Articles on: Inventory Replenishment

A Step-by-Step Guide to Effective Inventory Replenishment with Assisty

From setting up essential parameters to generating comprehensive reports and interpreting the results, this guide will lead you through the entire process of effective inventory replenishment with Assisty

Getting Started

What does Assisty specialize in?

Assisty is Empowering Shopify Merchants with Intelligent Inventory Optimization and Replenishment Strategies.

The Challenge: Balancing Product Availability

Optimize Customer Demand.
Minimize Inventory Costs.
Increase Revenue & Profits

Advantages for Shopify Merchants

Increase product availability to 99%: Assisty helps you maintain optimal stock levels.
Decrease inventory by 30%: By avoiding excess inventory and stockouts.
Save manual work by 10 hours a week: Assisty automates manual tasks involved in inventory management,.
Increase Revenue by 5%: By meeting customer demand and reducing stockouts.

Product Tour: Inventory Replenishment Reports and Customization

Welcome to the Product Tour section, where we'll explore the wealth of reports available for Inventory Replenishment within Assisty. You'll not only discover the variety of reports at your disposal but also learn how to customize them to suit your specific needs.

Available Reports

Get acquainted with the list of available reports related to Inventory Replenishment. Each report offers unique insights into your inventory management.

Customizing Reports

Change Time Range
Learn how to adjust the time range of your reports to analyze data over different periods, whether it's daily, weekly, or monthly.

Adding Filters
Discover how to apply filters to your reports to focus on specific products, categories, or other criteria relevant to your analysis.

Setting Parameters
Understand how to set custom parameters within reports to tailor the data to your business requirements.

Adding or Removing Columns
Explore the flexibility of adding or removing columns within reports to emphasize the data that matters most to you.

Scheduling Reports: to email, to Google Spreadsheet, to Slack
Find out how to set up automated scheduling for your reports. Schedule reports to be generated and delivered to your inbox at regular intervals, ensuring you stay updated effortlessly.

Saving Custom Reports

Learn how to save your customized reports for future reference and easy access. Your tailored reports can be invaluable tools for ongoing inventory analysis.

Setting Replenishment Parameters

Understanding the parameters

Minimum Stock Levels
Minimum Stock Levels represent the lowest quantity of a product you should have on hand to meet expected demand during the lead time plus a buffer (Safety Stock) to account for variability in demand or lead time.

Minimum Stock Levels = (Average Daily Sales x Lead Time in Days) + Safety Stock

Maximum Stock Levels
Maximum Stock Levels indicate the highest quantity of a product you should keep in inventory to avoid overstocking and carrying excess costs. It's calculated based on the reorder point and economic order quantity.
MaxSL = Reorder Point + Economic Order Quantity - Average Daily Sales x Lead Time in Days

Reorder Points
Reorder Point is the inventory level at which you should initiate a replenishment order. It considers the average daily sales and the lead time, with safety stock as a buffer.
Reorder Points = (Average Daily Sales x Lead Time in Days) + Safety Stock

Safety Stock Levels
Safety Stock is a reserve quantity of inventory designed to protect against unexpected variations in demand or lead time
Safety Stock Levels = products sold per day × desired days of safety stock

Vendor Leadtime
Vendor Lead Time is the average duration it takes for your supplier to deliver products after you place an order. It's a critical factor in inventory planning.
Vendor Lead Time = delivery date – order entry date

Minimum Order Quantity
Minimum Order Quantity represents the smallest quantity of a product that your supplier is willing to deliver in a single order. It's often set by suppliers to optimize their production or shipping processes.

Maximum Order Quantity
Maximum Order Quantity is the largest quantity of a product that you can order in a single batch without exceeding storage capacity, budget constraints, or supplier limitations.

Replenishment Exclusion
Replenishment Exclusion refers to the option to exclude specific products or categories from the automatic replenishment process. This can be useful for managing slow-moving or seasonal items separately.

Config the replenishment parameters

Generating Replenishment Suggestions

Selecting Products for Analysis
In this step, you can refine your product analysis by applying specific filters to narrow down the list of items you want to focus on. These filters allow you to make more informed purchasing decisions and tailor your replenishment strategy to meet your specific needs.

Select a Store Location
Choose a specific store location from which you want to analyze product data. This filter enables you to differentiate between products available at different store locations if you manage multiple physical stores.

Select a Set of Product Collections
Group products into collections based on categories, seasons, or other criteria. By selecting a set of product collections, you can analyze and replenish products within those specific groupings.

Select a Product Type
Narrow your analysis to a particular product type or category, such as clothing, electronics, or accessories. This filter helps you focus on specific product categories that may require different replenishment strategies.

Select a Vendor
Choose a specific vendor or supplier from whom you source your products. By selecting a vendor, you can analyze and replenish products from that particular supplier.

Select a Set of Product Tags
Apply product tags that have been assigned to items in your inventory. This filter allows you to group products based on customized tags, making it easier to analyze and manage products with similar characteristics.

Set a Threshold for Sales or Other Metrics
Define threshold values for sales metrics or other criteria, such as high total sales or low inventory on-hand. This filter lets you identify products that meet specific performance or stock level criteria.

By using these filters in combination or individually, you can fine-tune your product analysis and tailor your replenishment approach to meet your unique business requirements. These filters offer a powerful way to focus on the products that matter most and make data-driven replenishment decisions.

Review the base demand
you have the opportunity to delve into the sales data of the selected products, allowing you to make informed decisions about the historical time range for calculating the demand.

Analyzing Sales Data
Access the sales data of the products you've selected. This data includes information on the quantity of each product sold over a specific period, typically measured in units or revenue.
Examine sales trends, patterns, and fluctuations for the selected products. This analysis helps you understand the historical demand for these items.

Historical Time Range Selection
Decide on the historical time range you want to use for calculating the demand. You can choose from various time periods, such as days, weeks, months, or custom date ranges, depending on your specific needs.
The historical time range should align with your business goals and replenishment strategy. For example, you may want to calculate demand over the last month to capture recent trends or over the last year to identify seasonal patterns.

Decide on trends

it's essential to consider external and internal factors that may influence the sales of selected products. These factors can range from marketing campaigns to seasonal trends, and they play a pivotal role in the effectiveness of your demand forecast.

Identifying Potential Trends

Examine upcoming events or trends that could affect product sales. These trends might include marketing campaigns, promotions, holidays, or other factors that can lead to fluctuations in demand.
Consider both short-term and long-term trends that could impact the selected products. Identifying these trends is crucial for making precise demand forecasts.

Adjusted Sales Trend Parameter

To account for the effects of these trends, select an "Adjusted Sales Trend" parameter. This parameter allows you to customize your sales forecast to incorporate the expected impact of upcoming events or trends.
The Adjusted Sales Trend parameter modifies the demand forecast, making it more accurate and responsive to changing circumstances. For example, if a marketing campaign is expected to boost sales, you can adjust the trend to reflect this anticipated increase in demand.

Configuring Analysis Parameters

you have the opportunity to configure analysis parameters that will shape your inventory replenishment strategy. These parameters allow you to customize your analysis to meet your specific business needs.

Setting Replenishment Parameters
Define your replenishment parameters, including minimum and maximum order quantities, reorder points, lead times, and safety stock levels. These parameters ensure that your inventory is managed in line with your business strategy.

Consider your inventory strategy and cost-efficiency goals when setting these parameters. They directly influence the quantities you order and the timing of replenishment.

Replenishment Exclusion
Decide if there are any products or categories you wish to exclude from the automatic replenishment process. This is useful for managing slow-moving or seasonal items differently.
Replenishment exclusion ensures that your replenishment strategy is tailored to the unique characteristics of your products.