Retailers frequently face the questions:  In what areas am I understocked?  Where do I have too much inventory?   Where should I be buying more and chasing sales?   Where should I be taking markdowns?  In what categories should I be hitting pause or reducing orders?  The Inventory Action Report is a great place to get answers.  Here are some examples.

Use Case: Spotting Performing Classes and Chasing

Classes where the Sales Trend is beating the Sales Plan is a great indicator for spotting a class that is performing. Make sure to keep in mind how far into the month for the accuracy of the trending data. If the sales trend is higher than the sales plan make sure to look at Markdown % to ensure the sales aren't being driven by markdowns. Next look at the current and trended inventory to make sure there is enough inventory to sustain the sales trend. Then finally look at the Updated or Trended OTB if its positive or not. If its positive its calling for additional orders. Depending if its early in the month or not you would rely more on the Updated OTB until later in the month when the Trend becomes more established.

If Sales Trend and Inventory are both looking positive in a class and the OTB is negative there might be reason to keep the On Orders depending on the Buyers analysis if the Sales Trend is going to keep growing. Another option is to span the report an additional month or two to see if the OTB is still negative.

Use Case: Identifying Overstocked and Overbought Classes

Identifying Overstocked classes can be done by comparing the current and trended inventory to the plan inventory. Make sure to keep in mind the context of your On Orders and OTB. You could be currently overstocked but could have OTB depending the inventory needs for the following months (depending how many months beyond current you have the report spanned).

Overbought classes with negative OTB are easy to spot but keep in mind the time span of the report. If the report is spanned out an additional month the OTB could go flat to positive. Always keep the time span in mind when looking at the report in context with the time frame you are buying for.

The Inventory Action is the go to Report for Buyers and Store Managers. It's ideal for identifying classes that are performing and need to be restocked. On the other side of the equation it helps spot classes that are not performing, overstocked, and/or overbought. Understanding how the classes are doing and where they are going lets you make educated impactful decisions faster.

Inventory Action Overview

The Report can be broken into 5 sections: Sales, Markdowns, Inventory, Inflow and On Orders. These sections let you get an understanding of what is happening in the class and why. From that you get direction on how you need to modify your Inventory or On Orders.

How to find the Inventory Action inside Retail Orbit

The Inventory Action Report can be found in the Analytics --> Take Action section of the Analytics Report page. Once on the report click Data View to get to the report.

In addition the report can be found in the 'Report Library' for a non-interactive PDF version.

Inventory Action Control Menu on Analytics

Have additional questions or want training? Reach out to us at Adam@management-one.com