Inventory management software for subscription boxes and bundles
A subscription box is a product made of products, and most stock systems can only count one or the other. Qoblex treats the box as a bundle: its availability comes from what is inside it, its components come down as each box ships, and the same item can sell alone, in this month’s box and in a gift set without being counted three times.
Why a box breaks a normal stock system
The box is a SKU. The things inside it are SKUs. The system has to know both are the same stock.
The box says twelve, the tissue paper says four
Listed as its own product, the box shows stock it does not have. The scarcest component decides how many you can ship, and the storefront does not know that.
Pre-packing ties up stock
Assemble a hundred boxes in advance and a hundred candles can no longer be sold on their own, or in the other box that wanted them.
Forecasting the wrong thing
You know how many subscribers renew. What you need is how many of each component to order, and that is a different number for every box.
A bundle is a grouping, not a pre-packed unit
In Qoblex a bundle groups SKUs into a combination or multi-pack and sells them as one unit, without tying stock up in a pre-packed kit. When a box sells, each component is drawn down. When a component sells on its own, every bundle it belongs to moves with it. Availability can never exceed the scarcest item inside.
Unelefante’s catalogue is ninety percent bundles and composites. This is the shape of business the bundle model was built around.
- Bundles assembled at the point of sale, never in advance
- One component in many bundles, counted once
- A bundle report listing every box and everything inside it
See inventory control.
When you do want to build the box in advance
Some boxes are packed before the month starts. Treat that as a production order against a bill of materials: components come out, finished boxes go in, and the cost of the box is the cost of what went into it, including the packaging and the freight on the components.
Batch-tracked components, such as a lot of cosmetics or a dated food item, carry their batch into the box, so a supplier recall finds every subscriber who received it.
- A bill of materials for the box, a production order for the packing run
- Component batches carried through to the finished box
- Disassembly for a returned or cancelled box
See manufacturing and lot tracking.
The rest of a box business
Each explained on its own page.
Reorder points on components
The reorder report shows which components are below their point, not just which boxes are.
Shopify and WooCommerce
Boxes, one-offs and gift sets in the same store, on one pool of stock.
Pack from a phone
Pick lists on the mobile app, with the camera as the scanner.
Landed cost on components
Freight and duty on the things inside the box, allocated by value, so the box’s cost is real.
Margin per box
What each box and each component actually earns, at true cost.
Returns and credit notes
A returned box adjusts stock and COGS and posts a credit note to Xero or QuickBooks Online.
This app is one of the best investments ever! Our inventory problems have been solved. 90% of our products are bundles/composites and Qoblex works perfectly with these types of products. Support is awesome!
Frequently asked questions
Bundles, components, and what happens when a box is built ahead of time.
Can one component be in several bundles?
Yes. The component is counted once. Every bundle that includes it derives its availability from that one count, so selling the component alone or in another box moves them all.
What decides how many boxes I can sell?
The scarcest component. A bundle’s availability is the smallest number of complete boxes its components can make, so the storefront never shows more than you can ship.
Should I use a bundle or a production order?
A bundle if the box is assembled when it sells and its components should stay sellable on their own. A production order against a bill of materials if you pack a run in advance and want the finished boxes counted as their own stock. Many businesses use both.
How is the cost of a box worked out?
From its components, at their moving average cost, which includes any freight and duty allocated to them, plus any costs recorded on a production order, such as packaging or labour.
Does it handle the subscription billing itself?
No. Billing and renewals stay in your storefront or subscription app; each shipment reaches Qoblex as an order, which draws down the box’s components. Qoblex is the stock, the cost and the fulfilment.
How it works
Be up and running in a fraction of the time you’re expecting it to take.
- 1
Talk to an expert
Our experts have helped hundreds of product sellers just like you.
Book a demo - 2
Bring in a specialist
Engage an onboarding specialist to make it much easier for you.
Book a demo - 3
Go live fast
Unlike other systems, we can get you up and running within 1 week.