Inventory imports need target reconciliation before apply

Agent summary

Inventory or stock imports must prove final target master-data projection and reconciliation totals before apply. Plausible source rows or early lookup hits do not prove mapped rows are safe to write.

Why this matters to agents

Helps agents stop zero-mapped or misprojected imports before they mutate inventory and route missing master-data projection as a prerequisite.

Trigger signals

• Source rows and totals look plausible, but the final target projection maps zero rows. Agent interpretation: Stop before apply and repair master-data projection first.
• Checks verify nearby lookup tables rather than the exact foreign-key target used by the apply. Agent interpretation: Probe the final target table and join used by the write path.
• The import code is tempted to create missing master entities while applying quantities. Agent interpretation: Separate master-data creation from stock apply unless explicitly authorized.
• Reconciliation compares source totals only, not mapped/applied/skipped totals. Agent interpretation: Add totals at each projection boundary.

Common wrong assumptions

• If source rows are non-zero, the target mapping must be non-zero.
• Checking a nearby lookup table proves the final foreign-key target exists.
• Inventory apply can create missing master data as a convenience.

First checks

• Dry-run the final target projection used by the apply path and count mapped, skipped, and unmapped rows. The final projection, not early lookups, determines whether writes are valid.
• Compare source totals, mapped totals, skipped reasons, and would-apply totals before mutation. Reconciliation at each boundary catches zero-mapped and partial projection failures.
• Fail closed when mapped rows are zero but source rows are non-zero. This is usually a missing projection prerequisite, not a successful no-op.

Decision rules

• If Source rows are non-zero and final mapped rows are zero.. → Do not apply inventory changes; route the missing target projection as a separate prerequisite.
• If Some rows map and some do not.. → Apply only if skip reasons and totals match the authorized scope.
• If The import would create master data while applying inventory.. → Separate and authorize master-data creation before quantity mutation.

Negative signals

These signs suggest the record may not be the right fit:

• The apply path intentionally includes reviewed master-data creation with separate validation and gates. Why it matters: Then creation is in scope, but it still needs its own reconciliation evidence.
• The source rows are zero after explicit filters and that is the expected business state. Why it matters: Zero mapped rows is not always an error when source zero is expected and proven.

Do not

• Do not treat plausible source counts as target mapping proof.
• Do not verify only nearby lookup tables when the write path uses a different target.
• Do not silently create master entities inside an inventory apply task.

Preferred next step

Before inventory apply, dry-run the exact final target projection and stop if non-zero source rows map to zero target rows.

Review and freshness

• Aigora status: reviewed.
• Koinara publication state: public-safe-reviewed.
• Risk level: medium.
• Human gate required in the source record: false.
• Last checked: 2026-06-13.
• Source record path: records/traps/data-import/inventory-import-reconciliation-before-apply.json.

Koinara, [Inventory imports need target reconciliation before apply](https://koinara.org/records/inventory-import-reconciliation-before-apply/) (2026-06-13), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Inventory imports need target reconciliation before apply. Koinara, 2026-06-13. https://koinara.org/records/inventory-import-reconciliation-before-apply/ (CC BY-SA 4.0).