How to handle supplier minimums when cash is short

Work out what you actually need first

Before worrying about the minimum, calculate your real order quantity per SKU: daily sales x (lead time + days of cover) minus (on hand + on order). This tells you which SKUs are genuinely due and which ones you would be ordering early just to hit the minimum. Do not pad real need to a round number before checking the minimum. Keep them separate.

Fill the minimum with your best sellers

If your real need is below the MOQ, add quantity to the SKUs with the highest daily sales first. They will sell through fastest, so the extra stock is least likely to sit on a shelf tying up cash. Avoid padding slow movers or new, unproven SKUs just to reach the number, since that cash is harder to recover.

Spread the order over time or combine suppliers

If a single supplier's minimum is too large for your cash position, ask if they will split it into two shipments with two payment dates, or extend terms slightly. If you order from several suppliers, check whether a product is available from more than one and consolidate volume with the one whose minimum is easier to hit. This can also reduce how many separate minimums you are juggling.

Raise your safety days instead of ordering more often

If a SKU's MOQ comfortably covers more than your normal days of cover, that is not a problem to solve with cash, it is a sign you should raise the safety days or reorder point for that SKU. Ordering less often in bigger batches is normal when a supplier has a high minimum. Build that into your reorder point so you are not surprised by a large order coming due.

Step by step

1. List every SKU due for reorder and its real order quantity using the formula above, not the MOQ.
2. Rank those SKUs by daily sales, highest first.
3. Fill the order up to the MOQ starting from the top of that list.
4. If the MOQ still cannot be met without overordering slow SKUs, contact the supplier about splitting the shipment or payment.
5. Check if another supplier carries the same product with a lower minimum and compare total cost.
6. Adjust the reorder point and safety days for that SKU so future orders account for the MOQ size.
7. Record the decision so the next person ordering knows why quantities look higher than usual sales would suggest.

Worked example

A supplier's MOQ is 200 units across any mix of three SKUs. Real need this cycle: SKU A needs 60 units, SKU B needs 40 units, SKU C needs 20 units, totaling 120. To reach 200, add 50 more units to SKU A (your fastest seller at 5 units/day) and 30 more to SKU B (3 units/day), since those will clear fastest. SKU C stays at its real need of 20 since it only sells 1 unit/day and extra stock there would sit for months.

How SteadyShelf helps

SteadyShelf rounds suggested order quantities to each supplier's case packs and minimums automatically, so the draft purchase order already reflects the MOQ. It does not manage split payments, supplier credit terms, or cash flow planning, so decisions about spreading a minimum across shipments or payment dates are still yours to make and arrange directly with the supplier.

$29/month flat, unlimited products and suppliers, 30-day free trial. Run the numbers now with the free reorder point calculator.

SteadyShelf is launching on the Shopify App Store. Join early access to get the install link first.

Related guides

• How to improve inventory turnover
• How to keep a purchase order history
• How to keep a supplier list organized
• How to handle partial deliveries

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