In Pipe17, Products, Inventory, and Locations are the foundational data objects that keep your order operations accurate and synchronized across every selling channel and fulfillment system. Together, they define what you sell, how much of it you have, and where it’s stored.
By maintaining a unified product and inventory model, Pipe17 ensures that stock levels, pricing, and availability remain consistent, no matter how many stores, warehouses, or 3PLs you manage.
Understanding the Relationships
| Object | Definition | Purpose in Pipe17 |
|---|---|---|
| Understanding Products in Pipe17 | The item you sell, including all variants and SKUs | Ensures a single source of truth for product data across channels |
| Managing Inventory | The quantity of a product available at a specific location | Enables real-time availability and stock updates |
| Using Locations | A physical or virtual place where inventory is stored or fulfilled | Defines where orders are sourced and shipped from |
Pipe17 connects these three objects through its Commerce Data Model, allowing real-time synchronization across your selling channels, fulfillment centers, and back-office systems.
Product
A Product in Pipe17 represents a sellable item—typically defined by a SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) and supported by attributes like title, description, price, and dimensions.
Key characteristics:
- Products are ingested from your selling channels (e.g., Shopify, Amazon, NetSuite) or created manually in the app.
- Variants (like size or color) are managed under the same parent product for consistency.
- Product data normalizes automatically across all connected systems through Pipe17’s Managed Connector Network.
Why it matters: A clean, unified product catalog ensures your listings, pricing, and bundles remain synchronized across every sales and fulfillment channel.
Inventory
Inventory represents how much of each product you have on hand, on order, or allocated for fulfillment. Pipe17’s real-time synchronization ensures that inventory data flows instantly between your sales channels and warehouses.
Each inventory record is linked to:
- A Product (what item it represents)
- A Location (where it’s physically stored)
- Quantities (available, allocated, incoming, and reserved)
Key capabilities include:
- Multi-location tracking: Manage stock across multiple warehouses, stores, and 3PLs.
- Real-time updates: Prevent overselling and backorders by keeping quantities aligned.
- Inventory streaming: Push changes instantly to connected systems like Shopify, Amazon, or NetSuite.
Why it matters: Accurate inventory visibility reduces out-of-stock situations, improves order routing, and eliminates manual stock reconciliation.
Locations
A Location represents any place from which inventory can be fulfilled or received. Examples include:
- Warehouses and distribution centers
- Retail stores and pop-up locations
- 3PL facilities or partner fulfillment centers
Each location is assigned a unique Location ID and configured with attributes like:
- Type (fulfillment, storage, vendor)
- Priority or region (for routing decisions)
- Associated connectors (e.g., ShipBob, Logiwa, Amazon FBA)
Why it matters: Defined locations enable Pipe17 to make intelligent routing decisions—sending orders to the right warehouse based on stock levels, proximity, or business rules.
How They Work Together
- Product setup: Your catalog is synced into Pipe17 from one or more selling systems.
- Inventory mapping: Pipe17 tracks how much of each product exists at each location.
- Routing and fulfillment: When an order is received, Pipe17 evaluates available inventory and routes the order to the optimal location.
- Real-time synchronization: As inventory changes (due to sales, transfers, or receipts), Pipe17 updates all connected channels instantly.
This creates a seamless, error-free flow between your storefronts, warehouses, and fulfillment partners.
Example Scenario
- A brand sells the same SKU on Shopify and Amazon.
- Pipe17 imports the product once, linking both channels to a single master record.
- The product is stocked in two locations: Warehouse A (East Coast) and 3PL B (West Coast).
- As sales occur, Pipe17 decrements inventory from the correct location and updates both marketplaces in real time.
Result: Accurate stock levels, optimized fulfillment routing, and no overselling across channels.
Troubleshooting
If product or inventory data seems out of sync:
- Check the Connector Health for selling or fulfillment channels.
- Confirm that Product SKUs match across systems.
- Review Location configuration for active sync settings.
- Validate that inventory rules (e.g., available vs. reserved) are applied correctly.
Need Help?
If you need additional assistance:
- Use Ask Pippen, our AI agent, located at the top of the app page.
- Submit a support request with as much relevant detail as possible. Learn how to submit a request.
- For urgent issues, email us directly at support@pipe17.com.
We're here to help you succeed with your operations.
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