Stock & Inventory Lifecycle Guide

Welcome to the Ekhom seller guide for inventory and product availability. This guide explains how inventory tracking works on Ekhom, how to manage counted vs. uncounted items, what your buyers see on your storefront, and how our AI assistant answers customer inquiries about your stock.

1. Overview: Two Ways to Sell on Ekhom

Ekhom supports two distinct product fulfillment models to cater to different types of businesses:

If you run a food and beverage business or prepare items upon request, you do not need to count cups, ingredients, or daily portions. Ekhom treats your products as fresh and made-to-order by default.

2. Managing Inventory in the Seller App

You can manage the stock status of any product directly from the Seller Mini App or the Seller Mobile App:

1. Open your catalog and select the product you wish to edit.
2. Tap Edit Product (កែប្រែ).
3. Scroll to the Inventory & Stock section:
   • To track quantities: Check the Track inventory count checkbox.
     • In stock: Enter your current available physical quantity (e.g., 20).
     • Alert below: Enter the minimum reorder threshold (e.g., 5). When your stock reaches this level, the system sends you an automated low-stock alert in your Inbox.
   • To sell without limits (Made-to-order / Uncounted): Uncheck the Track inventory count checkbox.
     • The item’s stock count is cleared back to uncounted.
     • The product will show as available or made-to-order with no quantity ceiling.
4. Tap Save (រក្សាទុក). Changes apply across your public storefront and AI assistant immediately.

3. What Your Buyers See on the Storefront

Your public web marketplace (ekhom.com/[your-shop]) dynamically displays product availability based on the item’s category and tracking status:

• “Made to order” (ធ្វើតាមការកុម្ម៉ង់): Displayed for Food & Beverage items (e.g. coffee, tea, meals, baked goods) when inventory tracking is unchecked. Buyers know the item is freshly prepared on demand.
• “In stock” (មានក្នុងស្តុក): Displayed for products with active inventory tracking and an available quantity greater than zero.
• “Contact the seller for availability” (សូមទាក់ទងអ្នកលក់ដើម្បីដឹងពីចំនួនក្នុងស្តុក): Displayed for retail or manufactured products when inventory tracking is turned off.
• “Out of stock” (អស់ពីស្តុក): Displayed when a counted product reaches zero units. The buy button is disabled to prevent overselling.
• “Currently unavailable” (មិនមានក្នុងស្តុកបណ្តោះអាសន្ន): Displayed when you manually toggle Sale Blocked on a product (for example, if a kitchen ingredient is temporarily out for the day).

4. How the AI Chatbot Handles Customer Questions

In AI assistant settings, choose how the assistant answers stock questions: Availability only (the default, without quantities), Show exact quantities, or Do not mention stock. Products without a tracked count do not become “in stock” merely because their count is blank. This setting does not let buyers order an item that is blocked or counted at zero.

In the seller Telegram bot, send a clear message such as “Iced latte sold out today” or “Iced latte is back in stock.” Confirm the product on the card before its sales state changes. A sold-out pause stays in place until you explicitly make the product available again. If a counted product is still at zero, update its count before buyers can order it.

Your shop’s AI assistant chats with buyers in Telegram and your storefront web chat. Here is how it behaves regarding inventory:

• Made-to-Order Items: When a buyer asks “Can I order an Iced Latte?” or “Is this coffee available?”, the AI warmly confirms it is prepared fresh to order and asks for the buyer’s desired options (such as size, sweetness, or temperature).
• Counted Items in Stock: When inventory tracking is on and stock is available, the AI confirms availability and proceeds to assist with the order.
• Sold-Out Items: If an item reaches zero stock, the AI politely explains that the product is sold out and can suggest available alternatives from the same category.
• Privacy & Exact Counts: By default, the AI assistant confirms availability without disclosing internal stockroom counts unless you enable exact count disclosure in your Business AI Settings.

5. How Orders Affect Stock

• Order Proposals Do Not Deduct Stock: When a buyer submits an order or the AI creates a draft order, your stock is not immediately decremented. It remains a proposal awaiting your review in the Inbox.
• Product Options in AI Drafts: When a product has several sizes, colors, or other variants, the assistant asks the buyer to choose one and uses that variant’s price. Check the chosen options and total on the draft before confirming. If the variant or its price changes, the draft must be reviewed and made again. Stock counts are still shared at the product level, not counted separately for each variant.
• Confirmation Deducts Stock: The moment you or your staff tap Accept / Confirm Order, the system locks the row and decrements the quantity atomically. If another buyer bought the last item in the meantime, the system alerts you with a 409 conflict to prevent double-selling.
• Cancellations Restore Stock: If an order is cancelled or rejected before delivery, the reserved units are automatically added back to your available inventory.

6. Recommendations by Business Type

For Coffee Shops, Cafes & Restaurants

• Keep Track inventory count turned OFF for all made-to-order drinks and dishes.
• If you run out of an ingredient for the day (e.g., fresh avocado or whole milk), temporarily edit the product to block sales, or tell the seller bot to mark it unavailable for the day.

For Fashion, Electronics & Packaged Goods

• Turn Track inventory count ON.
• Enter your accurate initial count and set an Alert below threshold (e.g., 3 units) so you receive low-stock notifications in Telegram before running out completely.