Stock levels in the system that don't match what's on the shelf because the current platform can't handle variant-level tracking across locations?
Buying team manually building purchase orders in spreadsheets because the system has no reorder point automation?
Custom Retail Inventory Management Software
Custom inventory management software for multi-location retailers with complex SKU mixes -- variant-level stock tracking, purchase order automation, reorder point rules, and supplier management that actually matches how your buying team works.
We build systems for retailers who have outgrown spreadsheet-based buying and whose current platform can't track stock at the size, colour, and location level accurately enough to trust.
Variant-level stock tracking across every location with real-time accuracy after every transaction
Automated reorder point rules that generate purchase orders without manual buying team intervention
Full purchase order lifecycle from supplier catalogue through goods receipt and invoice matching
Supplier cost management with margin reporting and price variance alerts
RaftLabs builds custom retail inventory management software for multi-location retailers with complex SKU mixes. The software covers variant-level stock tracking across locations, purchase order creation and approval, automated reorder points, goods receipt, invoice matching, and supplier cost management. A custom system is the right choice when off-the-shelf platforms cannot model your product hierarchy or automate your replenishment logic accurately. Most retail inventory projects ship in 12--14 weeks at a fixed cost.
100+Products shipped
·24+Industries served
·FixedCost delivery
·12-14Week delivery cycles
The spreadsheet buying cycle is a choice, not a constraint
Most multi-location retailers arrive at their buying process from the same direction: they added locations faster than their system could keep up, so the buying team started maintaining stock positions in spreadsheets because the platform couldn't be trusted. Now the spreadsheet is the source of truth, the system is a secondary record, and the buying team spends half their time reconciling two sets of numbers instead of buying stock.
The underlying problem is that most off-the-shelf retail platforms track total quantity rather than variant-level quantity across locations. A retailer with twelve colours and six sizes per style, spread across eight stores, has 576 stock positions per style. Generic systems aggregate them and the numbers drift. Custom inventory management software models your actual product hierarchy -- style, colour, size, location -- and keeps every position accurate after every sale, receipt, and transfer.
Reorder point automation follows naturally from accurate stock data. When the system knows the current stock of each variant at each location, it can calculate when to reorder, how much to order, and from which supplier -- and generate the purchase order without a buying team member having to check a spreadsheet.
What we build
SKU and variant management
Product hierarchy that models your range accurately: style, colour, size, or any attribute combination your buying team works with. Barcode assignment at the variant level with support for supplier barcodes, internal barcodes, and GS1. Bundle and kit management where a kit SKU tracks component stock separately from finished kit stock. Product import via spreadsheet or supplier feed with validation before it touches live stock records. Attribute-based filtering across the full catalogue for buying team and store management use. The product data foundation that makes every downstream stock position accurate because the data model is right.
Multi-location stock tracking
Per-location stock levels at the variant level updated in real time after every sale, goods receipt, write-off, and transfer. Stock reservation for click-and-collect orders that deducts the available quantity at the fulfilment location before the customer collects. Stock transfer requests initiated from the store dashboard with a request, approval, and dispatch workflow. Allocation views that show the buying team where stock is concentrated and where the gaps are before a new delivery arrives. Location-specific availability for use in e-commerce and online ordering integrations. The location accuracy that means your stock reports and your shelves agree.
Purchase order management
Supplier product catalogue with cost prices, minimum order quantities, and lead times per supplier. PO creation from the buying team dashboard or auto-generated by reorder point rules. PO approval workflow with configurable spend thresholds and approver routing. Goods receipt against the PO at line and variant level -- quantity and condition recorded at the point of receipt, not assumed. Invoice matching against the goods receipt with discrepancy flagging for quantity and price variances. PO history and open order visibility so the buying team knows what is en route and when.
Reorder point automation
Configurable minimum and maximum stock levels per variant per location, or aggregated across locations for centralised replenishment. Automatic PO generation when stock falls to the reorder point, using the preferred supplier, the configured order quantity, and the current cost price. Safety stock calculation based on your configured lead time and sales velocity so the reorder trigger fires early enough to prevent stockouts. Exception report showing variants approaching reorder point but not yet triggering, for buying team review before the weekend or a known busy period. The automation that removes the daily stock-checking task from your buying team and replaces it with an exceptions-only workflow.
Wastage and shrinkage tracking
Write-off recording at the variant and location level with reason codes: damaged, expired, theft, unknown shrinkage. Shrinkage reporting by location, product category, and reason code for loss prevention review. Stock count workflow for periodic or cycle counts -- variance between system and physical is recorded and approved before stock levels are adjusted. Adjustment history with the staff member, date, and authorisation recorded for audit purposes. Shrinkage rate by location compared across the estate so outlier locations are visible without manual calculation. The loss prevention data that moves shrinkage conversations from anecdotal to evidence-based.
Supplier and cost management
Supplier profiles with contact information, payment terms, lead times, and minimum order requirements. Cost price by supplier per variant so the system knows which supplier to use when generating an automated PO. Margin reporting at product, category, and supplier level using current cost prices against selling prices from your POS or e-commerce platform. Price variance alerts when a goods receipt cost differs from the PO cost by more than a configured threshold. Supplier performance tracking: on-time delivery rate, fill rate, and return rate per supplier. The supplier data layer that makes buying decisions based on margin and reliability rather than habit.
Frequently asked questions
The system is built to handle your specific product hierarchy -- no artificial limits on attribute depth, variant count, or SKU volume. We have built for retailers with styles carrying 200+ variant combinations and catalogues with 50,000+ active SKUs. The critical design question is how your buying team thinks about product: by style, by category, by supplier, or by season. We model the hierarchy to match that mental model so the system is usable for the people running it, not just technically correct at the database level.
Stock allocation works at the variant and location level. When a goods receipt arrives at a central warehouse, the buying team allocates quantities to each store location based on demand history, current stock position, and planned promotions. The allocation is confirmed and the stock transfer dispatched from the warehouse to each store. Store managers confirm receipt and the location stock is updated. For retailers who ship direct from supplier to store, the goods receipt is recorded at the store level rather than centrally. We model whichever distribution flow matches your actual operation.
Yes. Common integrations include Xero and QuickBooks for cost of goods and purchase order financial data, and ERP systems including SAP, Microsoft Dynamics, and NetSuite for retailers who run a full ERP alongside a retail-specific inventory tool. We also integrate with POS systems so stock deductions happen in real time at the point of sale rather than via a nightly batch. Integration scope is defined during discovery -- we document the data flows, confirm what each system's API supports, and price the integration as a defined scope item before development starts.
Standard reports include: stock on hand by variant and location, stock movement history, days of cover by SKU, sell-through rate by category and style, shrinkage and write-off by location and reason code, open purchase orders and expected delivery dates, and supplier fill rate and on-time delivery. Management summary reports consolidate the buying team's key decisions daily: what needs ordering, what has too much stock, and where the shrinkage outliers are. Reports are available in the dashboard and exportable to Excel or your BI tool. If you have specific reporting requirements, we build them into the project scope.
Talk to us about your inventory management project.
Tell us your location count, SKU complexity, current system, and where the buying team's biggest pain points are. We'll scope the right system and give you a fixed cost.
