Inventory

Inventory Management

Walmart’s Inventory Management API provide drop ship vending (DSV) suppliers with mechanisms to update and view current item inventory levels at each ship node, also known as fulfillment centers. Suppliers assign each item they fulfill drop ship vending (DSV) through one or more ship nodes. Suppliers must accurately maintain the item’s inventory level at each ship node to ensure availability for customer orders.

There are several requests to manage inventory:

API	PUT Update Inventory	POST Bulk Inventory Update	GET Inventory	GET Single Item Inventory Across Ship Nodes
Description	Update the inventory level of a single item from a single ship node.	Update one or more items across one or more ship nodes.	Retrieve the inventory level for a single item from a single ship node.	Retrieve the inventory level for a single item from one or more ship nodes.
Type	Synchronous	Asynchronous	Synchronous	Asynchronous

April 12, 2023

1. Walmart has changed the primary identifier used for inventory updates from the stock keeping unit (SKU) to global trade item number (GTIN).
   • POST requests: Global trade item number (GTIN) will be the only primary identifier accepted for new released versions.
   • GET requests: Both stock keeping unit (SKU) and global trade item number (GTIN) will be supported when reading inventory levels.
2. POST Update Bulk Item/Node schema update: A new version (v2.X) was implemented with a flattened request structure resulting in an improved processing time.
3. New GET Single Item/Multiple Nodes read request: This request enables the user to view inventory levels for a single item across many ship nodes. This includes two new attributes in addition to on-hand inventory: reserved inventory for customer orders and the inventory amount that is available to sell.

This request updates the inventory of an item at a specific ship node. The primary identifier is the item’s global trade item number (GTIN) and requires the updated inventory level (on-hand inventory), which is input as quantity and unit (which will always be EACH).

This request allows drop ship vendors (DSV) to update inventory levels for multiple items. There are two different feed types suppliers can use when updating item inventory in bulk:

1. Update items across multiple ship nodes: feedType=DSV_INVENTORY
2. Update items within a single ship node: feedType=inventory (This request is planned to be deprecated in August 2023.)

Versions Available

Walmart has released a new bulk update version (v2.X) for multiple items and multiple ship nodes. This version offers several changes:

• New Primary Identifier: Global trade item number (GTIN) will be the only accepted primary identifier after this update.
• Flattened Schema Structure: The latest version was updated to have a simplified schema structure for enhanced processing.
• Enhanced Platform Performance: Walmart processing speed increased by 33%, and platform performance and uptime increased by 60%.

The existing v1.5 and v1.4 have a planned deprecation date of August 2023.

Submission Flow

The POST Bulk Inventory Update submission process is an asynchronous flow. After a successful submission, the supplier must continue to track the submission feed status to understand if each item inventory update was successful. This is tracked using the feed ID (feedId), as shown below:

Learn more about feed statuses and how to track them here. Having an issue during integration? Find the solution here.

Additional Information

Query Parameter (shipNode): This parameter is only mandatory when using the feedType=inventory. The parameter is not required when using feedType=DSV_INVENTORY.

This request is used to view the inventory of a specific item at a ship node. The supplier must indicate the ship node, the primary identifier, and what identifier type it is. The supplier can either use the global trade item number (GTIN) or the stock keeping unit (SKU) as the primary identifier. It will return both the global trade item number (GTIN) or the stock keeping unit (SKU), as well as the on-hand inventory level at that specific ship node.

GET Inventory Search Query Examples

Searching inventory by using global trade item number (GTIN):

GET v3/inventory?shipNode=721407&gtin=05521698385361

Searching inventory by using stock keeping unit (SKU):

GET v3/inventory?shipNode=721407&sku=WkCevhbEi3fSx4y

How to Use GET Single Item Inventory Across Ship Nodes

This read request allows the supplier to search for an item and view its inventory across multiple ship nodes. This response also includes two new attributes: availToSellQty (available quantity to sell) and reservedQty (reserved quantity). These attribute are important because there can be a delay between when an item is shipped to a customer following an order. If suppliers check inventory levels during this time, the item promised to the customer will be included as part of the total inventory count, even though there it is not available to sell.

This request provides suppliers with inventory levels visible across multiple attributes, such as:

• inputQty (on-hand inventory): The item inventory quantity as total inventory, factoring in both availToSellQty and reservedQty.
• availToSellQty (available quantity to sell): The number of items available to sell to a customer.
• reservedQty (reserved quantity): The number of items already ordered by customers, but not yet shipped.

A supplier using this request must specify the individual item they are looking for and the product ID type (productIdType) of that identifier.

Examples:

Call 1: Search for a given global trade vending number (GTIN) for all ship nodes. For example:

GET v3/inventories/05521698385361?productIdType=GTIN

Call 2: Search for a given stock keeping unit (SKU) for all ship nodes. For example:

GET v3/inventories/WkCevhbEi3fSx4y?productIdType=SKU

Call 3: Search for a given global trade vending number (GTIN) across a specified ship node. For example:

GET v3/inventories/05521698385361?&productIdType=GTIN&shipNode=721407

Q: Do these inventory endpoints apply for all items and supplier types?

A: These endpoints can only be used for items fulfilled through drop ship vending (DSV). They will only be accessible to suppliers who have an active and signed drop ship vending (DSV) agreement with Walmart.

Q: How does the user get a ship node ID?

A: Drop ship vendors (DSV) will receive this identifier during drop ship vending (DSV) account creation.

Q: How does the user track a feed?

A: Once the supplier uploads the submission feed with the item ship node inventory level, they will receive a feed ID. Feeds are used to track all asynchronous API requests to Walmart. Click here to learn more about how to track a feed.

Drop ship vendor (DSV): A type of supplier under the 1P business model who sell under Walmart’s name, but store their goods in their own warehouses and ship the items directly to customers.

Global trade item number (GTIN): A 14-digit number used to identify the quantity and unit (which will always be EACH).

On-hand inventory: The inventory for the item that the supplier has sent to Walmart.

Ship node: The distribution facility that the item is fulfilled from, also known as a fulfillment center.

Stock keeping unit (SKU): An identifier specified by the drop ship vendor (DSV).