Keep every customer site stocked without manual counts or spreadsheets. Invendor is vendor managed inventory software for distributors and their customers: real-time stock visibility, automatic replenishment and consumption data from smart inventory cabinets on one cloud platform.
A vendor managed inventory program is an arrangement where the supplier, not the customer, takes responsibility for monitoring stock levels and replenishing items automatically. Instead of the customer counting stock and raising orders, the vendor sees what is being used and keeps it topped up. For the concept on its own, read what vendor managed inventory is.
Invendor makes a VMI program practical at scale. Smart inventory cabinets track every item at the point of use, the platform turns that usage into live data, and replenishment happens before anything runs out, so both sides spend less time managing stock and more time doing the work.
Those four parts are what a VMI program needs to run without manual counts. The cabinets record consumption at the point of use, min/max levels sit in the platform, and reordering follows actual usage rather than a periodic stock check.
For distributors, a vendor managed inventory program deepens customer relationships, secures recurring orders and creates a service that competitors cannot easily match. For the customer, critical items are always on the shelf, less cash is tied up in stock, and consumption is finally visible. See what VMI could save you with our ROI calculator.
VMI stands for vendor managed inventory. It is a model where the supplier manages and replenishes a customer’s stock on their behalf, rather than the customer ordering everything themselves.
Vendor managed inventory is a supply arrangement in which the vendor monitors a customer’s inventory levels and automatically replenishes items as they are consumed. It shifts the day-to-day work of counting and ordering from the customer to the supplier, supported by shared, real-time data.
They often work together but are not the same thing. Vendor managed inventory is about who manages replenishment: the vendor. Consignment inventory is about who owns the stock until it is used, and the vendor still owns it while it sits at the customer site. A VMI program can run with or without consignment.
VMI software is the platform that makes vendor managed inventory possible: it tracks consumption, holds min/max levels, forecasts demand and triggers replenishment automatically. Invendor pairs VMI software with smart inventory cabinets so usage is captured accurately at the point of use.
VMI suits any operation that gets through a steady flow of tools, PPE, MRO items or other consumables across one or more sites, and the distributors who supply them. It is especially valuable where a stockout stops work, or where consumption needs to be tracked to a job or cost centre.
Invendor provides the smart inventory cabinets, sensors and cloud platform that run a VMI program end to end: it captures each item taken, shows live dashboards, reorders automatically and reports on consumption. Book a demo to see it with your own items.
A VMI program needs three things in place: an agreed list of the items the vendor will manage, min/max levels for each of them, and a way to capture what is actually consumed. Invendor covers the third with smart cabinets that record every item taken, then holds the item list and the levels in the platform so replenishment can run automatically.
In supply chain terms, VMI means the supplier holds responsibility for keeping a customer’s stock at agreed levels, using shared consumption data instead of purchase orders from the customer. The customer still uses the items; the vendor decides when to replenish them.
Book a short demo and we will show you how Invendor keeps your sites stocked automatically.