Reorder Point Diagnostic, What I Check First

When a brand asks me to look at their inventory setup, I don't start with a new dashboard. I start with three questions about the numbers they already have:

Is the velocity window actually catching change? Most tools default to 30- or 90-day sell-through averages because they're smooth. Smooth also means slow, a variant that's accelerated in the last two weeks won't show up in a 90-day average until it's already out of stock. I check the shorter window first, and match it against actual lead time.

Is "in stock" really available-to-promise? Shopify (and most platforms) report on-hand inventory, units physically present. That's not the same as available-to-promise: what's left once you subtract wholesale commitments, pre-orders, and in-transit transfers. If ATP isn't being tracked separately, the "in stock" number is already unreliable the moment any commitment exists.

When was the reorder point last recalculated, not just triggered? Reorder point is a formula, usage × lead time + safety stock, and all three inputs drift over time. Most get set once at launch and never revisited. I look for thresholds that are clearly stale relative to current velocity, lead time, or supply conditions.

This is the starting diagnostic I run on any engagement, no proprietary software required, just the brand's own sales data and about 20 minutes of focused review. If any of this sounds like a gap in your own operation, I'm happy to walk through what a full diagnostic would look like for your store.