The setup walkthrough

The walkthrough opens automatically after you create a business (and any time from the Getting Started card on the dashboard). It takes you through everything a complete setup needs, in dependency order: business basics, locations, vendors, products, sales channels, SKU matching, stock on hand, lead times, demand routing, and planning buffers. Each step happens on the real page it lives on — the panel visually lifts into the guide, so you always know where to find that setting later. You can minimize it at any point; progress is saved and it picks up where you left off.

The heavy lifting is CSV import — export from your old system and drop the files in, in this order: 1. Vendors — supplier list with payment terms (Cin7 exports work as-is). 2. Products — SKUs with costs, MOQs, and supplier assignment. 3. Stock on hand — a stock-take export with quantities per location, including lot numbers and expiry dates. Only import stock for locations Ventorie doesn't sync — 3PL stock arrives via its connector. 4. Purchase orders — one file does two jobs: POs still open with vendors carry forward as live orders, and historical POs seed real vendor costs and computed lead times. 5. Transfer orders — in-transit moves stay visible to planning. Imported transfers are records only, so nothing double-counts against your stock import. Every import shows a preview before anything is written. Column names are detected automatically (with AI help for unusual headers), and you can correct the mapping inline if something maps wrong. Re-importing the same file is always safe — it updates rather than duplicates.

When you connect a sales channel, the walkthrough counts your orders first and tells you how long the initial import will take, based on real measured sync speeds. For large stores it suggests a shorter history window (say, 12 months instead of 24) — enough for seasonal forecasting without an hours-long first sync. The import runs in the background while you continue with the remaining steps, and the guide returns to SKU matching once your listings have been discovered.

Channels report listings by their own SKUs. Exact matches link automatically; for the rest, click "Propose matches" and Ventorie suggests catalog products using SKU normalization, name similarity, and AI — each with a confidence and a reason. Confirm them in bulk; anything you leave unmatched stays in the SKU reconcile view on Integrations for hand-matching later. Confirming a match also relinks historical sales, so demand history lands on the right product immediately.

Every step has an AI assistant ("Not sure? Ask the setup assistant"). Ask questions in plain language — "what should my safety stock be?", "our 3PL is ShipBob, what do I put here?" — and it answers using your actual data. It can also propose the change for you; nothing is applied until you click Apply, and facts you tell it (who your 3PL is, which vendor makes what) are remembered by the AI across the whole product.

The walkthrough ends on the Replenishment page with your live plan — what to order, from whom, and when. On the Operations plan it also carries forward your open POs and transfers and connects accounting and the AI email inbox. On Autopilot, it finishes with a tour of what's already running for you (starter workflows, the AI Inbox, sync flows) and where to customize each one when you're ready. Anything you skipped stays on the dashboard's Getting Started list with a link to where it lives.