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Stock, returns and courier payouts: a guide for an online store with sizes
In a shoe and clothing store every size is a separate unit. That is why stock, returns and courier payouts drift apart more easily than in a store with one variant per item. Here is where time is usually lost and what changes when you put it in order.
Why sizes change everything
When you sell shoes or clothing online and in shops, “we have this model” is not an answer. What matters is the model, the colour, the size, the location and the state: available, reserved, on the way, or returned and not yet checked. Platforms often already support stock by variant and by location, but the data gets there only if someone enters it correctly at every stage.
The last pair
The most common situation: the last item is on the site, at the till and on the marketplace at once, and someone phones the shop before confirming the order. The practical rule is one place for stock with three states: available, reserved and on the way. When two channels clash over the same item, the system does not choose by itself but stops and shows the clash to a person.
The decision about which customer gets the pair stays with you. The system only shows clearly what is free and what is not.
Transfers between locations
The customer wants the size from another location. The box is noted for dispatch and later someone asks whether it arrived. Every transfer has a sender, a receiver and a reservation, and “sent” is not mistaken for “received”. That way the shop employee knows what is coming and when they can tell the customer “ready for pickup”.
Returns and exchanges as cases
A return with another size involves a deadline, an exchange and money that are often tracked in chats and notes. It is better for every return to be a case with dates and a next step: when the parcel arrived, who checked it, who approved the exchange. Money moves after a person’s approval, and the system prepares the case and shows what is missing.
Cash on delivery and courier payouts
The courier has delivered the parcel, but it is not clear whether it was paid. Matching parcels, cash on delivery and payouts is often done by hand at the end of the period. When parcels and payouts are matched every day, only the differences remain, and they wait in a list for you or for your accountant. The system does not move money or change accounts.
Campaigns and the same rules everywhere
Before a new campaign, prices, banners and a publishing time are prepared. The risk is that the discount comes out different across channels. A campaign that is prepared with a check of sizes, dates and exceptions and goes out after your approval is less prone to such mismatches.
Where to start
You do not have to put everything in order at once. Pick the one situation that hurts most and answer these questions:
- Which place leads for stock and what does your store already synchronise?
- How is the last pair reserved when two sales arrive at the same time?
- Who says “ready for pickup” in a transfer between locations?
- Which dates and which people are involved in a return with another size?
- How are cash on delivery and the courier’s payout matched and which accountant confirms them?
If your platform already covers part of this, we tune it first and write only what it lacks.
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