Blog / Distributor integrations
Allocated is not in stock: what distributor allocation means for your website
Why an allocated item with a quantity of one can still be a gun nobody has, and how to keep allocated items from selling on your site.
Published
Distributors put popular and short-supply items on allocation: they decide which dealers get units, usually by purchase history or a manufacturer program. An allocated item can show a quantity in the distributor’s feed even though you cannot simply order it.
Why it matters on your site
If your website adds up distributor quantities without looking at allocation, it will show some allocated items as in stock. A buyer orders, pays, and waits while you find out the unit was never available to you. You refund the sale, and you probably lose the customer.
How each distributor reports it
There is no common format. Some distributors send a yes or no flag, some send a count of allocated units, some send both, and some send no allocation signal at all. Software that reads one distributor’s field correctly can still misread the next one.
A safe rule
- Treat an allocated item as unavailable for online sale unless you have confirmed your own allocation.
- Count only units that can ship today toward the in-stock label and the quantity shown.
- Still let staff see allocated sources, because you may want to request a unit for a customer.
- When a distributor gives you both a flag and a count, trust either one that says allocated.
ArmoryFlow counts an item as in stock only when a distributor has units that are not allocated, and it keeps allocated sources visible to you for ordering.
See your shop on a real ArmoryFlow template