How To: Manage Stock levels for communication to BigCommerce when using New Channels
Table Of Contents
Important
Warning: The information in this article is only available if New Channels is enabled within Khaos Control.
Introduction
Khaos Control gives you control over which stock items are uploaded to a channel and how stock availability is displayed online.
You can:
- Upload stock levels for selected products only.
- Control the percentage of available stock shown on a channel.
- Create different stock upload profiles for different products.
- Configure stock calculations for Move With parent items.
- Apply profiles to specific sites and stock ranges.
This is particularly useful if you want to limit which products are listed on a channel or maintain a safety stock buffer by displaying fewer items than are physically available.
Upload Selected Stock Items Only
If you do not want all stock items to be uploaded to a channel, you can configure the channel to upload specified products only.
Add Products to the Upload List
- Type chan into the Command Window.
- Double-click the required BigCommerce channel.
- Open the:
[ Channel | Detail | Stock ]screen. - Press Alt + E or click Edit to enter edit mode.
- Change Stock to upload to:Upload specified items only
- Click New above the Stock grid.
- Select the required stock items from the stock lookup.
- Double-click each item to add it to the grid.
- Repeat until all required products have been added.
- Press Ctrl + S or click Save.
Once configured, only the stock items listed in the grid will have their stock levels uploaded to the channel.
Create Stock Upload Profiles
Stock Upload Profiles allow you to control how much stock is displayed on your channel.
For example, if you hold 100 units of a product but only want customers to see 75 units available online, you can create a profile that uploads 75% of your available stock.
Create a Stock Profile
- Type chan into the Command Window.
- Double-click the required BigCommerce channel.
- Open the:
[ Channel | Detail | Stock ]screen. - Press Alt + E or click Edit to enter edit mode.
- Click New above the Profiles grid.
- Enter a name for the profile.
- Configure the available settings as required.
- Press Ctrl + S or click Save.
Profile Settings Explained
Qty to Upload
The Qty to Upload field determines what percentage of your available stock is published to the channel.
| Actual Stock Quantity | Qty to Upload | Quantity Shown on Channel |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 100% | 100 |
| 100 | 75% | 75 |
| 100 | 50% | 50 |
| 100 | 25% | 25 |
This can be used to maintain a stock buffer and reduce the risk of overselling.
Calc. Rel. Potential
Tick Calc. Rel. Potential to calculate the available quantity of Move With parent items based on the availability of their related child items.
This helps ensure accurate stock availability for products that depend on other stock items.
Default
Tick Default to automatically apply the profile to all stock items unless a different profile has been assigned.
If the profile is not marked as default, you must manually assign it to specific stock items using the Profile column in the Stock grid.
Site
Use the Site column to define which site the profile applies to.
This is useful when uploading stock to multiple websites or channel locations with different stock requirements.
Stock Match Type
The Stock Match Type field determines how products are matched between Khaos Control and the channel.
To configure this:
- Select the required profile row.
- Press F4 in the Stock Match Type column.
- Choose the required barcode type from the lookup list.
The available options are taken from the barcode types configured in System Data.
Example Configuration
A common setup is:
| Profile Name | Qty to Upload | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Standard Upload | 100% | ✓ |
| Marketplace Buffer | 75% | ✗ |
| Clearance Lines | 50% | ✗ |
In this example:
- Standard Upload is applied to all stock items by default.
- Marketplace Buffer can be assigned to selected products where a stock buffer is required.
- Clearance Lines can be used for products where limited availability should be shown online.
Tips
- Use a default profile to minimise maintenance.
- Create exception profiles for products that require different stock rules.
- Consider uploading slightly lower stock quantities on busy marketplaces to reduce the risk of overselling.
- Review profile settings regularly if stock allocation rules change.
Troubleshooting
Products are not uploading to the channel
Check that:
- Stock to upload is set correctly.
- The stock item has been added to the Stock grid when using Upload specified items only.
- The channel configuration has been saved.
Incorrect stock quantity is showing online
Review the assigned stock profile and check the Qty to Upload percentage.
A profile is not being applied
Verify that:
- The profile is marked as Default, or
- The profile has been manually assigned to the stock item in the Stock grid.
The required Stock Match Type is not available
Check that the barcode type has been created within System Data before attempting to select it in the profile configuration.