The goal
A retailer with a national store network wanted customers to buy online and collect from a nearby store, and to see what was actually available close to them. That only works if the website knows which store has which stock.
What we built
- Multi-source inventory (MSI), with each store represented as its own stock source instead of one combined number.
- A store locator so customers can find their nearest store.
- Click & collect, letting customers choose a store at checkout based on where stock really is.
- A geo-based home store, so customers see availability for the store most relevant to them.
Going live safely
Switching a live store to per-location inventory is as much a data change as a code change. The release ran out of hours with a written plan: maintenance mode, a database backup, the code deployment, then fresh imports of inventory and store mapping data, with test data prepared in advance so checkout could be verified before customers returned.
The lesson
Omnichannel features are only as good as the inventory data behind them. Modelling stock correctly first, using Magento’s own MSI rather than a custom layer, is what makes click & collect trustworthy for customers and staff.
