Plan your store replenishments – Academy

Introduction

REPLENISHMENTS is your solution to optimize store replenishment using a data-driven approach to improve your company's profitability and cash flow.
The tool calculates the optimal quantity to replenish each store and provides the information needed to understand or adjust the order based on your preferences.
Access via PLANNING > REPLENISHMENTS.
Remember to set up the necessary information in SETTINGS > PLANNING.

Requirements to Access Replenishments

The user must have the role of STORE MANAGER, WAREHOUSE MANAGER, ECOMMERCE MANAGER, INVENTORY MANAGER, or OWNER. You can view the different role types in the section Create or edit a user.

What is the Purpose of Replenishments?

How much stock should you send to the retail stores in your distribution network?

Answering this question correctly will increase your revenue, improve profitability, and strengthen the health of your cash flow.

Remember: Inventory is the heartbeat of your operations. It not only attracts customers and generates revenue, but it also represents an investment that ties up financial resources. Balancing this asset is both an opportunity and a challenge: You need enough stock to avoid stockouts and lost sales, but you also don’t want to overstock and tie up cash in unsold products. Stockagile’s REPLENISHMENTS tool helps you prevent this from happening.

By analyzing the historical sales of each product, we can more accurately predict the stock needed to meet your demand for a given period. At the same time, by properly accounting for the necessary lead time to replenish your store, we ensure that orders are placed in time so that stock arrives before it runs out.

For more information on Customer Service vs. Cash Flow and Lead Time, refer to our article on INVENTORY ANALYSIS.

To make good use of this tool, you should follow the steps in the following order:

Steps to configure Replenishments
Steps to set the minimum and maximum stock levels for a product
Steps to view and perform Replenishments

1. Steps to configure Replenishments

Go to SETTINGS and click on PLANNING.
- You will find the following general configuration options:
  - Analysis Period: Represents the number of days to consider for calculating average daily sales. Shorter periods (15-60 days) lead to more reactive changes in KPIs (key performance indicators) based on demand fluctuations, while longer periods (60-180 days) result in less reactive changes in KPIs after demand changes.
  - Restocking Warehouse: Represents the central warehouse in your network that will supply all stores and sales points.
For both restocking and reordering, you will find:
- Order Frequency: Represents the time, in days, between each restocking to the stores.
- Delivery Time: Indicates the time, in days, required to complete the transfer delivery. We recommend including the time needed for preparation, transportation, and receipt.
Once everything is defined, it will save automatically, and you can start using the planning tool.

Planning stock configuration screen

2. Steps to set the minimum and maximum stock levels for a product

Go to CATALOG > PRODUCTS and click on the specific product you want to configure.
Within the product, navigate to the Details tab.
Scroll down to the information card labeled Planning.
Here, you will find the following configurable settings:
- For both replenishment and reordering, you will have the following fields:
  - Limit Minimum Quantity of Product: Defines the minimum number of units to order for each product variant.
  - Limit Maximum Quantity of Product:
    - % Based on Stock to Order: For example, if a percentage of 10% is set, and there are 10 units of a product available to order, you will not be able to place an order for more than 1 unit of that product.
    - Fixed Number of Units: For example, if a fixed limit of 10 units is set, it will not be possible to order more than 10 units of any product.
  - Limit Maximum Quantity to the Minimum Stock Established at the Source: It will not be possible to order more than the minimum stock quantity set for that product variant at the source location.
Once all the planning is configured, click the SAVE button at the top-right corner, and the minimum and maximum quantities for the product will be set.

Planning card inside the product in the DETAILS tab

3. Steps to Access Replenishments

⚠️ Note [12/11]: This section is under development, and some features may not work or be described as they should.

Click on PLANNING and go to REPLENISHMENT in the sidebar menu.
- Important: The analysis is only conducted for ACTIVE PRODUCTS. For more details about active and discontinued products, read our academy article on INVENTORY ANALYSIS.
The summary table by product variant provides all the necessary information to take action for replenishment your store. Each row offers data about a product variant in a specific store, helping you decide on the best course of action for each case.
- Below is a description of each column (if you don't see some of the mentioned columns, you can display them again using the button in the upper-right corner of the table):

Status: Indicates the status of the SKU in that specific store. Represented as a colored dot, the legend is found in the upper-right corner of the table.
- Out of Stock (RED): No stock in the store.
- Urgent Order (ORANGE): Low stock; an immediate order is needed. If you don't place the order today, there’s a risk of running out of stock before the order is delivered.
- Non-Urgent Order (BLUE): Stock won't last until the next planned restock. However, there's still enough time to place the order before running out of stock.
- No Order Needed (GREEN): Restocking is unnecessary; there is sufficient or excess stock.
SKU: The SKU of the product variant.
ABC: The ABC code of the product variant (learn more in our article: ABC ANALYSIS).
Name: The name of the SKU.
Size: The size of the product variant.
Color: The color of the product variant.
Brand: The brand of the product variant.
Category: The category of the product variant.
Subcategory: The subcategory of the product variant.
Season: The season of the product variant.
Stock in Transit: The amount of stock in transit to the main warehouse. Helps determine if additional stock needs to be ordered from suppliers to replenish all stores.
Stock on Hand: The amount of stock available to sell or replenish at the main warehouse. Helps assess if there's enough stock to restock all stores.
Stock Needed Across All Stores: Calculates the total number of units required to replenish all stores. Use this column alongside Stock on Hand and Stock in Transit to quickly determine if your central warehouse has sufficient stock to meet the needs of all stores.
Store: The destination store for restocking.
Lead Time: The delivery time specified for restocking the store (configurable in Settings).
Expected Demand: Expected sales (in units) until the next planned restock.
Expected Sales: Expected sales (in value) until the next planned restock.
OOO Risk: Risk of revenue loss due to stockouts.
Daily Average Sales: Estimated daily sales for the product variant in the specific store.
Total Units Sold: Total units sold per store during the sample period (configurable in Settings).
Stock: Current stock on hand available for sale + stock in transit to the store.
Reorder Point: The stock level at which a restock order should be placed to avoid stockouts during the lead time.
Stock to Order: The number of units that need to be replenished in the store.
Draft Total: Units indicated in the draft restocking order. You can use the link in the cell to review and send the order.
Restock: Use this column to update the units in the draft before sending the order.

Replenishment Screen within Inventory Analysis

Conclusion

In the world of retail, mastering inventory management is key to increasing revenue and maintaining a healthy cash flow. Stockagile's REPLENISHMENTS tool simplifies this complex task, providing a complete view of your inventory needs and helping you make data-driven decisions to optimize your business.