The aisle nobody picks from
There is a bay in your warehouse full of lines that seemed a good idea. A new flavour, a product range a manufacturer pushed hard at launch, a size that never caught on. Some of those suppliers would have taken stock back or swapped it for faster lines, under the terms of your agreement. But the window was six months from delivery, and it passed while the stock sat there.
When your buyer finally raises it, the rep at the manufacturer points to the agreement, politely.
Why returns are missed
Return and stock rotation terms differ by supplier. Some allow returns within a set period, some allow an annual rotation up to a proportion of purchases, some only for discontinued lines, and some not at all. The terms live in the agreement, and the stock age lives in your system. Nobody joins the two, so the question 'can this go back?' only gets asked when someone happens to notice.
| Supplier term | What you need to know to use it |
|---|---|
| Return within a period | Delivery date of each batch |
| Annual stock rotation allowance | Purchases in the year and what is already used |
| Discontinued line returns | Notice of discontinuation and your stock on hand |
| Launch support returns | Which lines were covered, and until when |
What dead stock costs
Cash sits in stock that is not moving. Warehouse space goes to it instead of lines that sell. When it finally goes, it goes to a clearance buyer or a write-off. And buyers become cautious about new lines, which is its own cost, because new lines are how a distributor stays relevant to customers.
Slow stock also hides in the numbers. A line that sells a case a month does not look like a problem on a sales report, but set against the quantity you hold, it might be years of cover. Without that view, the buyer may even reorder it when a minimum order quantity comes round, adding to the pile.
How we build the slow-line review
- Each supplier's return and rotation terms are recorded once as rules, with the conditions and windows set out in plain fields.
- Stock on hand, receipt dates and sales history come from your stock system each day.
- The review calculates stock cover and age for each line and matches them against the terms.
- A monthly list shows lines that are slow and still returnable, with the deadline for each, and lines that are slow with no return option, so they can go to sales for a push instead.
- For each chosen return, the tool prepares the request in the supplier's preferred form, with quantities and batch details, for the buyer to send.
- Returns are tracked until the credit arrives and the stock has gone.
We do not interpret supplier contracts for you. Where a term is unclear, the tool flags it for your buyer to confirm with the supplier.
After the first few reviews
Slow lines are spotted while there is still something you can do about them. Buyers go into supplier meetings knowing what they want to return or rotate. The sales team gets a clear list of lines to push that cannot go back. And the cost of trying new lines falls, because you know when you would need to act if they do not sell.
Is this your warehouse?
- You have stock that has not moved for months.
- Nobody checks return terms until it is too late.
- Each supplier's return rules are in a different document.
- Clearance sales are your main way of dealing with slow lines.
- Buyers avoid new lines because of past dead stock.