What is manufacturing stock visibility — and why does it fail in growing businesses?
Manufacturing stock visibility is the ability to see, in real time, how the build process affects raw material availability, work-in-progress quantities and finished goods stock and to have that information in the same operational record as sales orders, purchasing and warehouse execution.
For many manufacturing and retail hybrid businesses, this visibility does not exist.
The inventory system, a retail ERP, a spreadsheet, or a combination of all three were designed to run a retail business.
Your system tracks finished goods well. It connects to ecommerce channels, processes sales orders, manages despatch.
But it was not built for manufacturing. It has no concept of a bill of materials.
It cannot allocate raw materials to a build order and remove them from the available-to-sell figure.
It cannot track work-in-progress as a distinct stock state.
Finished goods are only updated when someone manually adds the completed units to the stock record.
The result is a persistent gap between what the system says and what is physically happening on the production floor.
Raw materials are committed to a build but still show as available for sales orders.
Finished goods are on the production line but not yet visible to the warehouse or the sales team.
Purchasing decisions are made without accounting for raw material demand from planned production.
What you lack is Operational Control across your business.
Does any of this describe your operation?
- Raw materials show as available in the system even when they are already allocated to an open build order
- You cannot tell from the system how many finished goods are currently being produced versus how many are available to sell
- Finished goods are added to the inventory record manually when production completes — often hours or days after the physical build
- Purchasing decisions for raw materials do not account for production demand alongside retail demand
- Work-in-progress is tracked on a whiteboard, a spreadsheet or not tracked at all
- The current system handles retail and ecommerce well but cannot do manufacturing — and that is the primary reason you are looking at alternatives
If any of the above are true, the issue is not a process gap — it is the absence of a platform that treats manufacturing and retail as one connected operational flow rather than two separate activities.
“Our replenishment process was manual, error-prone and time-consuming. Between the three of us, we’ve gained 70 to 80% of our time back.”
Purchasing team, multi-channel fashion retail businessRoot cause: The current system was not built for manufacturing. It tracks finished goods. It does not track the process that produces them. Raw material consumption, work-in-progress and the relationship between production demand and retail demand are all outside its operational model. The team fills this gap manually — build sheets, production logs, manual stock entries — which means the inventory record is always behind the physical reality.
Stok.ly resolves this by connecting manufacturing workflows to the same operational record as retail. A build order raised in Stok.ly immediately allocates raw materials from the live inventory, removing them from available stock. WIP is tracked as a distinct state. When production completes and the build is confirmed, raw material allocations clear and finished goods increment — automatically, in real time.
Reject rates and yields are automatically calculated, as is the final per unit cost price.
The final cost price is calculated on the cost of BOMs, plus landed manufacturing costs and divided by the number of units received in good state.
Trust your stock. Transfer with confidence. Control orders. Fulfill every day like clockwork.
Bill of materials — the connection between production and live inventory
A bill of materials (BOM) in Stok.ly defines the raw materials and component quantities required to produce one finished manufactured unit.
Unlike a standalone product recipe or a static document, the BOM in Stok.ly is connected live to the master inventory record.
When a build order is raised against a BOM, raw material quantities are allocated for picking, stock transfer or purchasing. Â
This matters because most manufacturing businesses have experienced the alternative: raising a build order, preparing to start production and discovering only then that raw materials were not in stock.
The BOM-to-inventory connection prevents this.
Once a manufacturing run is submitted, all BOM materials are allocated to that manufacturing run and removed from available stock.
When a build order commits 500 units of a component, those 500 units are no longer available for other manufacturing runs or for sales orders.
The allocation is live from the moment the build order is submitted.
Work-in-progress — stock in the build process is not invisible stock
Work-in-progress (WIP) is the stock state between raw material allocation and finished goods completion.
In retail management systems, this state does not exist because manufacturing is not supported.
Stock leaves the raw materials record when the build starts and arrives in the finished goods record when production ends.
Everything in between is invisible. Â
In Stok.ly, WIP is a tracked stock state.
Raw materials move from allocated to WIP when the build order is started.
As production progresses, the WIP quantity is visible in the operational record.
When production completes and the build is confirmed, WIP clears, the raw material allocation closes and finished goods increment.
No manual stock entries are required.
The operational record reflects the actual physical state of production at every stage.
“We had no visibility of yields and reject rates at each stage of the manufacturing process. Stok.ly has given us that insight”
Manufacturing team, homewares business
Raw material available-to-sell — accounting for production demand alongside retail demand
Raw materials in a manufacturing and retail hybrid business may serve two demand types: direct sales (selling the component or raw material as a finished good) and production (consuming the component in a build).
Without a system that understands both demand types, available-to-sell or available for production can become an unreliable numbers.
Stok.ly calculates available raw materials by accounting for both demand types simultaneously.
If a component is used in both direct sales and production, the ATS figure excludes both open sales order commitments and open build order allocations.
Purchasing decisions are based on a figure that reflects the actual available quantity — not a total on-hand count that ignores production demand.
Why manufacturing businesses leave Linnworks and similar Order Management Software for Stok.ly
Linnworks is a well-regarded multi-channel listing tool. It connects to Shopify, Amazon, eBay and other ecommerce channels effectively. It handles sales order management and basic inventory tracking. For businesses that sell finished goods, it performs well.
The ceiling appears when manufacturing becomes a core operational workflow. Linnworks and similar Order Management Software has no native BOM management. It cannot allocate raw materials to a build order and update available-to-sell accordingly.
WIP tracking does not exist within the platform. Finished goods can only be updated by manual stock adjustment.
For a business where production is a daily operational activity — not an occasional exception — this is not a limitation that workarounds can bridge.
Stok.ly is the operational platform these businesses move to.
Stok.ly retains all the ecommerce channel connectivity that made Linnworks the right choice at an earlier stage, and adds the manufacturing layer — BOMs, build orders, WIP, raw material allocation, finished goods production — that Linnworks and other Order Management Systems cannot provide.
See also: We’ve Outgrown Our Inventory Tool, But Don’t Want Generic ERP.
How Stok.ly controls manufacturing stock
| Capability | What it controls | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Bill of materials management | Raw material and component requirements per finished unit, connected live to inventory | Build orders allocate raw materials immediately; available-to-sell for components reflects production demand |
| Build order creation | Production runs raised against BOMs with automatic raw material allocation | Raw materials are committed to production before any sales channel can consume them |
| WIP tracking | Work-in-progress as a distinct stock state between raw material and finished goods | Production is visible in the operational record; stock in the build process is never invisible |
| Finished goods production | Automatic finished goods increment and raw material deduction on build confirmation | No manual stock entry required; finished goods are available to sell the moment production completes |
| Raw material ATS calculation | Available-to-sell for raw materials accounting for both sales demand and production demand | Purchasing decisions are based on net available stock, not gross on-hand that ignores build allocations |
| Manufacturing and retail in one record | Build orders, sales orders, warehouse execution and ecommerce all update the same inventory record | Manufacturing businesses do not need separate systems for production and retail |
Current approach versus Stok.ly
| Current approach | What tends to break | Stok.ly |
|---|---|---|
| Raw materials tracked in the inventory system without build order allocation | Sales orders consume raw materials already committed to active build orders; builds run short | Build orders allocate raw materials immediately; ATS excludes production commitments for all sales channels |
| WIP tracked on a whiteboard, spreadsheet or not at all | Stock in the build process is invisible; production status is unknown from the system | WIP is a tracked stock state; production progress is visible in the operational record at every stage |
| Finished goods added manually when someone updates the stock record | Finished goods are available to the warehouse hours or days after production; orders wait | Finished goods increment automatically on build confirmation; available to sell and pick immediately |
| Purchasing based on retail demand only, not accounting for raw material production demand | Raw materials run out mid-build because purchasing did not account for production consumption | ATS for raw materials accounts for both sales demand and open build order allocations |
| Manufacturing managed in a separate system or spreadsheet alongside the retail platform | Two systems with different stock data; reconciliation is manual and always delayed | Manufacturing and retail managed in one operational record; no synchronisation or reconciliation required |
| Inventory tool handles retail well but has no BOM or build order capability | Business cannot scale manufacturing without a separate system that creates data silos | One platform for BOMs, build orders, WIP, raw materials, finished goods, sales orders and warehouse execution |
“What I like best about Stok.ly is that it brings inventory, orders, and sales channels into one easy system. It saves time, reduces manual errors, and gives clear visibility of stock levels across the business.”
Finance Director, automotive business — Verified G2 review, 5 stars — Read on G2
Who this is for
- Manufacturing and retail hybrid businesses whose current system handles retail and ecommerce well but cannot manage BOMs, build orders or WIP tracking
- Businesses that have grown manufacturing as a core workflow and need an operational platform that treats production and retail as one connected flow
- Businesses currently on Linnworks, a basic inventory tool or a combination of spreadsheets and retail software that has hit the manufacturing ceiling
- Operations teams manually updating finished goods stock after production because the system has no build order or BOM capability
- Businesses where purchasing decisions for raw materials are made without visibility of production demand alongside retail demand
Manufacturing and retail hybrid businesses represent 22% of Stok.ly’s confirmed customer base — equal in weight to the paper-to-digital warehouse cluster.
Who this is not for
Businesses that require full MRP (Material Requirements Planning) or advanced production scheduling with capacity planning, machine scheduling and shop floor control. Stok.ly is an order management-led, inventory-centric ERP with strong manufacturing and kitting capability — it is not a dedicated manufacturing execution system. Businesses with complex multi-stage production lines, sub-assembly at multiple levels and detailed production scheduling should evaluate dedicated MRP platforms alongside Stok.ly.
G2 Customer Reviews
What do you like best about Stok.ly – Inventory-Centric Cloud ERP?
“we have been a user for the last 4 years and we cannot think of life without it for our retail business. it makes listing to shopify and other marketplaces easy, keeps inventory accurate online and the POS is easy to use. accurate inventory across all sales channels is the big win for us.”
Order management and inventory ERP software for growing retail, wholesale and distribution businesses.
Frequently asked questions
Why can’t growing businesses see what manufacturing does to their stock?
Most inventory tools and lightweight ERPs treat manufacturing as a separate event from inventory management. Raw material consumption is logged after the fact, WIP is invisible, and finished goods are manually incremented when someone remembers to update the system. The operational record is always behind the physical reality. When manufacturing is running at volume, the gap between system stock and actual stock widens with every build run.
What is a bill of materials (BOM) and how does Stok.ly use it?
A bill of materials is the list of raw materials, components and quantities required to produce one finished unit. In Stok.ly, each BOM is connected live to the inventory record. When a build order is raised against a BOM, raw material quantities are allocated immediately — removing them from the available-to-sell figure before any sales channel can commit them. The finished goods record increments when the build is completed and confirmed.
How does Stok.ly track work-in-progress (WIP) stock?
Stok.ly tracks WIP as a distinct stock state between raw material allocation and finished goods completion. When a build order is raised, raw materials move from available to committed. As production progresses, WIP is visible in the operational record. When the build is completed and confirmed, WIP clears and finished goods increment. At every stage, the operational record reflects actual stock states — nothing is invisible.
How does Stok.ly calculate available-to-sell for raw materials used in manufacturing?
Stok.ly calculates available-to-sell for raw materials by deducting quantities already allocated to open build orders from total on-hand stock. If 500 units of a component are in stock and 300 are allocated to an active build order, the ATS for that component is 200 — not 500. This prevents the same raw material from being double-committed to both a build order and a direct sales order.
Can Stok.ly manage both manufacturing and retail sales from the same platform?
Yes. Stok.ly connects manufacturing workflows — build orders, BOMs, WIP, raw material consumption, finished goods — to the same operational record as retail sales order management, ecommerce integrations, warehouse execution and B2B trade workflows. Manufacturing businesses do not need a separate system for production and another for retail. One operational control layer manages both.
Why do manufacturing businesses leave Linnworks for Stok.ly?
Linnworks is a multi-channel listing tool with strong ecommerce channel integration but no native manufacturing capability. Businesses that build products hit a ceiling with Linnworks because it cannot track raw material consumption, WIP or finished goods production in relation to live inventory. Stok.ly is the operational platform these businesses move to when manufacturing becomes a core workflow the current system cannot support.
What is the difference between kitting and manufacturing in Stok.ly?
Kitting in Stok.ly refers to the assembly of finished goods from existing SKUs — combining components into a bundle or set with its own product code and stock record. Manufacturing refers to the production of finished goods from raw materials defined in a bill of materials, with WIP tracking through the build process. Stok.ly supports both. Kitting decrements the component SKUs and increments the bundle SKU. Manufacturing tracks the full production flow from raw material through WIP to finished good.
How does Stok.ly help manufacturing and retail hybrid businesses manage purchasing?
Stok.ly connects manufacturing demand — what raw materials are needed for planned build orders — with retail demand — what finished goods are needed for sales orders — to generate a single purchasing view. Raw material reorder points are calculated from both direct sales demand and production demand. The system flags when raw materials need to be replenished based on open build orders, planned production and current on-hand stock.
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