A reorder point is more useful than a visual guess at a half-empty shelf. It converts sales pace, delivery time and uncertainty into a trigger the buyer can review consistently. The worksheet below is designed for retail operations, not as a promise of future demand.
Start with units sold, not purchase value
For each SKU, total the units sold during a representative period and divide by the number of weeks. Exclude unusual closures and note promotions that temporarily changed demand. A four-to-eight-week window is often easier to interpret than one busy weekend.
Track variations separately when customers choose by flavor, strength or device compatibility. Combining every variation into one total can hide a stockout in the option that actually drives repeat visits. The e-liquids catalog makes a useful example when separating bottle, strength and flavor records.
Add lead time and review time
Lead time begins when the order is accepted and ends when inventory is available for sale, not when a label is created. Add the number of days between buyer reviews if orders are only prepared once or twice per week.
If average demand is two units per day and the combined lead-and-review window is eight days, the basic trigger begins at sixteen units before safety stock.
Choose safety stock deliberately
Safety stock should reflect uncertainty rather than habit. Increase it for volatile demand, long replenishment windows or items whose absence sends customers elsewhere. Keep it lower for slow sellers, short-life trends or products that duplicate another SKU.
Record the reason for the buffer. That note makes later reductions easier when supply or demand stabilizes.
Round to an orderable quantity
Compare the calculated trigger with the supplier pack or case quantity. A mathematically precise order that cannot be placed is not an operational rule. Round the proposed order to an approved pack and check the resulting weeks of supply.
The final worksheet should show current stock, stock already on order, reorder trigger, suggested quantity and the next review date.
A reorder trigger does not authorize the category’s total spend. Set the monthly open-to-buy inventory budget before approving the proposed replenishment.
A reorder point tells the buyer when stock needs attention. Compare order quantities and price breaks with the 30-day cash test before committing more working capital.
Worked reorder-point example
Use the same unit of measure throughout the calculation. If a store sells 21 units in 14 days, average daily demand is 1.5 units. With five days of order-to-shelf lead time, three days between buying reviews and six units of documented safety stock, the trigger is:
Reorder point = 1.5 × (5 + 3) + 6 = 18 units.
| Worksheet field | Example | Store value |
|---|---|---|
| Average daily unit demand | 1.5 | |
| Order-to-shelf lead time | 5 days | |
| Days until next review | 3 days | |
| Safety stock | 6 units | |
| Calculated trigger | 18 units | |
| Confirmed inbound stock | 0 units |
The example is an operating model, not a demand forecast. Recalculate after a promotion, assortment change, stockout or material change in lead time.
Action checklist
- Calculate average weekly unit demand by SKU or variation.
- Measure actual order-to-shelf lead time.
- Add a documented safety-stock reason.
- Subtract confirmed inbound inventory.
- Round orders to the correct pack or case quantity.
- Review exceptions after stockouts and overstock events.
Use the plan with your next wholesale order
Use the live stock guidance and confirm current pack quantities with sales before relying on a worksheet for an order.
Before approving a triggered replenishment, verify the identifiers, pack details and option fields in the wholesale product data checklist.