This decision tree belongs to the inventory discrepancy guide. Six questions take a consultant from a first conversation to the right introduction, and the tree marks where answers stay open until SourceX's rights review. It is general information, not legal advice.
Why access and authority sit with different people
In most distribution businesses, three groups handle these records and none of them decides on licensing.
- People who create the records. Counters, inventory leads and analysts write counts, tickets and adjustment notes.
- People who can reach the records. The system administrator, IT and often an outside consultant hold credentials to the warehouse system, the handheld records and the ticket tool. Atlassian documents that Jira Cloud can export search results with all fields and every comment, so anyone with that access could pull years of write-ups in an afternoon. Being able to copy them says nothing about the right to license them.
- People who run the process. The warehouse director sets how variances are handled and can describe the records accurately.
AtlassianThe decision to license company information sits above all three, with an officer who can commit the company. The director's job in an introduction is to convene that person and describe the records.
The yes path, question by question
Answer in order. Each answer either moves you toward a signer or adds a reviewer.
| Question | If yes | If no or not sure |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Does the company own all the stock it investigates? | Operations executive, finance and legal decide; go to 3 | It runs stock for clients (a 3PL); go to 2 |
| 2. Do client contracts address data about client inventory and orders? | Counsel lists which records each contract reaches; go to 3 | Mark "unknown" for the rights review; go to 3 |
| 3. Is a site closing, being sold or being consolidated? | Check who controls each site's records after the event; go to 4 | Go to 4 |
| 4. Do records name counters, analysts or approvers? | Note it; de-identification may be needed; go to 5 | Go to 5 |
| 5. Is any of the investigation history held by an outside consultant or contractor? | Confirm it belongs to the company under the engagement terms; go to 6 | Go to 6 |
| 6. Will the named executive take a short call? | Introduce them, with the warehouse director as sponsor | Do not submit yet; ask who would decide |
A distributor that owns its stock usually stops at question 1 with an operations executive. A 3PL takes the question 2 branch, and the 3PL data ownership answer explains how client and operator records usually split.
Who holds which records, and who can approve
| Role | Records they know | Can they authorize a data discussion? |
|---|---|---|
| Inventory lead or analyst | Counts, recounts, write-ups, root causes | No |
| System administrator or IT | Systems, retention settings, handheld records | No; access only |
| Outside consultant | Configuration, interfaces, migration plans | No; access only |
| Warehouse director | How variances are handled, years of history, where reasoning sits | Rarely; the natural sponsor |
| Finance or controller | Inventory value adjustments, approval limits | No; advises on financial records |
| Operations executive with legal | All operational records the company controls | Yes, within client contracts and company policy |
In a multi-site business, the operations executive may sit at group level while each site has its own director. Note every site whose records are involved.
Where client contracts, staff data and site changes come in
Three questions belong to counsel rather than the partner.
Client-owned stock. For a 3PL, inventory balances, item data and orders generally belong to the client. The operator's own investigation method, tickets and process records may be licensable where contracts allow. Counsel reads each client agreement.
Staff in the trail. Counts, handheld records and write-ups show who did what. Under the EU General Data Protection Regulation, personal data is any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person, including by reference to a name or identification number, so user IDs on a scanner log count. Comparable rules apply elsewhere. The page on employee privacy policies and AI covers a related question, and SourceX's review decides what de-identification is needed.
Buildings that close or change hands. When a building is sold or shut, its records may stay with a buyer, sit in an archive or remain in a system the business no longer runs. Counsel and the director should confirm who controls each building's history after the event. Why data rights matter explains why these answers come first.
What the tree cannot settle before SourceX's rights review
The tree names whom to introduce. It leaves these open:
- whether the company holds the right to license each record class
- which client contracts exclude records about client stock
- what de-identification staff names and user IDs need
- whether there is buyer interest in this kind of variance history, and on what terms
For SourceX, an introduced company needs 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), a documented operating history, rights to license and an authorized contact. Companies in the U.S., Canada and the EU qualify, as do companies in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, South Africa, Latin America, the UAE and Saudi Arabia when at least 90% of the data is in English. Partners sign the Channel Partner Agreement before submitting introductions, and never ask for count sheets, write-ups, exports or logins. The referral brief template has a field for the signer, and the cycle count variance page describes the record type. The logistics and warehousing page lists related records, and a worked case is on the exception examples page.
Next step
Refer a company. Earn up to $100,000. Default reward: 25% of Actual Supplier Payout, capped at $100,000 cumulatively per referred company. Eligibility and payment conditions apply, and a signed Schedule A or addendum can differ. A lead, meeting or signature alone does not trigger payment.
Once the tree has named the executive who controls the investigation records, and any client contracts are flagged for counsel, register as a partner, check the company against who qualifies and read the program terms before the warehouse director makes the introduction.