Dead Stock & Working-Capital Release Sprint
Cash is tied up in stock that is not moving. We help you find what is dead, slow or at risk, and plan how to free cash without hurting service. Contact us first. We agree the scope with you before any work starts.
Who it’s for
This sprint is for manufacturers and distributors with excess or aging stock and tight cash.
- Teams buying early or in larger quantities as a buffer, and now holding more stock than they use.
- Finance leads who see inventory growing on the balance sheet but cannot say which items are the problem.
- Planners who set safety stock once and have rarely reviewed it since.
What you get
You receive a clear picture of your stock and a short list of decisions your team can take.
- SKU ABC/XYZ segmentation by value and demand variability.
- A dead and slow-stock list with action options: sell, return, rework, redistribute or stop buying.
- Reset safety-stock and reorder parameters for your A items.
- Simple buying rules your team can keep using.
How it works
1
Frame
We agree the cash question, the service levels you must protect and the product scope.
2
Pull data
We use your item master, on-hand, usage history and open POs, from ERP exports or spreadsheets.
3
Segment and decide
We classify items, flag dead and slow stock and test options with your planners.
4
Hand over
We deliver the lists, parameters and buying rules, and walk your team through them.
Why now
Buffers feel safe, but the data suggests they can leave stock behind.
- Netstock’s 2026 Planning Benchmark found dead stock rose from 12% of excess inventory in 2024 to 24% in 2026.
- In the same report, only 3% of SMBs start a disruption by reviewing cash flow or working capital.
Netstock is a vendor, and its survey covers small and mid-size businesses, so treat the figures as directional.
Quick answers
Will this cut our inventory?
We cannot promise a specific inventory or cash result. We show you the options and your team decides which to take.
Do we need new software?
No. We work from ERP exports and spreadsheets, and the buying rules are simple enough to run in either.
How do you protect service levels?
We segment first, so the reset starts with your A items, and we agree the service levels to protect before changing any parameter.
Excess inventory reduction without hurting service
Excess inventory reduction is not the same as cutting stock across the board. Blanket cuts tend to remove the parts you actually need and leave the slow ones on the shelf. This sprint separates the two, so the cash you free comes from items that are not moving, while A items keep the buffer they need.
Where excess inventory usually comes from
- Safety stock and reorder points set years ago and never reviewed.
- Minimum order quantities or price breaks that pushed buyers to order more than the plant uses.
- Engineering changes and discontinued products that left old revisions behind.
- Forward buying ahead of tariff or lead-time changes that later eased.
- Duplicate part numbers, so the same item is bought twice under different codes.
What your team keeps afterwards
The output is built to be reused. You keep the segmentation logic, the slow and dead stock list with a suggested action for each item, and buying rules your planners can apply in your ERP or a spreadsheet. Run the same review every quarter so excess does not build up again. If you want to try the method yourself first, our guide on how to find dead stock and the inventory turnover calculator are a good place to start.
Every engagement starts the same way: contact us first, scope agreed before we start.
Working with an inventory reduction consultant
An inventory reduction consultant helps you find the stock that is not moving, decide what to sell, return, rework or write off, and change the planning rules that created it so it does not build up again. We start with a short conversation, and scope is agreed before we start. If the excess comes from planning settings in your ERP, our MRP implementation work addresses the cause; for ongoing support, see fractional supply chain management.
Important note
We do not promise a specific inventory or cash result. Your team makes disposal and buying decisions, and your accountant advises on write-downs.
Related services
This work connects Supply Chain planning, including Inventory Reset & S&OP-Lite, with Operations when flow and capacity drive the stock. Browse all services.
Related guides: how to find and clear dead stock.
Find the cash in your stock
Bring an inventory export and the question your finance team is asking. We agree the scope with you before any work starts.