Inventory how-to

How to plan inventory for a bundle promotion

Plan a bundle by breaking it into its component SKUs and checking stock and lead time for each one separately.

Short answer: Plan a bundle by breaking it into its component SKUs and checking stock and lead time for each one separately. A bundle sells no faster than its slowest, hardest-to-reorder component, so that component sets your real ceiling on how many bundles you can run.

List every component and its ratio

Write down each SKU in the bundle and how many units it needs. A "starter kit" with one shirt, two socks, and one hat needs you to track all three items, not the bundle as one line. If any component is also sold on its own, its stock gets pulled from two directions during the promotion.

Find your binding constraint

Check on-hand and incoming stock for each component. The component with the least days of cover relative to its ratio in the bundle is what limits how many bundles you can sell. Ordering more of the other components does nothing if one item runs out first.

Account for lead time before you promote

Look at each supplier's lead time for the components that are short. If the promotion starts in 10 days and a component has a 21-day lead time, you either need to order now, shrink the promotion quantity, or push the start date back.

Decide on safety stock for the promotion window

A promotion usually sells faster than normal daily sales, so your regular reorder point will not protect you. Estimate the daily sales rate you expect during the promotion, not your 28-day average, and use that higher rate to size your order.

Step by step

  1. List every SKU inside the bundle and the quantity of each needed per bundle.
  2. Pull current on-hand and incoming stock for each component SKU.
  3. Calculate days of cover for each component using expected promotion sales, not normal daily sales.
  4. Identify the component with the lowest days of cover. This sets your maximum sellable bundle quantity.
  5. Check lead time and order-by date for that limiting component and order early if needed.
  6. Decide a bundle sales cap or cut-off date based on the limiting component's stock.
  7. After the promotion, recheck stock on all components, since standalone sales may have drawn down the same items.

Worked example

A gift bundle contains 1 candle and 2 soap bars. You have 140 candles and 500 soap bars on hand, with no incoming orders. At the bundle ratio, 500 soap bars support 250 bundles, but 140 candles only support 140 bundles. The candle is your limiting component, so you can promote and sell at most 140 bundles before running out, even though soap looks plentiful.

How SteadyShelf helps

SteadyShelf does not track bundles as a single item or combine component stock into one forecast. It forecasts and reorders each variant on its own, so for a bundle promotion you need to manually check the components' forecasts and order-by dates and work out the limiting SKU yourself using the method above.

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

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FAQ

Can I set up a bundle as its own SKU in SteadyShelf and have it forecast normally?

No. SteadyShelf forecasts at the variant level based on that variant's own sales history. A bundle SKU would get its own thin sales history and a forecast disconnected from how fast its components actually deplete, so it would give you misleading numbers rather than useful ones.

Should I raise safety days on component SKUs before a bundle promotion?

You can raise safety days manually ahead of the promotion to pull your order-by date earlier, which gives suppliers more lead time. Remember to set safety days back down after the promotion ends, since leaving them high will inflate reorder suggestions on normal, non-promotional demand.

Let SteadyShelf do this math for every SKU

Order-by dates per supplier, seasonal forecasts and draft POs for your Shopify store. $29/month after a 30-day free trial.

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