In this page:
- the Inventory app on your tablet and its three tabs
- your very first purchase at the wholesaler counter
- ordering from the tablet: the table, the cart, Fill to target
- how boxes arrive and how to unpack them
- Auto supply, the delivery schedules
- the Stock tab: prices and listing
Your shelves only sell what you stock, so this page is the start of every good day.
The Inventory app
Everything about stock lives in one tablet app. Press B to open the tablet (on a gamepad: D-pad right) and open Inventory. It has three tabs:
- Stock: your products, their sale price and whether they are listed.
- Supply: the wholesaler purchase screen with the table and the cart.
- Auto supply: recurring delivery schedules.
Your first purchase: the wholesaler counter
What it is: a wholesaler sells products in bulk. Your very first purchase has to be made at a wholesaler counter, in person. The tablet does not let you order until you have done it once. If you try early, the cart tells you so and offers Go to the wholesaler, which marks the wholesaler on your map and closes the tablet.
How to open it: walk up to the wholesaler clerk and talk to them. A counter shows the products of that one wholesaler. The same Supply screen opens, with a Buy button instead of Place order.
- Add products to the cart. During the first purchase the game wants a small variety and quantity, and the screen tells you what is still missing.
- Fill to target can build a first basket for you. It prefers products you already picked, then the cheaper ones.
- Press Buy. You pay at once and your boxes appear on the wholesaler's own pallet.
- Carry the boxes to your shop, see "How the boxes arrive" below.
Counter purchases have no delivery charge. If you cannot afford the cart, the screen shows how much more money you need.
Tip: the first purchase is a small one. After that you can order from anywhere.
Ordering from the tablet (Supply tab)
What it is: the same wholesaler catalogue, from your couch. Goods are delivered to your warehouse.
How to open it: tablet, Inventory, Supply tab.
- Pick All wholesalers or one wholesaler in the selector. Products are sorted from cheapest to most expensive.
- The table shows Product, Cost, Price (your own sale price), On shelf, In boxes, Incoming, Margin and Order qty. Type a quantity per row. You cannot order more than the wholesaler has left.
- Margin is your sale price against the discounted wholesale cost. A negative margin is shown in the error colour. A dash means you have no sale price for that product yet. Margin does not include the delivery charge.
- Hover a long name or number to read it in full.
- The Cart lists your products with a Subtotal, your R&D discount, the Delivery charge and the Total. An empty cart says "Add products from the table."
- Press Place order. You see how long it takes ("It arrives at the warehouse in ..."). While shipments are on their way, the cart shows Next delivery in with a countdown.
Tip: deliveries use game time, not real time.
Filters, chips and Fill to target
- The filter has All, Licensed (hides products of wholesalers you have not unlocked) and Low stock (only what is running out).
- A Low chip marks products below your target. If open orders need a product, the chip says Orders need {n} instead, and the product also shows up in the Low stock filter.
- The Target field is one number for all products and the game remembers it. Stock on shelves, in boxes and incoming all count towards it.
- Fill to target tops the cart up to that target. It adds what your open orders still need, only raises quantities (it never lowers one), and only looks at the wholesaler you selected. It skips locked products. A toast tells you how many rows changed, or "Everything is at its target". On a gamepad the top face button does the same.
- With a quantity field focused, the shoulder buttons change the amount in bigger steps.
Locked wholesalers
Products of a wholesaler you have not unlocked show Locked. A cart with locked products cannot be bought. Use Unlock in R&D to research the wholesaler, and set those quantities to zero if you do not want them. The wholesalers open one by one as your company level grows: toys, grocery, sports, outdoor, music, electronics. Grocery also needs the first warehouse upgrade.
How the boxes arrive
Each product line of your order becomes one box that holds the whole quantity. Boxes land on a delivery pallet in your warehouse, and you get a notice with the number of units ("Wholesale delivery arrived at the warehouse").
- Pick up the box from the pallet.
- Carry it to your shelves.
- Hold the box and press C (gamepad: left face button) to Unpack it. The product keeps the whole quantity and the empty box is gone.
- Put the products on the shelves.
Before the dedicated wholesaler goods-in room opens (warehouse level 5, with its own two pallets), tablet orders use your inbound delivery pallet. Without any suitable pallet, you cannot place a new tablet order. If the pallet is full, a due delivery simply waits and tries again when there is room. Boxes can spread over several pallets. Open orders and saved games keep their shipments: a delivery still on its way is still on its way after you reload.
Tip: keep the pallet empty so deliveries always fit.
Auto supply
What it is: the Auto supply tab lets you create delivery schedules: which wholesaler, which products and which days of the week (Mon to Sun). A truck brings the goods without you ordering each time.
How to open it: it stays locked until you research Warehouse Solutions IV in R&D. The Scheduled Delivery researches that come after raise how many units of one product a schedule may carry.
- Press New schedule. A new schedule starts with a default name ("New delivery schedule"), the first wholesaler you have unlocked, and every weekday selected. Change the Schedule name and deselect the days you do not want.
- Choose the wholesaler first. Changing it later clears the products.
- Type a quantity for each product. A quantity of zero removes the product.
- The form shows the cost breakdown: Products per delivery, R&D discount, Service and Base fee. Creating a schedule charges a Setup fee at once. The goods themselves are paid on each delivery.
- Press Create schedule. You need at least one product and at least one day, otherwise the screen tells you.
- To change a schedule, select it and press Edit schedule. The button becomes Save changes, and saving does not charge the setup fee again. Delete removes the schedule without a refund. The screen tells you the most schedules you can have, and when you reach it New schedule is disabled.
The list shows Schedule, Wholesaler, Days, Units and Per delivery. The Delivery Operations counter is another way to edit the same schedules (see "Weekly plan" there).
What a delivery run needs
- Your truck must be parked in the loading area, or the schedule cannot start and you get a message.
- The truck needs fuel. A run with too little fuel is skipped and you are told to refuel at the gas station. A successful run uses fuel.
- Money: each product is paid separately. A product you cannot afford is skipped, the rest still comes. If the wholesaler runs short, you get fewer units.
- If at least some goods arrive, the schedule counts as done for that day. If nothing arrives, it can try again later the same day. The next selected day starts fresh with the same quantities.
Tip: put your best sellers on a schedule first and keep money on hand for delivery days.
The Stock tab
Open Inventory, Stock to manage what you sell. The list has Category, In stock, Price and Status columns. Filter by All Stock, In Your Stock or Out of Stock, by All Statuses, Listing or Not Listing, and by category. Clear filters resets them.
- Select a product ("Pick a product to change its price and sale status").
- Edit the Sale price and the listing switch.
- Press Save. A toast says "Product updated".
The side panel shows Buying cost, Cargo cost, Profitability, Popularity and a Sale rate preview that reacts to the price you type before you save. If goods are held back for orders it says All reserved for orders or splits shelf stock from reserved stock. Prices and shelves are explained on the Shop page.
Tips
- Use the Low stock filter every morning.
- Look at Margin before you fill the cart, and fix negative margins in the Stock tab.
- Set a sensible Target once and let Fill to target do the maths.
- Keep the delivery pallet empty.
- Refuel your truck at the gas station before the delivery days.
Screenshots needed:
- Tablet Inventory app with the three tabs
- Supply tab with the table, cart and Fill to target
- Locked product row with Unlock in R&D
- Delivery pallet with boxes
- Auto supply form with days and cost breakdown
- Stock tab with the product side panel