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OrderIQ Automated Inventory Detection

Distributor guide to how OrderIQ in Encompass uses recent store inventory counts for Intermittent products to decide suggested orders, with the threshold formula and an example. Requires v26.03+.

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Written by Bailey Naas-Thornton

Minimum Version Required: 26.03

Pre-Conditions

  • Inventory data must be actively recorded and synchronized with the system's Customer History.
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  • OrderIQ must be active for the customer account.

Steps

OrderIQ automatically detects and processes store inventory values to improve predictive ordering accuracy. Manual configuration or opting into inventory tracking is no longer required, as the system seamlessly evaluates the latest inventory data to optimize order recommendations:

  1. Product Classification: Verify that your product is set to the "Intermittent" Sales Type in the Customer Product Combinations table. (See definitions below for how this is classified).
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  2. Automated Inventory Ingestion: You don't need to change your workflow. The system automatically reads the most recent inventory entry recorded in the customer's history (such as counts logged via your Encompass Mobile app) for any given product.
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    - Active Sync    : If valid, recent inventory data is found during the active synchronization cycle, OrderIQ will ingest that data and immediately factor it into the predictive ordering model.
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    ​- Bypass Protocol: If the inventory data is empty or older than the current synchronization cycle, the system will automatically bypass the inventory ingestion for that specific product and customer, preventing outdated data from affecting order predictions.
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  3. Invoice Maintenance: Simply continue processing your sales through Invoices. The system automatically pulls this sales data to calculate the "Weekly Consumption."
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  4. Review Recommendations: When generating your Suggested Order report, OrderIQ evaluates the data. For Intermittent items with valid cycle data, it will suggest a reorder if the Estimated Current Inventory falls below your Inventory Threshold.

Fields And Definitions

Understanding these terms will help you see how the system makes decisions within the database:

  • Intermittent Sales Type:

    • Definition: A sales pattern characterized by irregular demand or infrequent purchase cycles (slower-moving products).

    • How it is Classified: On the Customer Product Combinations table, OrderIQ's AI automatically assigns this classification by analyzing your historical sales data. It evaluates the Sales Interval Weeks and the Sales Threshold. If a product does not sell on a highly predictable weekly schedule, the AI flags it as "Intermittent" and triggers the specialized, inventory-based formula.

  • Active Synchronization Cycle:

    • Definition: The current timeframe in which OrderIQ scans for recent inventory updates. Only inventory data recorded within this active cycle is factored into the daily predictive ordering model to ensure data freshness.

  • Inventory Threshold:

    • Definition: Your safety stock level. When estimated inventory hits or drops below this line, a reorder is triggered.

    • Calculation: It is automatically calculated based on the last 6 months of ingested inventory data, specifically looking at the count recorded immediately before a new shipment arrived.

  • Weekly Consumption:

    • Definition: The average volume of the product sold or consumed per week, derived automatically from historical Invoice data.

  • Recommendation Formula:

    • The Logic: (Most Recent Count from active sync cycle) + (Orders since that count) - (Weekly Consumption × Weeks since that count) ≤ Inventory Threshold.

    • If this condition is met, the product appears on your suggested order.

Best Practices

OrderIQ in Action

Let's look at how OrderIQ makes a calculation behind the scenes for a slow-moving item, such as a "Premium Craft Stout."

The System Data (Automatically Calculated):

  • Inventory Threshold: 5 cases (OrderIQ knows this store needs to reorder when stock hits 5 cases to avoid running out).

  • Weekly Consumption: 2 cases/week (Based on historical invoice data).

The Real-World Activity:

  • A sales rep visited the store and logged an inventory count of 12 cases via Encompass Mobile 2 weeks ago.

  • There have been 0 new deliveries (Orders) of this product since that count.

OrderIQ's Automated Calculation Today:

  1. Expected Depletion: 2 cases/week × 2 weeks = 4 cases consumed since the last count.

  2. Estimated Current Inventory: 12 (Recent Count) + 0 (Orders) - 4 (Expected Depletion) = 8 cases remaining.

  3. The Decision: OrderIQ compares the 8 remaining cases against the Inventory Threshold of 5. Since 8 is greater than 5, the system will NOT suggest a reorder this week, preventing overstocking.

Fast forward to next week: If no new inventory is counted and no deliveries are made, the expected depletion will be 6 cases (2 cases × 3 weeks). The new estimated inventory drops to 6 cases. If they sell slightly more than average and the estimated stock hits 5 or below, OrderIQ will automatically add the item to the Suggested Order report!

To ensure OrderIQ’s predictive models adapt accurately to your business, keep the following in mind:

  • Frequent & Accurate Counts: Ensure store inventory counts are recorded accurately and on a frequent schedule. Consistent tracking provides the predictive models with highly relevant information, leading to higher order accuracy and a significant reduction in returned items.

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