Q: Why is the aging data different in the new Inventory Analytics Dashboard from the Analytics Report in Order Management?

A: We have updated and improved the calculation method for inventory aging in the new dashboard. Now, we only provide aging data for inventory received from purchase orders, based on the received date. If you have inventory that was added manually (not through purchase orders) that inventory will not be reflected in aging visuals.

Q: Why is the Inventory Snapshot Value results different in the new Inventory Analytics Dashboard from Order Management?

A: If the difference is relatively small (100s of dollars to a few thousand), it is likely caused by a difference in the reporting cut-off time used by the different systems. Order Management uses UTC (coordinated universal time) which is 5 hours ahead of US Eastern Standard Time and the new Inventory Analytics Dashboard uses the local time zone of the Brand customer.

If the difference between the two reports is larger than a few thousand dollars, please report this to the product team at bsevy@extensiv.com.

Q: How is Inventory Snapshot value calculated?

A: Inventory Snapshot value is calculated by combining the total value of inventory in the FIFO queue with the value of unreconciled inventory (inventory not reconciled with the FIFO queue). The value of inventory in the FIFO Queue = SKU Quantity x the actual landed cost on the original P.O. or the value set upon reconciliation to the FIFO Queue. The value of unreconciled inventory = SKU quantity x the default vendor cost for that SKU.  

Q: Why is the unreconciled Inventory value and quantities by warehouse called out on the Value sheet?

A: Unreconciled inventory in Order Management refers to inventory that has not been reconciled with the FIFO Queue. Unreconciled inventory originates either inventory variances (plus or minus) from you’re your connected warehouses that have not been reconciled or when product stocks are manually added. Because unreconciled inventory value is calculated based on default vendor costs, it will never be as accurate as the value of inventory in or reconciled to the FIFO Queue which is based on the actual P.O. costs. We provide the unreconciled value at the date of your snapshot as an indicator of the quality of your inventory value calculation. To ensure the most accurate calculation of your inventory value, ensure that any inventory variances are reconciled in Order Management.

Q: How do I know what good benchmarks for Inventory Turnover Ratio or Sell-through rate are?

A: Inventory Turnover Ratio measures how much of your inventory value you are moving or turning over in a date range. It is calculated as (COGS / Average Inventory Value) x100, during a date range.  A good benchmark depends on your industry, product category, or market segment. Here is a link to an article that provides some good benchmarks for consumer products (https://www.extensiv.com/blog/good-inventory-turnover-ratio. The key is to track this KPI month over month. A higher inventory turnover ratio % is generally better because it means that you are moving or turning over that percentage of the value of your inventory during a period. It is a great KPI to help you use your capital more wisely. You can increase the ratio by increasing sales velocity and/or reducing inventory levels.

Q: What is a Stockout period and Average Stockout Duration?

A: This is simply a period in which the stock for a was zero. It is measured per SKU during the selected date range regardless of the length of the period. Average stockout duration is the average length of your stockout periods.

Q: How do I exclude products or product categories from my KPI calculations?

A: Use the filters in the Dashboard Sheet controls to search for and exclude specific products, your filter settings will be saved.