated by the VTEX platform and then import the completed template. This allows you to update data in bulk. Learn more in the article Importing and exporting the inventory template.
• Via Admin, manually: you can manually update one SKU at a time, following the guidelines below.

Inventory updates occur if there is a difference in the new quantity of items. For an inventory update to occur, via VTEX Admin or via API, the quantity of items after the change must be different from the quantity of items available at the moment. The platform also accepts the update when the inventory has an acknowledged reservation, even when the quantity of available items corresponds to the updated quantity.

To update inventory items manually in Admin, follow the steps below.

1. In the VTEX Admin, go to Catalog > Inventory > Inventory management, or type Inventory management in the search bar at the top of the page.
2. Search for a product or combine filters to find the items you want. Learn more about how to use the filters in the article Inventory management.
3. Fill in the Update count field with the updated quantity of items.
4. A preview of the update will be displayed. Check the count.
5. Click on Save.

To make SKUs available, include the available units of each SKU for each corresponding inventory. The updated quantity must also correspond to the quantity of items available in your inventory. This way, you ensure that the SKUs available in your store are actually available for sale.

An order can have an active SKU reservation. If the product has not been shipped, it will be considered a reserved item. Learn more about invoiced orders and reservations. Orders with reserved SKUs will continue to be listed as reserved, and their sale will remain unavailable. Learn more about how reservations work.

There may be a negative SKU quantity in the inventory. If there is a negative number in the Available column on the Inventory management page, this means an item has a negative stock, that is, there are more reserved items than the total quantity of items registered in the inventory.

Available units = updated quantity of units - reserved units

Negative stock usually occurs when an SKU corresponding to an order that already has a reservation is removed from inventory. To avoid this situation, it is important that the SKU quantity update takes place once the status of the orders has changed from Preparing for delivery. At this point, the platform has already acknowledged the reservation, and it won't interpret the SKU quantity update as a reduction in the quantity of units of a product that hasn't been sold yet.

• Inventory management
• How reservations work