diff --git a/contrib/inventory/vmware_inventory.py b/contrib/inventory/vmware_inventory.py
index 183b9a19b0e..0271110c965 100755
--- a/contrib/inventory/vmware_inventory.py
+++ b/contrib/inventory/vmware_inventory.py
@@ -366,6 +366,7 @@ class VMWareInventory(object):
     def _get_instances(self, inkwargs):
         ''' Make API calls '''
         instances = []
+        si = None
         try:
             si = SmartConnect(**inkwargs)
         except ssl.SSLError as connection_error: