I worked on introducing pre-orders into the order management system at The Pokémon Company International.
This required rethinking how inventory and fulfillment worked because customers could now purchase items that didn’t exist yet in the warehouse.
The Problem
The system assumed: Inventory exists → order is placed → fulfillment begins
Pre-orders broke this model: Inventory didn’t exist at purchase time Fulfillment had to happen later, on release date
The Approach
I helped design a virtual inventory model within the OMS (Fluent). This allowed orders against future inventory. Tracked pre-order demand separately from physical stock
On release:
- Virtual inventory was converted into real inventory
- Orders transitioned into standard fulfillment flows
Challenges
- Representing non-existent inventory in a real system
- Ensuring correct state transitions at release time
- Handling high-traffic launches where timing + inventory accuracy mattered
- Avoiding overselling during spikes
Impact
- Enabled pre-orders for major launches (e.g., Pokémon cards)
- Created a reusable pattern for future-dated inventory
- Improved system readiness for high-velocity drops