RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS (Policies)	9 Months Ended
RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS (Policies)	Apr. 30, 2019
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Basis of Presentation	The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared by the Company in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all the information and footnotes required by generally accepted accounting principles for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of a normal recurring nature) considered necessary for fair presentation have been included. These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and related notes for the year ended July 31, 2018, which are contained in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on December 4, 2018. The results for the three and nine months ended April 30, 2019 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full fiscal year. The year-end condensed balance sheet data was derived from audited financial statements, but does not include all disclosures required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Principles of Consolidation	All significant intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements	In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606 or the new standard), which supersedes the revenue recognition requirements in ASC 605, Revenue Recognition. This ASU is based on the principle that revenue is recognized to depict the transfer of goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The ASU also requires additional disclosure about the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from customer contracts, including significant judgments and changes in judgments and assets recognized from costs incurred to obtain or fulfill a contract. On August 1, 2018, the Company adopted this guidance and all the related amendments using the modified retrospective method for all contracts not completed as of the date of adoption. For contracts that were modified before the effective date, the Company reflected the aggregate effect of all modifications when identifying performance obligations and allocating transaction price in accordance with practical expedient ASC 606-10-65-1-(f)-4, which did not have a material effect on the Company’s assessment of the cumulative effect adjustment upon adoption. The Company recognized the cumulative effect of initially applying the new standard as an adjustment to the opening balance of accumulated deficit. The comparative information has not been restated and continues to be reported under the accounting standards in effect for those periods. In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases, which requires lessees to put most leases on their balance sheets but recognize expenses on their income statements in a manner similar to today’s accounting. The Company expects to adopt the provisions of this guidance on August 1, 2019, using a modified retrospective transition method without restating its prior fiscal year financial statements for comparable amounts. The Company has established an implementation team that has gathered and analyzed a significant portion of our lease contracts. Our implementation efforts include reviewing existing leases and service contracts, which may include embedded leases. Based on preliminary results of the process, which has not been completed, nothing has come to our attention that would indicate that adoption of the new standard will have a material impact on our earnings or shareholders' equity. We expect that the recording of right-of-use assets and associated lease liabilities will have a significant effect on our condensed consolidated balance sheet; however, we are unable to determine an exact amount at this time. We are in the process of evaluating changes to our business processes, systems and controls needed to support recognition and disclosure under the new standard. Further, we are continuing to assess any incremental disclosures that will be required in our consolidated financial statements. In January 2017 the FASB issued ASU 2017, Intangibles-Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Accounting for Goodwill Impairment. The revised guidance eliminates Step 2 of the current goodwill impairment test, which requires a hypothetical purchase price allocation to measure goodwill impairment. A goodwill impairment loss will instead be measured at the amount by which a reporting unit’s carry amount exceeds its fair value, not to exceed the carrying amount of goodwill. The Company has elected to early adopt this standard as of July 31, 2019, the Company’s fiscal year end. Its adoption is not expected to have an impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements. In March 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-07, Compensation—Retirement Benefits (Topic 715), which requires that the service cost component of net periodic pension and postretirement benefit cost be presented in the same line item as other employee compensation costs, while the other components be presented separately as non-operating income (expense). This ASU became effective beginning in the first quarter of fiscal year 2019. The adoption of the guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements and related disclosures. In February 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-02, Income Statement—Reporting Comprehensive Income (Topic 220). This standard provides an option to reclassify stranded tax effects within accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) to retained earnings due to the U.S. federal corporate income tax rate change in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. This standard was effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018. We did not exercise the option to make this reclassification.
Revenue Recognition	The Company recognizes revenue from its contracts with customers primarily from the sale of supply chain management services and marketing solutions offerings. Revenue is recognized when control of the promised goods or services is transferred to a customer, in an amount that reflects the consideration the Company expects to be entitled to in exchange for those goods or services. For ModusLink’s supply chain management services arrangements and IWCO’s marketing solutions offerings, the goods and services are considered to be transferred over time as they are performed. Taxes assessed by a governmental authority that are both imposed on and concurrent with a specific revenue-producing transaction, that are collected by the Company from a customer, are excluded from revenue. ModusLink’s revenue primarily comes from the sale of supply chain management services to its clients. Under the new standard, the majority of these arrangements consist of two distinct performance obligations (i.e. a warehousing and inventory management service and a separate kitting, packaging and assembly service), each of which is recognized over time as services are performed using an input method based on the level of efforts expended. A significant portion of ModusLink’s revenue from these arrangements continues to be recognized over time as the services are performed based on an input method of efforts expended which corresponds with the transfer of value to the customer. For the limited population of contracts where the Company previously recognized revenues upon completion of all services and historically recognized revenue at a point in time (generally upon product shipment), the new standard accelerates the recognition of revenue as the Company’s performance enhances assets that the customer controls and therefore revenue is recognized over time based on an input method of efforts expended which corresponds with the transfer of value to the customer. Revenue from the sale of perpetual licenses sold in ModusLink’s e-Business operations is now recognized at a point in time upon execution of the relevant license agreement and when delivery has taken place. Revenue recognized related to the majority of IWCO’s marketing solutions offerings, which typically consist of a single integrated performance obligation, is now recognized over time as the Company performs because the products have no alternative use to the Company.
Inventory	Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value. Cost is determined by both the moving average and the first-in, first-out methods. Materials that the Company typically procures on behalf of its clients that are included in inventory include materials such as compact discs, printed materials, manuals, labels, hardware accessories, hard disk drives, phone chassis, consumer packaging, shipping boxes and labels, power cords and cables for client-owned electronic devices.
Inventory Provisions	The Company continuously monitors inventory balances and records inventory provisions for any excess of the cost of the inventory over its estimated net realizable value. The Company also monitors inventory balances for obsolescence and excess quantities as compared to projected demands. The Company’s inventory methodology is based on assumptions about average shelf life of inventory, forecasted volumes, forecasted selling prices, contractual provisions with its clients, write-down history of inventory and market conditions. While such assumptions may change from period to period, in determining the net realizable value of its inventories, the Company uses the best information available as of the balance sheet date. If actual market conditions are less favorable than those projected, or the Company experiences a higher incidence of inventory obsolescence because of rapidly changing technology and client requirements, additional inventory provisions may be required. Once established, write-downs of inventory are considered permanent adjustments to the cost basis of inventory and cannot be reversed due to subsequent increases in demand forecasts. Accordingly, if inventory previously written down to its net realizable value is subsequently sold, gross profit margins may be favorably impacted. IWCO’s inventory consists primarily of raw materials (paper) used to produce direct mail packages and work-in-process. Finished goods are generally not a significant element of the inventory as they are generally mailed after the production and sorting process.
Goodwill	The Company conducts its goodwill impairment test on July 31, of each fiscal year. In addition, if and when events or circumstances change that could reduce the fair value of any of its reporting units below its carrying value, an interim test is performed. In making this assessment, the Company relies on a number of factors including operating results, business plans, economic projections, anticipated future cash flows, and transactions and marketplace data.
Intangible Assets	The trademarks and tradenames intangible asset are being amortized on a straight line basis over a 3 years estimated useful life. The customer relationship intangible asset is being amortized on a double-declining basis over an estimated useful life of 15 years. Intangible assets deemed to have finite lives are amortized over their estimated useful lives, where the useful life is the period over which the asset is expected to contribute directly, or indirectly, to its future cash flows. Intangible assets are reviewed for impairment on an interim basis when certain events or circumstances exist. For amortizable intangible assets, impairment exists when the carrying amount of the intangible asset exceeds its fair value.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments	ASC Topic 820 provides that fair value is an exit price, representing the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants based on the highest and best use of the asset or liability. As such, fair value is a market-based measurement that should be determined based on assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability. ASC Topic 820 requires the Company to use valuation techniques to measure fair value that maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. These inputs are prioritized as follows: Level 1: Observable inputs such as quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in active markets Level 2: Other inputs that are observable directly or indirectly, such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities or market-corroborated inputs Level 3: Unobservable inputs for which there is little or no market data and which require the Company to develop its own assumptions about how market participants would price the assets or liabilities The carrying value of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, restricted cash, accounts payable, current liabilities and the revolving line of credit approximate fair value because of the short maturity of these instruments. We believe that the carrying value of our long-term debt approximates fair value because the stated interest rates of this debt is consistent with current market rates. The carrying value of capital lease obligations approximates fair value, as estimated by using discounted future cash flows based on the Company’s current incremental borrowing rates for similar types of borrowing arrangements. The defined benefit plans have 100% of their assets invested in bank-managed portfolios of debt securities and other assets. Conservation of capital with some conservative growth potential is the strategy for the plans. The Company’s pension plans are outside the United States, where asset allocation decisions are typically made by an independent board of trustees. Investment objectives are aligned to generate returns that will enable the plans to meet their future obligations. The Company acts in a consulting and governance role in reviewing investment strategy and providing a recommended list of investment managers for each plan, with final decisions on asset allocation and investment manager made by local trustees.