Orders and inventory
Place orders along a supply edge, dispatch and receive partially, and keep stock explainable through immutable movements.
An order travels along an edge
Every order names a seller node, a buyer node, the locations involved and the leg it belongs to. That is what allows one order model to serve primary, secondary and direct-to-retailer trade at the same time.
| Stage | What happens |
|---|---|
| Order | The buyer, a salesperson, or the distributor desk creates the order against a permitted edge, using that relationship's prices |
| Confirm | The seller confirms, substitutes or part-fills lines |
| Dispatch | Stock is allocated and dispatched from a specific location |
| Goods receipt | The buyer records what actually arrived, including partial receipt |
| Close | Remaining quantity, shortage or damage is resolved through a return or a claim |
Partial goods receipt is a first-class state. The quantity ordered, dispatched and received are recorded separately, so a shortfall shows up as a fact rather than being silently absorbed.
Stock, lots and movements
Inventory is held as positions per location, with lots where batch or expiry matters. Every change is an immutable movement, so the current position is always explainable by the movements that produced it.
| Concept | Why it exists |
|---|---|
| Position | What is on hand at a location right now |
| Lot | Batch and expiry identity for stock that ages or is recalled |
| Movement | An append-only record of receipt, dispatch, transfer, return or adjustment |
Because movements are immutable, correcting a mistake creates a compensating movement rather than editing history. Stock reports and any downstream accounting event therefore reconcile to the same trail.
Returns
A return moves goods or value back upstream: damage, expiry, shortage or recall. It carries proof, an approval step and a reference the seller can settle against. Returns are recorded against the original order and edge, which is what makes a later claim provable.
Field work
Salespeople and merchandisers run routes and visits against the same network. A visit can carry an order, a stock check, a promise to pay or photographic proof, and van stock is tracked as its own location so what left the warehouse and what was actually sold stay separate numbers.