Moving stock from a warehouse to a retail outlet is rarely the hard part.
The hard part is everything around it: the handwritten request slip, the phone call to check whether there is enough stock, the second call to confirm packing, and the spreadsheet that nobody updated.
This walkthrough shows how a single Lark Base can carry that whole process, from the outlet’s request through to the invoice handover, with the stock figures updating themselves along the way.
The Scenario
Guts Toy Sdn Bhd runs a warehouse and supplies several retail outlets.
When an outlet runs low on a product, staff need to raise an internal stock transfer so the goods can be moved across for doorstep selling.
The base below replaces the paperwork and the back-and-forth messaging with one shared workflow that both sides can see.
How the Base Is Structured
Three tables do the work.
Stock (Warehouse)
The master inventory list. Every product held in the warehouse sits here with its current quantity.
- Product Code (SKU): The stock keeping unit code.
- Category: The product category.
- Item Name: The product name.
- Quantity: Current stock on hand.
- Price Import and Price Selling: Cost and retail price.
- Image: A product photo for quick visual identification.
Client (Outlet)
A short reference table of the outlets being supplied.
- Client ID: A unique reference for each outlet.
- Client Name: The outlet contact or account name.
- Client Location: Where the outlet is, which can hold more than one site.
Operations (Warehouse)
The working table where every transfer request lives and moves through its stages.
- Product Code (SKU) and Item Name: What is being requested.
- Stock: Quantity currently available in the warehouse.
- Need: Quantity the outlet has asked for.
- Balance: Stock minus Need, so what would remain after the transfer.
- Pass: The admin’s confirmation that the transfer can go ahead.
- Confirmation: The approved quantity, used by the packing team.
- Order Date Created: When the request was raised.
- Client Name and Location: Who the stock is going to.
- Packing Approve and Packed by: The packing trigger and a record of who did it.
- Order Completed: Ticked once the package is ready.
- Invoice ready confirmation and PIC: The invoice trigger and the person responsible.
- Remarks: Any notes on the product.
Step 1: The Outlet Submits a Stock Request
An outlet contact, Jensen Huang at AEON Kinta, needs two products. The warehouse currently holds 37 of the LeapFrog Count and Swirl Ice Cream Maker and 100 of the LeapFrog Channel Fun Learning Remote.
He fills in the Order Form, requesting 40 of the first and 85 of the second.
The Balance column does the arithmetic as he types. The first product comes back as minus three, because 37 in stock cannot cover a request for 40. The second returns 15, so there is enough to supply it.
Note: At this stage the balance figure is purely informational. Nothing has been reserved or deducted, and no stock has moved.
Step 2: Automatic Shortage Alerts
If the request is submitted anyway, Base Assistant sends a message flagging the shortfall, naming the client, the location, the item, the SKU and the exact balance.
The same submission lands in the Operations table as new rows, so the admin sees the request and the warning together rather than hunting through a chat thread.
Conditional colouring makes the state of every row obvious at a glance:
- Red: Balance is negative, so there is not enough stock to fulfil the request.
- Brown: The admin has ticked Pass and the transfer is confirmed.
- Green: Packing is complete.
Where the outlet can accept less, the admin simply edits the Need value down to something at or below the available Stock, and the row clears itself.
Step 3: The Admin Confirms the Transfer
For the Channel Fun Learning Remote there is enough stock, so the admin ticks Pass. Three things happen at once:
- Confirmation takes on the requested quantity: 0 + 85 = 85.
- Stock is reduced by the same amount: 100 – 85 = 15.
- Need resets to zero: 85 − 85 = 0.
Because the Stock figure is linked back to the master table, the warehouse inventory updates in real time. The remote control now reads 15 units in Stock (Warehouse) without anyone editing it manually.
Important: The packing team works from Confirmation, not from Need. Need is what was asked for; Confirmation is what was actually approved. Keeping the two separate is what stops the wrong quantity going into the box.
Step 4: The Warehouse Packs the Order
The admin clicks the PACKING button, which posts a notification into the warehouse group chat with the client, location and date.
Warehouse staff acknowledge the request and pack the goods. The Packed by field records who took the job automatically, so there is no separate sign-off sheet.
Once the package is ready, they tick Order Completed and the row turns green.
Step 5: Invoice Handover
The final step is the INVOICE button, which tells the admin the order is ready to be billed.
The notification carries the date, client, location and the name of whoever packed it, so the person raising the invoice has everything without asking.
What This Setup Fixes
- No more paper mark-downs. Every request, approval and quantity lives in one record that both sides can see.
- Stock figures stay honest. Approving a transfer deducts the quantity automatically, so the warehouse total is never a day behind.
- Shortages surface immediately. The alert reaches the admin the moment a request exceeds available stock, instead of at the packing bench.
- Accountability is built in. Packed by and PIC record who did what without anyone maintaining a log.
- Handovers happen in chat. Warehouse and admin get notified where they already work, rather than in a separate system.
Practical Use Cases for SMEs and Startups
- Multi-outlet retail: Let each shop raise its own replenishment request against live warehouse stock.
- Food and beverage chains: Track ingredient transfers between a central kitchen and individual branches.
- Event and rental businesses: Move equipment between storage and sites, with a record of who checked it out.
- Distributors and wholesalers: Give agents a request form instead of taking orders over the phone.
- Workshops and service centres: Control spare part movements from a central store to technicians.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Can Lark Base be used as an inventory management system?
Yes. With linked tables, formula fields for balances, conditional colouring and buttons that trigger notifications, Lark Base can run a complete stock transfer workflow without any additional software.
How does stock get deducted automatically in Lark Base?
The approved quantity is subtracted from the stock figure when the admin ticks the confirmation checkbox, and because that figure is linked back to the master inventory table, the warehouse count updates at the same moment.
What happens if an outlet requests more stock than is available?
The balance turns negative, the row is coloured red, and Base Assistant sends a message flagging the shortfall with the item, SKU and exact shortage. The admin can then reduce the requested quantity or hold the request.
Can Lark Base send stock alerts to a group chat?
Yes. Button fields and automations can post messages into a Lark group, which is how the packing request and the invoice handover reach the right team in this workflow.
Does Lark Base record who packed an order?
Yes. The Packed by field captures the person who ticked the completion checkbox, giving you an audit trail without a separate sign-off sheet.
How many tables do I need for a basic inventory setup?
Three is enough to start: one for warehouse stock, one for the outlets or clients you supply, and one operations table where requests move through their stages.
Can outlet staff submit requests without editing the base directly?
Yes. A form view collects the request and writes it into the operations table, so outlet staff never need access to the underlying data.
Building the Workflow Your Warehouse Actually Runs On
The value here is not any single feature but the joining up: a form that feeds a table, a checkbox that moves numbers, a colour that flags a problem, and a button that reaches the right person in chat.
Start with the three tables, get the balance formula working, then add the notifications once the numbers are behaving.
Most teams find the paper slips disappear within a week.
Ready to Power Your Business with Lark?
Lark Base is just one part of an all-in-one platform that brings messaging, meetings, documents, approvals, and automations together for your entire team.
As the Platinum Partner for Lark in Malaysia, Exabytes offers tailored Lark plans, hands-on onboarding, and dedicated local support to help your team run operations on live data instead of paperwork.
