Inventory analytics

Dead Stock Report

Description

The Dead Stock Report lists items that have had no sales activity during the selected period. It highlights inventory that remains unsold and may tie up working capital.

Key Columns:

• Product Title: Name of the unsold product.

• Available Qty: Quantity currently in stock.

• Incoming Qty: Quantity on order but not yet received.

• Incoming + Available Qty: Combined total of available and incoming stock.

• Unrealized Profit: Theoretical profit if current inventory were sold at standard margin.

• Incoming + Available Cost: Total cost value of unsold and incoming stock.

• Variants: Number of product variants.

• View in Admin: Quick link to open the product in the admin system for further action.

What to watch out

1. Working Capital Risk:

• These items tie up cash without generating returns.

• Large cost values with no movement signal overstocking or misaligned demand.

2. Opportunity Cost:

• Unrealized profit highlights the margin potential if stock were sold.

• Low turnover may mean mispricing, low visibility, or lack of demand fit.

3. Operational Decisions:

• Some items may need discounting, bundling, or clearance campaigns.

• Persistent dead stock can indicate catalog bloat and may warrant product retirement.

4. Vendor Relations:

• If specific vendors repeatedly show dead stock, purchasing terms or product selection should be reviewed.

How to Use This Report

1. Identify High-Risk Items:

• Sort by Incoming + Available Cost to prioritize costly unsold inventory.

2. Check Unrealized Profit:

• Compare profit potential to see if promotional campaigns could justify moving stock.

3. Plan Stock Clearance:

• Decide whether to discount, bundle, return to supplier, or liquidate.

4. Feed into Purchasing Decisions:

• Avoid reordering slow-moving products.

• Adjust vendor contracts to reduce future risk.

5. Cross-Reference with Other Reports:

• Compare against Frequently Sold Items → Are similar items selling while these are not?

• Link with Inventory Cost → See if dead stock is distorting total inventory valuation.

• Use with Purchase Planner → Prevent restocking of low-demand items.

Profitability Reports

Description

The Profitability Reports provide detailed insight into revenue, costs, and inventory efficiency across three levels:

• By Product – detailed product-level profitability.

• By Product Type – aggregated profitability by category.

• By Vendor – aggregated profitability by supplier.

They share a common structure, but category/vendor reports add or omit certain columns (e.g., unique products sold, on hand; no View in Admin links).

Key Metrics:

• Net Sales: Total revenue generated.

• Sales Cost: Direct costs (COGS).

• Sales Profit: Net profit contribution.

• Sales Units: Total units sold.

• Qty on Hand: Current inventory balance.

• Cost on Hand: Value of unsold stock.

• Unrealized Profit: Potential profit from remaining inventory if sold at current margins.

• Average Stock: Mean inventory value over the period.

• GMROI (Gross Margin Return on Inventory): Profitability per unit of inventory value.

• Days of Supply: How long current stock will last at recent sales pace.

• Inventory Turn: Number of times inventory is sold/replaced during the period.

• Sell-through Rate: % of stock sold vs. received.

• Variants On Hand / Sold: Distinct product variants currently in stock and sold.

• (For Product Type / Vendor):

  • Unique Products Sold: Number of distinct products sold in the group.

  • Unique Products On Hand: Number of distinct products still in inventory.

What to watch out

1. Profitability Check:

• Net Sales vs. Sales Profit shows which products, types, or vendors drive margin, not just revenue.

• High sales with low or negative profit may require pricing or cost review.

2. Inventory Efficiency:

• GMROI reveals how effectively capital tied in stock is being turned into margin.

• Low GMROI items consume resources without sufficient return.

3. Stock Risk Assessment:

• Days of Supply and Inventory Turn highlight slow vs. fast movers.

• Items with long supply days and low turn are potential overstock/dead stock risks.

4. Sell-through & Unrealized Profit:

• High unrealized profit indicates value locked in unsold stock.

• Low sell-through suggests need for discounting, bundling, or assortment rationalization.

5. Breadth of Performance:

• Unique products/variants metrics show how much of the assortment contributes to sales.

• Useful to identify whether performance is concentrated (few products/vendors carrying the business) or diversified.

6. Strategic Breakdown:

• By Product: Pinpoints SKU-level winners and losers for tactical decisions (discount, reorder, retire).

• By Product Type: Informs assortment mix and category-level investment.

• By Vendor: Supports supplier negotiations and highlights vendor dependency risks.

How to Use These Reports

1. Identify Top & Bottom Performers:

• Sort by Sales Profit or GMROI to find which products/categories/vendors are most/least efficient.

2. Cross-Check with Inventory Metrics:

• High-profit but low-turn items may be worth keeping despite slower movement.

• High-turn but low-margin items might be important for traffic-building but not profitability.

3. Spot Overstocks or Stockouts:

• Days of Supply too high → reduce reordering, promote clearance.

• Too low → risk of missed sales; prioritize replenishment.

4. Optimize Vendor/Category Mix:

• Compare vendors and product types to allocate future purchasing budgets.

• Negotiate terms with vendors delivering low GMROI or high dead stock.

5. Align with Other Reports:

• Use with Dead Stock to flag unprofitable, unsold items.

• Compare with Frequently Sold Items to check if frequent sellers are also profitable.

• Combine with Sales Comparison to measure whether growth is sustainable and efficient.

Open to Buy Planner

Description

The Open to Buy Planner helps track and plan purchasing budgets by comparing historical sales performance with projected demand and available inventory. by Product Type.

Key Columns:

• Net Sales (selected period): Revenue achieved during the selected historical range (for benchmarking).

• Sales Cost (selected period): Associated cost of goods sold in the same period.

• Available Cost: Current inventory value on hand.

• Incoming Cost: Value of inventory already on order but not yet received.

• Projected Sales (per month): Forecasted sales for future months, broken out individually (e.g., September, October, November 2025).

• Projected Cost (per month): Estimated cost of goods required to support the projected sales.

• Sales LY (per month): Actual sales from the same period last year for reference.

What to watch out

1. Benchmark vs. Forecast:

• Net Sales and Sales Cost from the selected period provide a historical baseline.

• Use these to assess whether projections are aggressive, conservative, or realistic.

2. Inventory Sufficiency:

• Compare Available Cost + Incoming Cost with Projected Cost.

• If projected demand exceeds available stock value, additional purchasing is required.

3. Category-Level Planning:

• Product types with high projected sales but low available inventory should be prioritized in purchase orders.

• Product types with large available inventory but low projected sales may not require further buying.

4. Seasonal/Monthly Insight:

• Month-by-month projections highlight seasonal peaks and upcoming demand surges.

• Useful for spreading purchasing budget across months rather than overspending upfront.

5. Risk Management:

• Over-investment risk: Large projected cost vs. weak historical sales (may tie up working capital).

• Stockout risk: High projected sales with insufficient inventory coverage.

How to Use the Report

1. Start with Historical Benchmarks:

• Review Net Sales and Sales Cost from the selected period as a baseline.

2. Check Inventory Coverage:

• Compare current Available + Incoming Cost vs. upcoming Projected Cost.

• Flag categories where coverage is below 100%.

3. Prioritize Purchasing Decisions:

• Allocate budgets to categories with high forecasted demand and insufficient stock.

• Hold off on reordering categories already overstocked.

4. Cross-Reference with Other Reports:

• Link with Profitability Reports to ensure high-demand categories are also profitable.

• Use with Dead Stock to prevent allocating budget to slow movers.

• Align with Low Inventory to anticipate urgent replenishment needs.

Purchase Planner

Description

The Purchase Planner supports purchasing decisions for long-life products with stable demand and supply. It projects required stock levels using recent sales history and configuration settings, ensuring sufficient coverage while avoiding excess inventory.

Key Columns:

• Product Title / Variant Title / Variant SKU: Identifies the item at SKU/variant level.

• Unit Cost: Cost per unit of the product.

• Units Sold: Number of units sold in the selected period.

• Available Qty: Current stock on hand.

• Incoming Qty: Stock already on order but not yet received.

• Demand Forecast (1 week): Estimated weekly demand

• Optimal Stock: Target inventory level, calculated using the demand forecast multiplied by the configured “cover weeks.”

• Optimal Order: Recommended purchase quantity, calculated as Optimal Stock – (Available Qty + Incoming Qty)

What to watch out

1. Stock Coverage Control:

• Ensures inventory is sufficient to cover expected demand for the configured number of weeks.

• Prevents both stockouts and excessive overstock for slow-moving, long-life items.

2. Stable Demand Suitability:

• Designed for products with consistent demand patterns (non-seasonal, low volatility).

• Reduces complexity of planning by using a simple rolling average.

3. Risk Management:

• Helps avoid tying up working capital in items with long shelf lives.

• Provides a safeguard against under-ordering by factoring in forecasted demand.

5. Ease of Use:

• Uses configurable “cover weeks” so planners can adjust stock buffers based on lead time, vendor reliability, or business policy.

• Transparent logic makes it easy to explain and justify purchase quantities.

How to Use

1. Set the Date Range:

• Choose a period representative of normal demand (exclude unusual promotions or anomalies).

2. Review Forecasted Demand:

• Validate that the weekly demand estimate matches business expectations.

3. Check Optimal Stock:

• Confirm that cover weeks are set correctly (e.g., 4 weeks coverage for a monthly vendor cycle).

4. Use Optimal Order Recommendations:

• Place orders to close the gap between current stock (available + incoming) and the calculated optimal stock.

5. Cross-Reference with Other Reports:

• Dead Stock: Avoid reordering items with declining demand.

• Profitability by Product: Ensure planned purchases are for profitable products.

• Open to Buy Planner: Check budget availability before committing to orders.