Consignment is a sales model in which goods stay under the supplier’s ownership until a customer sells them. The retailer or distributor holds the stock, but the supplier still needs accurate records of what is on hand, what moved, and what was sold. ERP and inventory systems often track consignment separately from ordinary stock because it affects billing, royalties, revenue sharing, and replenishment.
In cyber security, consignment matters because it creates a high-value data dependency. If attackers tamper with ERP records, they can hide missing stock, inflate sales, disrupt invoicing, or damage trust between vendors and partners. Consignment workflows are also useful for defenders to protect with strong access controls, audit logs, backups, and reconciliation checks, since integrity errors may be just as damaging as encryption or data theft.