Inventory planning: outsource the reorder routine

Key takeaways

Inventory planning outsourcing hands over the weekly replenishment routine: checking stock against reorder points, raising suggested orders and chasing suppliers. The reorder point is average daily usage multiplied by supplier lead time, plus safety stock. Range decisions, safety stock levels and big seasonal buys stay with you.

• Reorder point: daily usage x lead time + safety stock.
• Review stock against reorder points weekly.
• Raise suggested orders for approval.
• Range and seasonal buying decisions stay in-house.

How do reorder points work?

A reorder point tells you when to order so new stock arrives before you run out. Multiply average daily usage by the supplier's lead time in days, then add safety stock to cover variation. In an illustrative example, selling 20 units a day with a 10-day lead time and 60 units of safety stock gives a reorder point of 260 units.

• Which business processes should you outsource?
• Stock reconciliation: make the system match the shelf

Which inventory planning work can be outsourced?

Weekly checks of stock against reorder points, updating usage and lead times, preparing suggested orders for approval, raising approved purchase orders, chasing late deliveries and flagging slow-moving stock. These steps need discipline more than judgement.

• Weekly reorder point check.
• Suggested orders for approval.
• Purchase orders and chasing.
• Slow-moving stock report.

• Purchase order processing: raise, match and close POs
• Backorder management: keep customers informed, not chasing

Which stock decisions stay with you?

What to range, how much safety stock to hold, large seasonal or promotional buys, and what to discontinue. These tie up cash and depend on your plans. A provider can model options; the commitment is yours.

• Cash flow forecasting: outsource the model, keep the calls
• Demand forecasting for small teams: plan capacity ahead

When is outsourcing inventory planning not worth it?

With a small range of slow-moving items, a monthly check by the owner is enough. It pays off when you hold hundreds of lines, sell across several channels, or regularly run out of best sellers while slow lines pile up.

• How much volume makes a process worth outsourcing?
• Seasonal processes: outsource the peak, keep the base

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see: stock-outs happen on best sellers because ordering is done from memory. A weekly reorder check usually fixes best-seller availability before anyone touches the slow lines.

• See client work
• BPO Solutions for UK businesses

Inventory planning checklist

Set these up and review quarterly.

• Usage and lead time per line.
• Safety stock rule.
• Reorder points calculated.
• Weekly check day.
• Approval route for orders.
• Slow-moving stock report.

• Operations processes to outsource as you grow
• The process selection score: outsource, split or keep?

Next step

Tell us how many stock lines you hold and how you reorder today. We will suggest reorder points for your top lines and a weekly routine.