How to set up a weekly inventory review

Why a fixed weekly cadence works

Inventory problems grow quietly between checks. A weekly review catches slow and fast movers before they become stockouts or dead stock, without requiring you to watch numbers every day. Weekly is frequent enough for most small and mid-size stores, since lead times are usually measured in days or weeks, not hours.

What to look at each week

You do not need to review every SKU. Focus on three groups: items below their reorder point, items that will hit their reorder point before your next review, and items with sales patterns that changed sharply (a spike or a stall). Everything else can wait until next week.

Build a simple routine

Set a recurring calendar reminder on the same day and time, for example Monday morning before supplier cutoff times. Keep a running list of suppliers and their lead times so you are not looking them up each week. Separate the review into two steps: first see what needs ordering now, second check anything you ordered last week that has not shipped or arrived yet.

Step by step

1. Choose a fixed day and time each week for the review, ideally before your suppliers' order cutoffs.
2. Pull a list of SKUs sorted by days of stock remaining, lowest first.
3. Flag anything where days of stock is less than lead time plus safety days.
4. For each flagged SKU, check if it is already on order; if not, calculate an order quantity.
5. Group orders by supplier so you send one purchase order per supplier, not one per SKU.
6. Note any SKUs with unusual sales swings and decide if the forecast still makes sense.
7. Send approved orders and log the expected delivery date so you can check it next week.

Worked example

A store sells a candle at 6 units a day on average. Lead time from the supplier is 10 days and they keep 4 days of safety stock, so the reorder point is 6 x (10 + 4) = 84 units. During Monday's review they have 90 units on hand and nothing on order, so it is not flagged yet. By the following Monday, if sales held at 6 a day, stock would be at 90 - 42 = 48 units, which is below the 84 reorder point, so this SKU would show up as needing an order during that review.

How SteadyShelf helps

SteadyShelf sends a weekly reorder email with an order-by date per SKU already calculated from lead time and safety days, so you are not pulling reports or doing the reorder point math by hand. It covers single-location forecasting and ordering; it will not help if you need to review stock across multiple warehouse locations or run cycle counts, since it does not do multi-location transfers or stocktakes.

$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 set up SKUs for a new store
• How to switch suppliers without running out
• How to take preorders while waiting for stock
• How to set up a backup supplier

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