How to Manage Inventory in Magento 2: Update, Increment, and Automate Product Quantities with Import

What is effective inventory management in Magento 2? Right, it is the backbone of any successful online store that ensures accurate product availability, prevents overselling, and keeps both customers and backend operations aligned. Now, you may wonder how to manage inventory in Magento to obtain the conditions described. Should it happen manually? Sometimes it may work. In that case, however, updating stock levels can quickly become a bottleneck. The more products you have to update, the more time-consuming this process becomes, especially if you have to deal with frequent supplier updates.
Now, imagine a common scenario: your supplier provides you with a CSV with product quantities they’ve sent to you. By default, a Magento inventory update import will overwrite existing stock levels with the new values from the file. But what if you need to add the new quantities to your current stock? For example, you already have 50 items in stock and your supplier delivers 30 more, you’ll want Magento to reflect 80 — not just 30. That’s where the Improved Import & Export extension comes in.
In this guide, we’ll show you how to automatically add product quantities to existing values during Magento 2 product import, instead of replacing them. With this approach, you can keep inventory accurate, streamline updates, and reduce manual work. Want more practical solutions? Explore our Magento 2 Developer’s Cookbook for additional tips and ready-to-use solutions.
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