WC Inventory Overview 1.38.0

WC Inventory Overview 1.38.0 — Position-Aware Reorder Signal

Release Date: August 2026
Plugin Version: 1.38.0
Database Version: 11 (unchanged from v1.37.0)

Overview

This release adds a new Reorder Signal to the plugin's existing Low Stock indicator. Until now, "Low stock" only looked at current on-hand quantity — a product could show as low stock even though a purchase order already on its way would cover it. This release tells you, for every low-stock line, whether it's already covered by incoming supply or still genuinely needs a reorder.

Every screen you already use looks the same, with new information added alongside. No existing button, filter, badge, column, or workflow was removed or changed — the new signal appears next to the information you already had.

What's new

• "Needs reorder" and "Covered by incoming" badges on the Inventory Overview screen, shown next to the existing Low Stock badge for any line that's already low — never in place of it. For variable products, each variation is judged on its own; the parent row shows how many of its variations need reordering.
• New "Needs Reorder" summary card on the Inventory Overview screen.
• New "Needs Reorder" KPI on the Dashboard, alongside the existing Low Stock Items KPI.
• Two new columns — Incoming and Reorder status — on the Dashboard's "Recent Low Stock Items" table.

Why this matters to you

• Fewer false alarms. If a purchase order is already inbound and large enough to cover a low-stock line, you'll see "Covered by incoming" instead of an unqualified low-stock warning — so you don't reorder something you've already reordered.
• A clearer to-do list. The new "Needs Reorder" counts (on both the Dashboard and Inventory Overview) show only the lines that genuinely need attention, separate from the broader Low Stock count.
• Nothing is removed. The existing Low Stock badge, count, and behavior are exactly as before, on every screen.
• No purchasing action happens automatically. This release only shows information — it never creates, modifies, or suggests a purchase order on your behalf.

Visibility

The new Reorder Signal information (badges, cards, KPI, and columns) is visible to users who can manage WooCommerce (Shop Manager / Administrator). If your account only has product-editing access, you'll continue to see the Inventory Overview and Dashboard screens exactly as they looked before this release.

What to expect after upgrading

• No database change — DB_VERSION stays at 11. The upgrade is a plain code swap with nothing to migrate.
• No new settings to configure and no migration step to run.
• Every existing screen, filter, bulk action, inline stock edit, CSV export, restock form, and cost adjustment behaves exactly as it did in v1.37.0.

Compatibility

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

Upgrade notes

Because this release changes no schema and no stored data, it carries the same low-risk profile as a typical plugin update: back up as you normally would before any update, then upgrade normally.

Known limitations

The Reorder Signal is based on your configured low-stock threshold and currently open purchase orders — it does not forecast future demand or sales velocity. Creating a purchase order directly from a "Needs reorder" line is not included in this release and may be considered for a future update.

Additional information

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

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This release is a standalone milestone (M21), following the same release pattern used for M16 (v1.33.0), M17 (v1.34.0), and M20 (v1.37.0). It builds directly on v1.37.0. Previous releases (M0–M8 GA, M9–M12 feature train, M13–M15 feature train, M16, M17, M18–M19 feature train, M20) remain in their respective version tags.