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Inventory Management Lab

This is an Instructor-Led Lab

This lab is designed for in-person workshop events led by a Boomi instructor. Participants must be provisioned with access to a dedicated Boomi platform account during the workshop. This lab is not intended for self-led learning.

Looking for Self-led learning?

For self-paced learning, check out the Customer Support Triage (Extended) Lab.

Business Situation​

TechSupply Distributors, a mid-sized electronics parts distributor, manages inventory across four regional warehouses serving hundreds of manufacturers and retailers. Their current inventory management process is highly manual and creating significant operational challenges that threaten their competitive position.

When stock levels run low, warehouse managers must manually check inventory spreadsheets, cross-reference pending purchase orders in the ERP system, review supplier lead times from emails and phone calls, and then create reorder requests. This tedious process often results in stock-outs that delay customer shipments or panic orders that tie up working capital. Meanwhile, finance teams struggle to reconcile physical inventory counts with system records, and procurement teams waste hours hunting down shipment tracking information across multiple carrier websites.

Challenges​

  • Reactive inventory management leads to stock-outs and production delays: Manual monitoring means problems are discovered too late, causing missed customer commitments and lost sales opportunities
  • Overstocking ties up working capital: Without intelligent demand forecasting, buyers order excessive safety stock, creating cash flow problems and increased carrying costs
  • Manual data entry across multiple systems is error-prone: Warehouse staff spend hours updating inventory counts in spreadsheets, ERP systems, and procurement platforms, leading to data inconsistencies and costly errors
  • Limited visibility into supply chain status: Purchase orders and shipments are tracked through disparate systems and email threads, making it impossible to proactively identify and resolve delays
  • Time-consuming reconciliation and reporting: Month-end inventory reconciliation requires days of manual effort to match physical counts, system records, and financial data

Solution​

An Inventory Management Agent acts as an autonomous digital specialist that continuously monitors stock levels across all warehouses, intelligently analyzes reorder points based on demand patterns and lead times, automatically validates purchase orders against approved suppliers and budget thresholds, tracks inbound shipments in real-time, and generates comprehensive inventory reports with recommendations. By synthesizing data from multiple systems and making intelligent decisions, the agent transforms inventory management from a reactive, manual process into a proactive, automated workflow.

Use Case​

In this lab, you will build a sophisticated AI agent on the Boomi platform to automate the complex business process of inventory management. The agent will:

  1. Monitor inventory levels: Continuously check stock quantities across multiple warehouse locations and product categories
  2. Validate purchase orders: Automatically verify PO details against inventory needs, supplier information, and approval thresholds
  3. Track shipments: Query carrier systems to monitor inbound shipment status and identify potential delays
  4. Generate intelligent reports: Create comprehensive inventory analysis with reorder recommendations and anomaly alerts
  5. Take automated action: Update inventory records and notify stakeholders when intervention is needed

This end-to-end solution significantly enhances operational efficiency, reduces stock-outs and overstock situations, and provides real-time visibility across the entire supply chain.

Business Outcomes​

  • Operational Continuity: Ensures optimal stock levels to prevent production delays and maintain customer satisfaction
  • Working Capital Optimization: Reduces excess inventory and carrying costs through intelligent demand-based ordering
  • Supply Chain Visibility: Provides real-time insight into inventory status, pending orders, and shipment tracking across all locations

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)​

  • Inventory Turnover Ratio: Measure how efficiently inventory is being managed by tracking the rate at which stock is sold and replaced
  • Stock-Out Rate: Monitor the percentage of time items are unavailable when needed, directly affecting customer satisfaction and lost sales
  • Inventory Carrying Costs: Track the total cost of holding inventory including storage, insurance, and opportunity cost of tied-up capital

Lab Structure​

This hands-on workshop guides you through creating an intelligent Inventory Management Agent from the ground up.

Part 1: Create API Tools for Inventory Operations​

Build five specialized API tools that give your agent the ability to interact with inventory systems. You'll create tools with optional parameters that enable role-based flexibility, allowing the agent to intelligently decide which data to retrieve and which actions to take based on the business context.

Part 2: Build Your Inventory Agent with AI​

Use Boomi's "Build with AI" functionality to quickly generate an intelligent agent profile and tasks. You'll define the agent's role as an Inventory Management Specialist, attach your API tools to specific tasks, and configure safety guardrails to ensure the agent operates within approved business rules.

Part 3: Integrate Your Agent into Business Processes​

Complete the automation loop by embedding your agent into a Boomi integration process that listens for inventory events—such as low stock alerts or new purchase orders—and automatically triggers the agent to analyze the situation and take appropriate action. This transforms your agent from a conversational tool into a true event-driven business process automation solution.

Ready to Get Started?

Let's build your Inventory Management Agent! Click Next below to begin with the prerequisites.