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## Resource: About Inventory Management

## Article: About Inventory Management

## Article Link: https://dev.wix.com/docs/api-reference/business-solutions/stores/catalog-v3/about-inventory-management.md

## Article Content:

# About Inventory Management

Inventory management in Catalog V3 is handled in both the [Products API](https://dev.wix.com/docs/api-reference/business-solutions/stores/catalog-v3/products-v3/introduction.md) and the [Inventory Items API](https://dev.wix.com/docs/api-reference/business-solutions/stores/catalog-v3/inventory-items-v3/introduction.md). This article explains how inventory is tracked across products, variants, and locations in the different APIs.

## How inventory is tracked

In Catalog V3, inventory is tracked at the variant-location level. Each inventory item represents a specific product variant at a specific location. This granular approach enables:

- Multi-location inventory management (warehouses, retail stores, fulfillment centers)
- Per-variant stock tracking
- Flexible availability status tracking
- Preorder configuration per variant-location combination

## Accessing and managing inventory information

The Products API and Inventory Items API serve different roles in inventory management:

**Products API:**

- Provides a read-only `inventory` field on the product entity with aggregated status from the default location only
- Provides methods ([Create Product With Inventory](https://dev.wix.com/docs/api-reference/business-solutions/stores/catalog-v3/products-v3/create-product-with-inventory.md), [Update Product With Inventory](https://dev.wix.com/docs/api-reference/business-solutions/stores/catalog-v3/products-v3/update-product-with-inventory.md)) that can create or update inventory items alongside product data

**Inventory Items API:**

- Primary API for managing inventory data
- Controls tracking method (quantity or in-stock), preorder settings, and availability status
- Handles increment and decrement operations
- Required for multi-location inventory management

## Tracking methods

Inventory items can be tracked using either quantity or in-stock tracking. Quantity tracking provides exact stock counts and supports preorder limits. In-stock tracking provides simple availability without counts, which is useful for made-to-order or digital products.

## Availability status

Each inventory item has an `availabilityStatus` that's automatically calculated based on the tracking method and preorder settings. The status reflects whether the item is in stock, out of stock, or available for preorder only. This status is read-only and updates automatically when inventory changes.

## Preorder

Preordering allows customers to purchase items that are currently out of stock, with fulfillment occurring once inventory becomes available. Preorder settings are configured per inventory item, meaning each variant-location combination can have its own preorder configuration.

## Multi-location inventory

Inventory can be tracked across multiple locations such as warehouses, retail stores, and fulfillment centers. Each inventory item is uniquely identified by its `variantId` and `locationId` combination, so a single variant can have separate inventory records at different locations, each with its own quantity and preorder settings.

Every store has a default location that's automatically created. When `locationId` isn't specified, the default location is used. The product's read-only `inventory` field reflects only the default location's inventory status.

The [Stores Locations API](https://dev.wix.com/docs/api-reference/business-solutions/stores/catalog-v3/stores-locations-v3/introduction.md) provides read-only access to inventory locations. To create or modify locations, use the [Wix Locations API](https://dev.wix.com/docs/api-reference/business-management/locations/introduction.md) and include `"INVENTORY"` in the `locationTypes` array.

## Creating products with inventory

The [Create Product](https://dev.wix.com/docs/api-reference/business-solutions/stores/catalog-v3/products-v3/create-product.md) method doesn't automatically create inventory items. Use [Create Product With Inventory](https://dev.wix.com/docs/api-reference/business-solutions/stores/catalog-v3/products-v3/create-product-with-inventory.md) to create both in a single call, or create inventory items separately using the [Inventory Items API](https://dev.wix.com/docs/api-reference/business-solutions/stores/catalog-v3/inventory-items-v3/create-inventory-item.md).

## Decrementing inventory

When decrementing inventory for order fulfillment, the Inventory Items API lets you control whether to allow negative quantities and whether to count the sale against preorder capacity instead of regular stock.

## See also

- [Inventory Items API](https://dev.wix.com/docs/api-reference/business-solutions/stores/catalog-v3/inventory-items-v3/introduction.md)
- [Products V3 API](https://dev.wix.com/docs/api-reference/business-solutions/stores/catalog-v3/products-v3/introduction.md)
- [Stores Locations V3 API](https://dev.wix.com/docs/api-reference/business-solutions/stores/catalog-v3/stores-locations-v3/introduction.md)
- [Terminology](https://dev.wix.com/docs/api-reference/business-solutions/stores/catalog-v3/terminology.md)