WC Inventory Overview 1.34.0

WC Inventory Overview 1.34.0 — Supplier Merge

Release Date: August 2026
Plugin Version: 1.34.0
Database Version: 11 (migrated from v10)

Overview

This release introduces Supplier Merge — a controlled operation to consolidate redundant or duplicate supplier records while preserving all associated purchasing history, costs, and audit trails.

New Feature: Supplier Merge

What is Supplier Merge?

Suppliers can now be merged into another active supplier. This consolidation operation:

• Reassigns all Purchase Orders from the source supplier to the target supplier
• Reassigns all Goods Receipts from the source supplier to the target supplier
• Preserves historical snapshots — supplier name at the time of order/receipt remains unchanged
• Preserves inventory movements — all cost records, landed-cost allocations, and stock movements remain intact
• Does not overwrite target metadata — the target supplier's name, lead time, and other settings are never modified by the merge
• Permanently dissolves the source supplier — it becomes archived and cannot be reactivated
• Records audit history — every merge operation is logged with source/target, reassigned counts, timestamp, and who performed it

Using Supplier Merge

1. Navigate to Purchasing → Suppliers
2. Click the supplier name you wish to merge (source supplier)
3. If eligible, a "Merge Supplier" button appears on the supplier detail screen
4. Select a target supplier from the dropdown
5. Review the warning (the operation is irreversible)
6. Type the confirmation text to enable the submit button
7. Click "Merge"

The system verifies your confirmation server-side and processes the merge atomically.

What Moves, What Stays

Item	Behavior
Purchase Orders	Reassigned to target supplier; supplier snapshots remain unchanged
Goods Receipts	Reassigned to target supplier; supplier snapshots remain unchanged
Inventory Movements	Remain tied to their original costs/receipts; stock figures and valuations are unaffected
Expected Delivery Dates	Follow reassigned POs; end-customer messaging is unchanged
Supplier Spend/Stats	Reflect reassigned PO ownership; historical totals transfer
Source Supplier	Archived; cannot be reactivated; cannot be selected for new operations

Eligibility Rules

• Source supplier must be active (not already merged or archived)
• Target supplier must be active (not merged, archived, or the source itself)
• A supplier cannot be selected if it has already been merged into another supplier

Irreversible Operation — Important

⚠️ CODE ROLLBACK DOES NOT UNDO COMPLETED SUPPLIER MERGES.

A completed supplier merge is irreversible at the product level by design. If you rollback plugin code from v1.34.0 to v1.33.0:

• The schema additions (new columns, tables) remain in your database
• Previously completed merges remain — reassigned POs/GRs stay reassigned
• The dissolved source supplier remains archived
• There is no automatic "undo merge" feature in the plugin

Recommendation: Take a database backup before your first supplier merge in production. In the unlikely event you need to undo a completed merge, restore the database backup; do not attempt manual SQL corrections on uncertain state.

Server-Side Security

The merge operation:

• Requires explicit server-side confirmation of the selected target
• Uses nonces/tokens to prevent CSRF
• Enforces atomic transactions — if any part fails, all changes roll back
• Protects against concurrent new Purchase Order/Goods Receipt creation against a dissolving supplier
• Is logged in the audit trail

Database Schema Changes

Version Migration (v10 → v11)

The wc_io_db_version option is automatically upgraded to 11 on plugin activation or update.

New Column:

• wc_io_suppliers.merged_into_supplier_id (nullable INT) — tracks which supplier this one was merged into

New Table:

• wc_io_supplier_merges — audit log of all merge operations
  • Columns: id, source_supplier_id, target_supplier_id, purchase_orders_reassigned, goods_receipts_reassigned, performed_by_user_id, performed_at

All historical data is preserved; no data is deleted during the schema upgrade.

Compatibility

• Requires PHP 7.4+
• Requires WordPress 6.0+
• Compatible with WooCommerce 6.0–8.5+
• HPOS-compatible (High-Performance Order Storage)

Known Limitations

• A supplier can only be merged once (into one target); subsequent merges of that target are not supported within the same merge operation
• The merge operation requires a network roundtrip; very large operations (1,000s of POs/GRs) may take several seconds
• Concurrent new PO/GR creation against a dissolving supplier is protected, but timing is tight — avoid manual splits during an ongoing merge in production

Upgrade Notes

Before upgrading to v1.34.0 in production:

1. Take a full database backup (recommended for all updates, mandatory if you plan to use the merge feature)
2. Test the merge feature in a staging environment first
3. Document your supplier hierarchy before performing any merges

After upgrade:

1. Verify the schema upgrade completed: check Settings for the new "Supplier Merge" confirmation option
2. Test the Supplier Merge workflow on a disposable test supplier pair before using it on production data
3. The merge feature is available immediately after activation; no additional configuration is needed

Additional Information

For questions or issues, see the plugin's Settings tab and the built-in admin help sections.

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This is a standalone release. Previous releases (M0–M8 GA, M9–M12 feature train, M13–M15 feature train, M16 PO Expected-Date & Delay Transparency) remain in their respective version tags.