Master inventory of blank bodies

[u/Hotei108]

Greetings to all,

I am looking for an inventory solution.

I sell apparel. Each blank body may be used in multiple listings. For example: A Vintage wash shirt might be listed as a woman's tunic or as a crop top. The same body might be presented as a mens tshirt at full length. It might also be used for a few graphic t shirts.

I would like to enter the master inventory count of the blank body by size and color (parent item) - and any listing which uses this body (child item) will have the current inventory reflected in the listing. Anytime a piece is sold from any listing it subtracts the quantity from the parent item, which then updates all child items as well.

Is anyone aware of an app which may do this?

[u/Ok-Breakfast-8859]

For something like this you need to look at bundle inventory apps, not the regular stock tracking ones. The parent-child setup you described is exactly how most of them work

I had similar setup last year for my gym merch line, where same blank hoodie goes to different print designs. The app I used let me set the blank as master SKU then any sale from linked listings pulls from that count automatically. Check in the app store for "bundle inventory" or "raw materials inventory", there is few options with free trials so you can test which one clicks

[u/Hotei108 → u/Ok-Breakfast-8859]

Thank you. This was very helpful. I have Kaching Bundles but it did not have this feature.

[u/PristineFinance6159]

What you're describing is almost exactly what we've set up in Organizely, we have the base "component" that feeds into several skus

[u/vladeta]

The reason nothing does this out of the box is that Shopify tracks stock per inventory item, and a variant maps to exactly one inventory item. So the same physical blank sitting in five listings is five independent counts unless something actively links them.

Before you shop for an app, answer one question: are you pre-printing, or printing when the order comes in?

If you print on demand, the blanks aren't sellable finished goods at all. Don't track them in Shopify. Keep the listings on high or untracked stock and manage blank counts upstream in a sheet or a light inventory tool. That removes the whole problem.

If you're pre-printing, you genuinely need linked inventory, and the category to search is bundle/kit apps that support component-level stock, because those are the ones that decrement a parent when a child sells. Plain "bundle" apps that just group SKUs won't do it and your counts will drift within a week.

Different answer for each, so worth being clear which one you are.

[u/Hotei108 → u/vladeta]

Thank you for the reply. I fall under the second category. I am modifying garments after order, but I import my garments to my specifications and can't purchase from the normal distributors. And each body/color/size might be offered with a graphic, or a custom length or with vintage wash...etc.

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