Guide•2 min read

How to Manage Inventory Across Multiple Locations

Multi location inventory tracking goes wrong when “warehouse” is one cell everyone overwrites. Treat location as data: a column, a sheet per site, or both.

Model A — one sheet, Location column

Best under ~3 sites and shared SKUs. Filter by location; transfers update Location + qty notes.

Model B — sheet per location

Best when permissions differ (Franchise A must not see Franchise B costs). Same column template; barcode keys stay consistent.

Transfer checklist

Scan out at source Decrease qty or mark in-transit.
Scan in at destination Increase qty; set Location.
Reconcile weekly Search for negative or orphan rows.

First choose your location model

Multi‑location tracking goes wrong when the location model is vague. There are two clean patterns—pick one per sheet and stick to it.

Model	Shape	Trade‑off
Location column	One row per item; a Location field holds the current place	Simple, but shows stock in one place at a time
Row per location	Same barcode repeats with a different Location + Qty	Shows stock in every site at once; needs grouped reports

Row‑per‑location example

Barcode	Qty	Location
SKU‑100	12	Store‑A / Back
SKU‑100	3	Store‑B / Window
SKU‑100	40	Warehouse / A‑12

Total on‑hand is then a grouped sum by barcode across locations—easy to pull with a report or by asking Wisy to “group stock by location”.

Handle transfers deliberately

Scan out at the source location (decrement there).
Scan in at the destination (increment there).
Review in transit if a shipment spans days—an optional “In transit” location keeps the two scans honest.

WiScanner Cloud does not merge separate sales‑channel stock for you. If you need channel‑level sync, that is a process you design—often with a webhook—not an automatic feature.

FAQ

Which model should a small shop use?

If stock rarely moves between sites, a Location column is simplest. If you regularly hold the same SKU in several places, use row‑per‑location.

Can each location have its own team?

Yes—invite people and use roles so each site edits its own rows while managers see everything.

Location column pattern

Barcode	Qty	Location
SKU-100	12	Store-A / Back
SKU-100	3	Store-B / Window

Illustrative: either one row per location or a Location field you update when stock moves. Cloud does not magically merge store channels unless you build that process.

Related: Team inventory setup

Try it with WiScanner Cloud

Open a free sheet at cloud.wiscanner.com, add barcode columns, and scan from the phone app.

Open Cloud →

Cloud product page