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14. Load initial inventory

Initial inventory is the quantity available at the start of the reference date. It connects the preceding physical state to the first Supply Plan bucket. Because the tutorial plan starts on January 1, 2027, the snapshot must use exactly 2027-01-01.

Materials, locations, and the UOM must already exist from chapter 2. Load inventory after the production, network, and policy data from chapters 11–13.

Why the date must match exactly

The Supply Planning service retrieves inventory on the plan start date. A row dated 2026-12-31 or 2027-01-02 does not replace 2027-01-01.

Open Stock

Hover over Data and click Operations > Data Operations in the flyout.

Data menu only, with Data Operations highlighted

On the open page, select Transactional Data > Inventory > Stock > Stock.

Stock topic selected in the catalog

Select Download, enter 2027-01-01 as both the initial and final date, and click Download as XLSX. The date range belongs to this topic's extraction operation.

Download operation and Download as XLSX action for Stock

After checking the file, return to the same topic, select Import, choose the populated workbook, and click Import Stock Position.

Import operation and Import Stock Position action

1. Prepare the snapshot

13-initial-stock-2027-01-01.xlsx

Action required

Download the template, open the workbook, and check all five columns before importing all 20 inventory positions.

Transactional Data > Inventory > Stock > Stock.

Stock topic selected in the catalog

Select Import, choose 13-initial-stock-2027-01-01.xlsx, and click Import Stock Position.

Import operation and Import Stock Position action

Open initial inventory file with 20 positions for 10 finished goods at two DCs on January 1, 2027

Field Meaning Tutorial value
Location Id Physical point to which the inventory belongs. DC_EAST or DC_INLAND
Material Id Material available at the location. one of the 10 finished goods
Reference Date Date at whose start the quantity is available. 2027-01-01 on every row
Unit of Measure Id Unit of the stated quantity. TON
Quantity Available balance at the start of the date. as listed for each combination in the file

Use one row per material-location combination. Community Edition treats this inventory as aggregated; batches, expiration dates, aging, and shelf life are outside this topic.

2. Import and reconcile

Action required

  1. Under Stock, select Import.
  2. Choose 13-initial-stock-2027-01-01.xlsx.
  3. Click Import Stock Position and read the platform response.
  4. Return to Download.
  5. Enter 2027-01-01 in both date fields and download XLSX again.
  6. Compare location, material, date, UOM, and quantity across all 20 rows.

Checkpoint: the new extraction should reproduce all 20 file positions. If a row or quantity differs, stop and correct the data; do not silently turn missing inventory into zero.

3. Prepare the execution profile

Action required

In the Supply Planning execution profile, enable the option that considers initial inventory and save the profile before the first Supply Plan run.

The upload registers the positions. The profile determines whether the calculation uses them, so an imported file and an enabled option are separate checkpoints.

Final Supply data checklist

  • production and capacity loaded in the correct order;
  • network version, lanes, and allowed materials reconciled;
  • effective 5-day policy detailed and linked to the profile;
  • initial inventory exactly on 2027-01-01;
  • consistent units across every file.

Completion criterion

Complete the chapter when the 2027-01-01 Download reproduces all 20 positions and the profile is configured to consider initial inventory. The data will then be ready for future Supply Plan configuration and execution.

Return to the inventory policy, or review the full tutorial map.