Inventory planning
Inventory Transfer (Stock Transfer)
By the Supply Chain Manager team · Updated October 16, 2026
An inventory transfer moves stock from one of your warehouses to another, usually to cover a shortage at one site using surplus held at another.
For a multi-warehouse distributor, a transfer is often the fastest and cheapest fix for a projected stockout: the stock is already owned, nearby and needs no supplier. It is also a way to clear slow-moving stock from a site where it does not sell to one where it does.
A transfer is demand for the sending warehouse and supply for the receiving one. Planning should count it on both sides.
Inventory transfer example
Illustrative numbers: Warehouse A has 6 days of supply on a SKU with a 14-day supplier lead time. Warehouse B, 200 km away, has 150 days of supply. Moving two weeks of A's demand from B covers the gap while A's purchase order is on its way.
Why inventory transfer matters for distributors
Transfers turn network-wide stock into availability where customers are, instead of buying more while surplus sits elsewhere.
Common inventory transfer mistakes
- Leaving transfers out at the source warehouse, so its demand looks lower than it is.
- Transferring so much that the sending site runs short in turn.
- Ignoring transfer freight and handling costs when comparing with a new order.
Inventory transfer in Supply Chain Manager
Supply Chain Manager counts transfers out as demand at the sending warehouse and can suggest a transfer when one site is short and another holds surplus.
Open the live demoExamples on this page use made-up round numbers to show the calculation. They are not benchmarks or results from real businesses.