Same SKU, Different MRPs: How to Manage Multi-MRP Inventory

SECTION 01Multi-MRP inventory in one paragraph

In brief: Multi-MRP inventory is stock of a single SKU that carries more than one printed maximum retail price at the same time, usually because batches were packed before and after a price revision. Handling it means tracking MRP as an attribute of each batch, so the warehouse can receive, store, pick and invoice every unit at the MRP printed on it.

In India, every pre-packaged product must declare its maximum retail price (MRP), inclusive of all taxes, under the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011. No one in the chain may sell a unit above the MRP printed on it, though selling below it is allowed. That makes MRP more than a label: it is a legal ceiling that travels with each physical unit.

The problem is that most systems treat a SKU as one thing with one price. When a brand revises its MRP, the warehouse ends up holding two versions of the same product that look identical on screen but are not interchangeable on the road. Ship the old-MRP unit against an order priced above that MRP, and the sale is above MRP: a compliance breach, a customer complaint and a marketplace dispute, all from one wrong pick.

SECTION 02Why the same SKU ends up with different MRPs

In brief: A manufacturer may not print two MRPs on identical packs at once, so multi-MRP stock comes from time. A price revision, a GST rate change or returned older stock means batches packed on different dates carry different MRPs, and all of them sit in the warehouse together until the older ones sell through.

Since the 2017 amendment to the Packaged Commodities Rules, a manufacturer, packer or importer cannot declare different MRPs on identical pre-packaged commodities. So a warehouse rarely holds two MRPs by design. It holds them because of timing:

• Price revisions. Input costs rise, the brand revises its MRP, and new batches are printed at the new price while weeks of older stock are still on the shelves.
• GST rate changes. When rates move, MRPs move with them. After the September 2025 GST changes, a Legal Metrology order allowed revised MRPs on unsold stock by sticker or stamp until 31 December 2025, with the original MRP left visible. For months, many FMCG and beauty brands held old-price, new-price and re-stickered stock of the same SKU.
• Returns and transfers. Customer returns, RTOs and stock pulled back from distributors bring older batches, and older MRPs, back into a warehouse that had already moved on.
• Long shelf life. Categories that sell slowly or hold stock for months, such as personal care, home care and nutraceuticals, are the most likely to span a revision.

For fast-moving brands in FMCG, beauty and pharma-adjacent categories, multi-MRP stock is not an exception to plan around once a year. It is the normal state of the warehouse.

SECTION 03Receiving and storing stock by MRP

In brief: Capture the MRP of every inbound batch at the goods received note, check it against the MRP on the purchase order, and store it as an attribute of the batch. Keep different MRPs in separate, labeled bins where you can, so the system and the shelf always agree on which price sits where.

Multi-MRP control starts at the dock. If MRP is not recorded when stock arrives, nothing downstream can recover it. The receiving routine that works:

1. Put MRP on the purchase order. The supplier, or your own plant, knows which MRP the batch will carry. Recording it on the PO sets the expectation before the truck arrives.
2. Scan or record MRP at the GRN. Capture batch, expiry and MRP together on the goods received note, ideally by scanning the pack rather than typing.
3. Flag mismatches on the spot. If the MRP on the pack differs from the PO, stop and resolve it at receiving, not at dispatch.
4. Store MRP against the batch. MRP belongs with batch and expiry as an attribute of the lot, the same way batch tracking keeps expiry dates attached to stock.
5. Separate bins by MRP. Where space allows, keep each MRP in its own labeled bin. Where it does not, the system must still know which MRP is in which bin, and cycle counts must check it.

SECTION 04Picking and invoicing the right MRP

In brief: Allocate stock by MRP, not just by SKU. Each order must get a unit whose printed MRP is at or above its selling price, and B2B orders must get the MRP the buyer's purchase order specifies. The MRP of the unit actually picked should then flow to the invoice, so paperwork and pack always match.

This is where most multi-MRP mistakes happen, because the picker sees one SKU and grabs the nearest unit. The fix is to make MRP part of allocation:

• Price ceiling first. A unit can only fill an order if its printed MRP is at or above the selling price. If you have raised your MRP and your price, the old-MRP units can only go to orders priced at or below the old MRP.
• Buyer requirements next. Modern trade and quick commerce buyers often specify MRP on the purchase order and can reject or debit deliveries that arrive with a different one. Their orders must be picked from the matching MRP.
• Then clear the oldest. Within the units that qualify, pick the older MRP first, alongside expiry, so old-price stock sells through instead of piling up.
• Invoice what you shipped. The invoice and packing slip should carry the MRP of the unit actually picked, and so should the credit note if that unit comes back as a return.

Multi-MRP flow: receive by MRP, store by MRP, pick by MRP, invoice by MRP.

SECTION 05What MRP changes mean for marketplace listings

In brief: A marketplace listing usually shows one MRP and one selling price for a SKU. When the MRP changes, update the listing only once the stock you will ship carries the new MRP, and never set a selling price above the MRP of the units you still hold. Selling down old stock first keeps listing and shipment aligned.

Marketplaces display MRP alongside the selling price, and the unit that reaches the customer must not carry an MRP below the price they paid. Multi-MRP stock makes timing the risk:

• MRP going up. Keep the listing at the old MRP and a selling price within it until old stock is sold through, or reserve old-MRP stock for channels where the price fits. Raise the listing MRP and price once you are shipping new-MRP units.
• MRP going down. Lower the selling price to within the new MRP before new-MRP units start shipping, or a customer may receive a pack printed below what they paid.
• Several channels at once. When D2C, marketplaces and quick commerce all draw on the same stock, the warehouse needs to know which MRP each channel's price can take, so allocation can route old and new stock correctly.

The common mistake is updating every listing the day the new MRP is approved, while the warehouse is still full of old packs. The listing should follow the stock, not the price decision.

SECTION 06Where EasyEcom fits

In brief: EasyEcom records MRP from the purchase order through the goods received note, keeps it against each batch, and shows it in inventory reports, so the warehouse always knows which MRP sits where. Allocation and invoicing then work from the same record, which is what keeps every unit shipping at a legal price.

In EasyEcom's warehouse management system, MRP is part of the stock record rather than a note on the side. It appears on purchase orders, is captured at the GRN alongside batch, expiry and unit of measure, and is visible as GRN MRP in the order overview and the full inventory report. Because orders, inventory and invoicing run on one platform, the MRP picked for an order is the MRP that reaches the invoice, across D2C, marketplaces, modern trade and quick commerce.

If price revisions are on your calendar, or you are still clearing re-stickered stock, book a demo and we will walk through how multi-MRP stock moves through your own warehouse.