When you sell bundles containing multiple individual components, planning inventory for those components is critical, especially if they are also sold individually. In Tightly, your planning strategy depends on how your "Source of Truth" (ERP, WMS, or Sales Platform) reports bundle sales.
Scenario 1: Sales Reported as a Bundle SKU
Example: Your system reports sales for a "Bundle SKU" (e.g., SKU: GIFT-SET-01) separately from its components. The component sales reports do not include the units sold within that bundle.
How to Plan (Recommended) ✅
In this scenario, you should plan for the bundle and the single products separately on the Demand Planning page.
Set Bundle Demand: Increase the planned demand for the Bundle SKU itself (e.g., from 100 to 500 units for an upcoming promotion).
Set Component Demand: Plan the demand for the individual products (Components A, B, and C) based on their standalone sales.
How Tightly handles this:
Even though you set a demand plan for the bundle, Smart Replenishment will only recommend restocking the individual components.
Tightly automatically adds the "bundle-driven demand" on top of each component’s individual requirements.
This ensures you never underestimate total demand for your warehouse "ingredients".
Lead Time Tip: If a component has a 20-day lead time and you increase bundle demand for October, Tightly will trigger a recommendation in early September to ensure components arrive before the bundle sales period begins.
Scenario 2: Sales Reported as Component Line Items
Example: Your WMS or ERP automatically "explodes" a bundle at the point of sale. You do not see a sales velocity for a "Bundle SKU" because your system only reports the sales of the individual components (A, B, and C).
How to Plan
Since the component sales data already includes the units sold via bundles, you do not need to plan for the bundle separately.
Simply adjust the planned demand for the individual components directly on the Demand Planning page.
All bundle-driven consumption is already reflected in the components' velocities and subsequent recommendations.
Key Takeaways
Identify the Source: Determine if your reporting system sees a "Bundle SKU" or just "Component SKUs".
Unified Recommendations: In both scenarios, Tightly ensures that Smart Replenishment recommends components rather than bundles.
Accurate POs: This logic keeps your purchase orders accurate and efficient, preventing you from ordering pre-assembled kits when you only need raw components.
Manual Control: Use the Demand Planning page to override forecasts for seasonal peaks or events to ensure Tightly accounts for future bundle growth.