It's one of the most confusing moments in day-to-day fulfillment: the warehouse reports 120 units, the shop shows "out of stock." Both are right. Because between "physically on the shelf" and "sellable" sits a category almost nobody talks about: blocked inventory. Stock in quarantine, expired lots, deactivated storage bins, new stock not yet released. It counts as inventory, ties up capital, takes up space, and sells exactly nothing.
The blocked inventory report from byrdAI answers the four questions that matter in that moment: how much is blocked? Why? What is it costing you? And how do you free it up?
The gap between inventory and availability.
Only what's physically present and released is sellable (in the jargon: available to promise). If all you know is the stock figure, you're planning with stock that, for the business, isn't there right now, and then you're puzzled by "unexplained" stockouts in the shop.
Every block has its own way out.
Quarantine needs an inspection, expired lots need a disposal decision, a deactivated storage bin needs a transfer, and new stock ahead of its ship window needs nothing at all, just patience. Without knowing the reason, you can't act.
Frozen capital ages badly.
Blocked stock is tied-up capital on hold. The longer nobody decides, the more likely that quarantine pallet turns into a write-off.
Once you're connected, all it takes in Claude or ChatGPT is:
"Which inventory is unsellable right now, and why?"
byrdAI returns every blocked item with product, warehouse, unit count, block reason, and, where available, lot and expiry date. With the ready-made dashboard prompt from the byrdAI page, that turns into a live dashboard built around an availability bar: your physical stock as a bar, split into "sellable" and "blocked," with the frozen stock value alongside. Below it, the breakdown by reason, warehouse, or product.
The report sorts your blocks by reason, and each reason has its own to-do:
Quarantine: decide, don't let it sit.
Stock in QA inspection, often damaged or unverified units, is normal; stock that's been stuck in QA for 40 days is a process problem. The report shows time in state per item, so you can escalate the right ones.
Expired lots: clear them out for good.
They'll never be sellable again and still cost storage space every month. Dispose of or donate them, write them off, free up the space. To keep it from getting that far, the lot tracking report gives you an early warning.
Deactivated lots and storage bins: get to the bottom of it.
There's often a data-hygiene or alignment issue behind these. A quick check with your dedicated account manager often releases these items entirely, the fastest win in the whole report.
New stock ahead of the ship window: wait it out on purpose.
This stock releases itself. The only thing that matters is not to mistake it for a problem or reorder it twice.
The weekly check.
"Every Friday, summarize my blocked inventory: units, stock value, reasons, and the change versus last week." Five lines in Slack, and nothing freezes unnoticed.
The ratio alert.
"Let me know when the blocked share climbs above 10% of my physical stock." The threshold turns a creeping problem into an event with a timestamp.
The quarantine escalation.
"Every Monday, list all items that have been in quarantine for more than 30 days, with unit count and stock value." The list is short, concrete, and the perfect basis for a conversation with your account manager.
The write-off template.
"Each quarter, create a table of all permanently blocked items with their stock value, as a decision basis for accounting." The quarter's least pleasant list now writes itself.
As a byrd customer, you connect byrdAI to Claude or ChatGPT in about 5 minutes and copy the prompt from our byrdAI page or right below this section. Not a byrd customer yet? byrdAI is only available with byrd fulfillment, as the first European 3PL with an MCP server. Talk to us.
Why does my shop show less stock than the warehouse?
Because the shop only sees sellable stock: physical stock minus blocked and reserved units (available to promise). The report shows you exactly that difference and its reasons.
What block reasons are there?
The most common ones: quarantine or QA inspection, expired lots, lots outside the ship window, deactivated lots or storage bins, and new stock not yet released for dispatch.
How is the frozen stock value calculated?
At warehouse level, exactly, from the purchase prices maintained in byrd; in the breakdown by reason, as a solid estimate. For the full picture of your warehouse capital, see the stock value report.
What does byrdAI cost?
During the beta, byrdAI is included in your account free of charge for byrd customers.