Dead stock is a margin problem dressed as an inventory problem
Slow movers are easy to ignore until they aren't. The fix isn't a better forecast—it's earlier visibility tied to dollars.
Dead stock doesn't arrive as a crisis. It accumulates as acceptable friction—until finance asks a single question you can't answer in one sitting: how much margin are we holding hostage?
What operators actually need
- Aging bands that match how you disposition product—not just bucket labels from the ERP.
- Dollar exposure alongside units, so tradeoffs are legible in a leadership meeting.
- A path from "flagged" to "owner" so items don't rot in a report.
A simple weekly habit
Try a 20-minute review with only three columns: SKU family, weeks on hand vs. policy, and cash tied up. If you can't produce that consistently, the issue isn't discipline—it's fragmented definitions.
Example review strip (illustrative):
SKU-10422 | WOH 38 vs policy 12 | $186k tied up | Owner: Planning EastWhen that view is trustworthy, procurement timing stops being reactive firefighting—and starts looking like portfolio management.
Tie it to outcomes
Dead stock work should surface margin visibility and replenishment discipline together. That's how you move from "we should clean this up" to "here's what we freed up this quarter."