Should I hold wholesale inventory separately from DTC?

Separate the commitment, not usually the stock. Physically splitting inventory strands units on whichever side is slow. Reserving quantities against confirmed wholesale purchase orders inside one pool protects the retail commitment while leaving everything uncommitted available to DTC.

Physical separation earns its cost when the pack format differs — retail cases, pallet configurations, and retailer-specific labelling are different goods, not the same units allocated differently.

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