The problem it solves
Stock-outs lose sales; overstock ties up cash; and once you’re across more than one location, batches, or account orders, a spreadsheet quietly stops coping. Most tools then push you toward a full ERP you don’t want. Zulu’s inventory has been built over a decade and hundreds of thousands of units moved to give serious stock control without the bloat.
What it does
- True stock states — on hand (available), allocated (reserved for orders) and fulfilled (shipped), so you always know what’s really sellable
- Multi-location and multi-zone warehousing — track stock by site and by zone within a site
- Batch tracking — expiry and manufacturing dates for perishable or lot-controlled stock (FIFO)
- Allocation workflow — finalising a sales order reserves stock; shipping fulfils it. Choose the allocation method per order: reserve from stock (requires sufficient on-hand), negative (allow allocation past on-hand), or skip
- Stock transfers between locations and zones
- Stocktakes and adjustments with a full movement history (
product_stock) - Purchase orders and receipting, including multi-currency (forex) suppliers, that feed stock and cost
- Accurate valuation — weighted-average cost and latest-landed cost per unit (incl. freight/customs), maintained automatically
Use cases
A distributor runs multiple warehouses, allocates stock to B2B orders and ships from the right zone. A food or supplements business batches stock by expiry and moves the oldest first. An importer tracks landed cost across forex POs for true margin. A multi-store retailer transfers stock between sites and sees group-wide availability.
How it connects
Inventory builds on the Product Database (costing and pricing), draws stock in through Purchasing, reserves and ships through Order Fulfilment, and bills through Invoicing — one stock figure trusted across the whole platform.
For your AI agent
Partly live today. Your agent can read precise stock levels and drive procurement now; deeper stock-movement endpoints are on the roadmap to unlock full “monitor and reorder” autopilot.
- Read stock levels with filters (location, zone, batch, allocated/available) —
GET /product/{token} - Raise and receive purchase orders to replenish —
POST /porder,POST /porder/{token}/line - Coming to the API:
stock_adjust,stock_transfer, allocation and low-stock-query endpoints (mirrors of the methods that already power the UI)
Best for
Distributors, wholesalers, manufacturers and multi-location retailers — anyone whose money sits on the shelf and who has outgrown a spreadsheet.