Knowing what to reorder, and when
See what's promised to customers beyond what you have and what's on its way, raise the purchase order from there, and know when it will land.
You know this if…
- You walk the shelves on Friday to work out what to order.
- You find out you're out of something when a customer orders it.
- "When will it be back in?" gets a guess.
- Purchase orders live in your email, and nobody knows what's already on order.
Why it happens
What to reorder isn't what's low on the shelf; it's what you've promised beyond what you have and what's already coming. That needs the order book, the stock and the purchase orders in one place, and on paper they never are.
And when to reorder depends on how long your supplier really takes — not what they quoted, but what the last few deliveries took.
How Manifold handles it
Manifold keeps open orders, stock and purchase orders in one record, so each SKU has a projected figure: available, plus incoming, plus in transit, less what's owed to waiting orders. When that goes negative, the dashboard says so.
See what's running short
The dashboard's "Running short" card lists the SKUs where more is promised than you have and have coming, worst first.
Raise the purchase order
"Raise a purchase order" opens a new PO: pick the supplier, add the lines, authorise it, and it shows as incoming on each SKU.
Know when it lands
Manifold learns each supplier's lead time per SKU from its recent deliveries, and shows a restock date on the orders waiting for it.
Receive it into stock
When the delivery arrives, receive it against the PO and the waiting orders are allocated.
What you can check
Projected, not just on hand
Available plus incoming plus in transit, less backorders: a negative projected figure means order more.
Stock figures →Lead times from real deliveries
Each supplier's lead time per SKU is estimated from its recent receipts, weighted to the latest, with how confident the estimate is.
Purchasing →Supplier scorecards
On time, in full and undamaged, per supplier, from every delivery you receive.
Suppliers →Questions people ask
- Can I set reorder points or min and max levels?
- Not yet. Manifold flags a SKU when it's promised beyond what you have and have coming, rather than below a fixed level.
- Does Manifold write the purchase order for me?
- It opens a new purchase order from the Running short card; you choose the supplier and quantities. An AI agent connected to Manifold can draft one for you to authorise.
- Can it tell customers when stock is back?
- Orders waiting for stock show a restock date from the first open purchase order that covers them, or from the supplier's lead time if nothing is on order.
- Do I have to stop using what I have now?
- No. Every new Manifold business starts read-only: orders come in, imports run and your team works in Manifold in full, but nothing goes out — no stock to your store, no email to customers — until an owner goes live. Run it beside your paper and spreadsheets until you trust it.
See it on your own products.
Nothing changes until you say so.
Connect your Shopify store or bring a spreadsheet, and your own products, stock and orders are in Manifold the same day. Every new business starts read-only: your team can work in it in full while nothing goes out — no stock to your store, no email to customers — until an owner goes live. Free for 60 days.
Other problems we fix
How to stop overselling across Shopify and wholesale
Stop selling stock you no longer have: one count across Shopify and wholesale, with orders holding units and the store's figure updated within seconds.
Your stocktake never reconciles
A stocktake that ends in a spreadsheet nobody trusts: count by location, see each variance before you complete, and post the differences with their cost.
Running a second warehouse or site without losing track
A second warehouse, shop or unit without losing track: stock per site, transfers tracked in transit, orders routed to the site that can fill them.