Product Customizer & Bundle Builder: Inventory Management for Product Bundles

A product bundle is considered a single product that combines multiple SKUs into one offering. For example, a clothing set consisting of a top and shorts can be created by grouping tops in two colors with shorts in two colors. This results in four unique inventory items that require management within the system. If any variant goes out of stock, it may affect the availability of the entire bundle.

To help you efficiently track the inventory of your product bundles and their associated SKUs, this guide explains how to manage bundle inventory using the Product Customizer & Bundle Builder app.

Enabling Automatic Inventory Updates for Product Bundles

To minimize the risk of overselling or fulfillment delays, it is recommended to enable the automatic inventory update feature for inventory management. Once enabled, the system will automatically calculate the available quantity of product bundles based on the inventory of individual SKUs. Follow these steps:

1. In the Product Customizer & Bundle Builder app, go to the Bundles tab and select the product bundle you want to update.

   

2. In the Stock section, select Calculate the maximum quantity of bundle that can be formed based on the quantity of components (enabled by default when a bundle is created). Once enabled:

   • Manual inventory adjustments are disabled. 
   • The system automatically calculates bundle inventory based on the available SKU inventory across all locations. 
   • Products using app or fulfillment locations are also supported, allowing bundle quantities to be calculated based on the available inventory at those locations.

   

   Note: When the automatic inventory update is enabled, the Enable inventory tracking and Continue selling when out of stock options become unavailable. Inventory management follows the SKU settings on their respective product pages, according to these rules: If all SKUs in the bundle do not track inventory, the bundle will also not track inventory. If any SKU tracks inventory, the bundle must also track inventory. If all SKUs in the bundle are set to continue selling when out of stock, the bundle will also continue selling when out of stock. If any SKU does not continue selling when out of stock, the bundle will also not continue selling when out of stock.

3. Under Select a location, choose a location for the system to use when calculating the shipping fee for the bundle.

   Note: This location is used only for shipping fee calculation and does not affect inventory tracking.

   

4. Click Update to save your changes.

Example Calculations

Assume a product bundle consists of three SKUs, totaling six items (1 of SKU 1, 2 of SKU 2, and 3 of SKU 3). The following examples illustrate different inventory calculation scenarios:
 

Scenario 1: All SKUs Track Inventory

When inventory tracking is enabled for all SKUs within a bundle, the system calculates the available bundle quantity based on the SKU with the fewest units currently available for sale as part of that bundle.

Scenario 2: Some SKUs Track Inventory

In this scenario, inventory for SKU 3 is not tracked, meaning it does not limit bundle availability. SKU 1, which has the fewest units available per bundle, determines the total number of available bundles.

Scenario 3: No SKUs Track Inventory

In this scenario, none of the SKUs track inventory, meaning that bundle inventory is also not tracked.

Viewing Available Product Bundles  

Once the automatic inventory update feature is enabled, you can view the available inventory of your product bundles on their product settings pages. From your SHOPLINE admin panel, go to Products and select the bundled product. In the Inventory section, you can:

• View the available bundle inventory quantity: This is displayed at the bottom left and is automatically calculated; it cannot be manually adjusted.
• Check the inventory calculation method: Click See calculation method at the bottom right to view how the inventory is calculated.
• Review update history: Click Log to view the update history of this bundled product.

This allows you to easily check and manage the bundle inventory, calculation method, and update history for your product bundles.

Updating Bundled Product Inventory Manually

If you prefer to manually manage the available inventory for product bundles at each location, follow these steps:
 

1. In the Product Customizer & Bundle Builder app, go to the Bundles tab and select the bundled product you want to update.

   

2. Locate the Stock section and select Manually edit the quantity of the bundle.

   

3. Check Enable inventory tracking and/or Continue selling when out of stock, if needed.

   

4. In the store location list, manually adjust the inventory for each location. Locations marked with the App location label are managed by a third-party app or fulfillment service. Their inventory fields are disabled and cannot be edited manually.

   Notes:  When a bundle is sold, the stock levels of its individual SKUs are automatically deducted. Ensure that the SKUs are stored in locations where the bundle is available and that there is sufficient stock to fulfill orders. Inventory for App location rows is maintained by the connected third-party system. If you need to change the inventory for those locations, update it in the connected app or fulfillment service instead.

   

5. Click Update to save your changes.