Walking the racking in September
The warehouse manager walks the aisles and counts the pallets that have not moved since last winter. Christmas gift sets from a client who changed their range. A colour that never sold. Promotional displays that were never used. Some of these clients are paying standard storage for them. Some are not, because the stock is in part-filled locations that the billing does not count properly.
Meanwhile sales has a new client ready to sign, and operations says there is no room.
Why it accumulates
Clients forget stock they cannot see. Their shop hides out-of-range products, so the slow lines drop out of their daily view. The WMS knows the last movement date of every pallet, but nobody puts that in front of the client, and nobody in the warehouse has time to chase each account.
| What causes it | Why nothing happens |
|---|---|
| Discontinued ranges | Client stops thinking about them |
| Over-ordering from suppliers | Client hopes it will sell eventually |
| Stock sitting in prime pick locations | Slotting was never revisited after sales slowed |
| Storage priced the same for all stock | No commercial reason for the client to act |
| Client in financial difficulty | Stock becomes a debt problem nobody wants to raise |
What the dead stock costs
Locations that could hold fast-moving stock or a new client. Pickers walking past slow stock in prime positions to reach the lines that sell. Storage revenue that is lower than it looks, because aged stock is often charged at standard rates or undercounted.
There is also risk. Stock belonging to a client who stops paying becomes a difficult question, and it is much easier to deal with when you raised it early.
And it hides the true picture of capacity. A warehouse that looks full may be full of things that should not be there.
Counting suffers as well. Every cycle count and every stock take includes those pallets, so your team spends time checking stock that has not changed in a year, while fast lines that actually drift get less attention.
What we build
- An ageing calculation per client and SKU from receipt and last movement dates in your WMS, grouped into bands you define.
- Space used by aged stock, in locations and location types, so you see what it is occupying and where.
- A monthly report to each client listing aged lines, their quantity and the space they use, with options to choose per line: return, dispose, move to clearance channels, or keep at a long-term storage rate if your contract offers one.
- Client responses recorded and turned into tasks: pick for return, disposal, or relocation.
- A slotting list for your team moving aged stock out of pick faces into less valuable locations.
- A view for account managers of which clients' aged stock is growing, to raise at reviews before it becomes a problem.
Whether you charge more for aged stock, and when, is your commercial decision. The report makes that conversation possible with evidence.
What changes
Clients see stock they had forgotten and make decisions about it. Prime locations hold stock that moves. Sales gets a clearer answer about space. And the uncomfortable conversation about a client's old stock happens early, on facts.
Signs you have this problem
- Pallets in the racking have not moved in many months.
- Clients never receive an aged stock report.
- Slow stock sits in prime pick locations.
- All stock is charged at the same storage rate regardless of age.
- Operations says the warehouse is full, but walking it suggests otherwise.