Inventory Planner - Configure for Automated Fulfillment

Inventory Planner (by Sage) is demand-planning and inventory-forecasting software: it analyzes your sales and stock data to forecast demand and generate replenishment purchase orders. DropStream connects your Inventory Planner account to a warehouse management system so those purchase orders flow automatically to the warehouse, and current stock levels and acknowledgements flow back to Inventory Planner without manual re-keying. Here, Inventory Planner is an order source: DropStream imports purchase orders from Inventory Planner.

What this integration does

• Imports purchase orders from Inventory Planner — optionally limited to a single Inventory Planner status (for example ORDERED) — as soon as they’re ready to fulfill.
• Forwards them to your warehouse management system, with line items matched by SKU.
• Acknowledges purchase orders back in Inventory Planner when they’re received — setting the status you choose (for example CLOSED).
• Feeds current stock levels back into Inventory Planner through an Advanced CSV feed over SFTP, so its demand forecasts reflect what’s actually on hand in the warehouse.

The connection uses two channels: Inventory Planner’s API (with an API key) for importing purchase orders and writing acknowledgements, and an Advanced CSV feed over SFTP (secured with an SSH key) for stock-level updates. That’s why setup involves both an API Key and an SFTP Endpoint.

What you’ll need

• An Inventory Planner account you can sign in to as an administrator.
• A DropStream account configured for Inventory Planner. If you don’t have one yet, contact your DropStream administrator or fulfillment provider.

Setup at a glance

Setup moves back and forth between DropStream and Inventory Planner, because DropStream generates the SSH Public Key that Inventory Planner’s Advanced CSV connection needs, and Inventory Planner in turn generates the SFTP Endpoint that DropStream needs. The order is:

1. Enable API access (in DropStream) — start the Add Connection wizard, select Inventory Planner, and copy the Public Key DropStream generates.
2. Gather your API credentials (in Inventory Planner) — create an Advanced CSV connection using that Public Key, then generate your API Key and note your Account ID. Inventory Planner returns an SFTP Endpoint when you add the connection.
3. Finish enabling API access (back in DropStream) — enter the SFTP Endpoint, API Key, and Account ID into the wizard and save.

You don’t have to keep both windows open at once. DropStream lets you save the connection before the SFTP Endpoint exists, so whoever finishes the Inventory Planner side can hand the endpoint back later and you complete the connection then.

Who does what

• If you manage your own DropStream account, you’ll do every step yourself — switching between DropStream and Inventory Planner as the article order suggests.
• If a third-party fulfillment provider is configuring DropStream for you, they’ll generate the Public Key in DropStream and send it to you; you complete the Inventory Planner steps in Gather Your API Credentials and send back the SFTP Endpoint, API Key, and Account ID, and they finish the connection.

Notes and limitations

• The SFTP Endpoint is optional when you first save the connection, but the connection is not fully set up until it’s filled in.
• After the connection details are in place, the DropStream onboarding team will help complete and validate the setup.
• As an order source, Inventory Planner is used for purchase orders only — this integration does not import sales orders or post shipment tracking back to Inventory Planner.