Published April 27, 2024
Start with the data the process needs
Migration scope should follow the future operating model. Items, units, locations, owners, inventory attributes, open orders, and pending work may each require different treatment. Define what is migrated, recreated, closed, or retained only for reference. Assign a business owner to the meaning of each domain. A technical team can move values accurately while still moving obsolete or inconsistent definitions into the new environment.
Validate relationships, not only fields
An item may have dimensions, but they may use a different unit from the target system. A location may exist but have the wrong eligibility or capacity. An inventory balance may be correct in total but wrong by lot, status, or owner. Check the relationships the warehouse will use to make decisions. Record corrections at the source or through a controlled transformation so repeated migration runs do not reintroduce the same defects.
Use a representative transaction pack
Choose sample records across the operational variations that matter: small and large packs, tracked items, partial quantities, held stock, and unusual customer requirements. Receive, put away, allocate, pick, pack, and confirm those records as appropriate. Include exceptions. This reveals whether the migrated values support execution rather than merely satisfying the target schema. Keep expected results and starting states so a later migration rehearsal can reproduce the evidence.
Reconcile the cutover boundary
Decide how inventory and open work are frozen, captured, or synchronized during transition. Identify transactions that can remain in flight between systems and how they are treated. Reconciliation needs agreed units, dimensions, timing, and tolerances. A simple grand-total comparison can conceal stock assigned to the wrong location or business owner. Document who can accept a discrepancy and what conditions prevent proceeding with the cutover.
Practice correction and rerun
Migration rarely succeeds because the first extract was perfect. Rehearse how failed records are identified, corrected, reloaded, and verified without duplicating accepted data. Measure the actual time needed, including business review. Preserve a versioned record of mappings and transformation rules. The goal is a repeatable transition whose result can be explained, not a one-time load dependent on manual fixes that nobody can reliably reproduce.
Use with your team
Working checklist
Checks are temporary and are not saved or submitted. Use Print / save PDF for your working copy.
Educational guidance. Apply it to your product, version, operating conditions, and agreed controls; it is not a project-specific solution design.
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