Guide · Distributors
How to find and clear dead stock
Short answer: list every item with its last sale date and value, and sort by the oldest sale. Items with no sale in 6 to 12 months are your dead stock. Clear them by returning, bundling, discounting or liquidating them. Then stop it coming back by reordering based on how fast each item really sells, not on habit or gut feel.
Why dead stock hurts
Red marks where the money usually slips out.
- It ties up cash that could buy the items that actually sell.
- It costs money to keep: shelf space, insurance, counting, damage and things going out of date.
- It hides the real problem: the same buying habit that created it is still running.
Find it in an afternoon
- Export every item: code, description, quantity on hand, cost value and last sale date.
- Sort by last sale date, oldest first.
- Mark everything with no sale in 12 months as dead, and 6 to 12 months as slow.
- Add up the value of each group. That's the cash sitting on your shelves.
Five ways to clear it
- Return it to the supplier, even with a restocking fee.
- Bundle it with items that sell well.
- Offer it to existing customers at a discount, starting with the ones who bought it before.
- Sell it to a liquidator or a surplus marketplace.
- Write it off and free the space. Sometimes that's the cheapest option.
Stop it coming back
- Set reorder points from actual sales speed over the last few months, not from last year's habit.
- Review reorder points every month or quarter, and switch off automatic reorders on items that have slowed down.
- Watch the slow list every month, before slow becomes dead.
Work out what it's costing you
Example: $3,000,000 of stock with 8% that hasn't moved in a year is $240,000 of cash on a shelf. Even clearing half of it at a discount frees six figures to spend on what sells. Use your own numbers.
When software is worth it
Most stock systems hold the data but leave the decisions to a spreadsheet. A simple reorder tool pays off when you have hundreds or thousands of items. It can flag what to reorder and when based on real sales speed, draft purchase orders for approval, and keep a live dead-stock list. Nothing is ordered without a person saying yes.
Common questions
What counts as dead stock?
Stock that hasn't sold in a long time, usually 6 to 12 months depending on your trade. Slow stock sells, but much more slowly than you buy it.
What's the fastest way to find dead stock?
Export every item with its quantity on hand, value and last sale date, then sort by last sale date. Everything with no sale in 12 months is your first list.
How do I get rid of dead stock?
Try returning it to the supplier first, then bundle it with fast sellers, discount it to existing customers, sell it to a liquidator, or write it off. Any of those frees space and cash.
How do I stop it happening again?
Reorder based on how fast each item actually sells, review reorder points regularly, and stop automatic reorders on items that have slowed down.
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