One of the most common challenges for e-commerce store owners is Magento inventory management issues, such as products showing as out-of-stock despite available quantities or negative stock values.
These errors often stem from Magento 2’s MSI (Multi-Source Inventory) modules, designed for managing multiple warehouses (e.g., one in Riyadh, Jeddah, or Mecca). However, for over 80% of Gulf-based stores with a single warehouse, MSI modules create unnecessary complexity, causing heavy queries and persistent issues.
This case study explains how Growsera’s support team eliminated Magento inventory management issues by implementing Removing MSI, improving performance and user satisfaction for a single-warehouse store.
Table of Contents
Challenges Before the Solution
| Issue Metric | Value Before Solution |
|---|---|
| inventory_stock Indexing Time | 6 minutes per cycle |
| JOIN Query on inventory_stock_1 | +900ms delay in category page loads |
| “Out-of-Stock Despite Quantity” Complaints | 3–5 customers daily |
| Overselling During Sales Despite No Stock | 12 orders in a week before resolution |
Root Solution: Remove MSI Modules and Optimize Single-Source Inventory
1. Removing MSI Modules in Magento
To safely remove MSI modules without impacting the store, we used Composer replace with the Yireo/Magento2-replace-inventory package. The commands executed were:
composer require yireo/magento2-replace-inventory:^4
php bin/magento setup:upgrade
php bin/magento setup:di:compileThe Yireo package replaces 43 inventory-* modules, completely removing them from the vendor folder.
Note: Back up the database before executing commands, then enable the legacy “Manage Stock” (catalog inventory) setting for Magento maintenance.
2. Clearing Reservations Before Removal
To ensure accurate inventory, we identified and cleared existing reservations using:
bin/magento inventory:reservation:list-inconsistencies
bin/magento inventory:reservation:clean3. Reactivating Default stock_status Indexer
After disabling MSI, we enabled only the cataloginventory_stock indexer, set to “On Schedule” to avoid conflicts, supporting Magento performance optimization.
Results by the Numbers
| Metric | Before (MSI Enabled) | After MSI Removal |
|---|---|---|
| Inventory Indexing Time | 6 minutes | 3 minutes 18 seconds (-45%) |
| Category Page LCP | 3.2s | 2.4s (-25%) |
| Negative Quantity Queries/Day | 130 | < 5 |
| “Out-of-Stock” Complaints | 3–5/day | 0–1/day |
Why Remove MSI Modules for Single-Warehouse Stores?
- Faster Performance
SQL JOINs on inventory_stock_1 caused up to 0.9-second delays per category page load, resolved by Magento MSI removal. - Accurate Inventory
Uncleared MSI reservations led to negative Salable Qty. Magento MSI removal restored accurate stock calculations. - Lighter Indexing
Reducing indexers from 13 to 7 cut indexing time and conflicts, enhancing Magento performance optimization. - Improved Security and Maintenance
About one-third of Magento’s monthly security patches target inventory modules. Removing MSI reduces update frequency and emergency Magento maintenance.
Common Inventory Issues and Quick Fixes
| Issue | Common Cause | Solution and Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Negative Salable Qty | Uncleared MSI reservations after order cancellations | Run reservation:clean, then apply Magento MSI removal or Patch MDVA-30112. |
| “Available” Products with No Stock | cataloginventory_stock_status not updating after saves | Reindex with index:reindex; remove MSI for single-warehouse stores. |
| Slow Product Saves in Admin | Validation checks on inventory_source_item tables | Magento MSI removal reduces slow isTableExists calls. |
| High Cron Job Load | inventory_reservation_cloner and export_stock tasks | Disable MSI cron tasks or reduce their frequency post-removal. |
Actionable Steps for Your Store
- Assess Your Needs: If you have a single warehouse, MSI modules add complexity without benefits for Magento inventory management.
- Remove MSI Modules: Use the Composer replace commands outlined in this case study.
- Clear Reservations: Clean reservations before Removing MSI to ensure accurate stock data.
- Monitor Performance Weekly: Check CPU usage and indexing speed in the first month to confirm improvements with Magento maintenance.
FAQs About Magento Inventory Issues
Why does Salable Qty show negative in Magento?
MSI reservations uncleared after order cancellations cause negative quantities, fixable with MSI removal.
Does removing MSI affect multi-warehouse stores?
Yes, removing MSI is only suitable for single-warehouse stores.
How does removing MSI impact indexing performance?
It reduces indexers from 13 to 7, speeding up indexing and easing server load for performance optimization.
Can server upgrades fix inventory issues?
No, upgrades increase costs without addressing MSI-related query issues.
How do I know if MSI causes my inventory problems?
Single-warehouse stores with slow indexing, negative quantities, or out-of-stock complaints likely face MSI issues.
Summary
inventory management issues cannot be resolved by server upgrades alone. By removing MSI, Growsera reduced indexing time by 45%, eliminated negative quantity errors, and minimized customer complaints, all through streamlined maintenance.
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