Business Success Skills

building an inventory tracking sheet





1. Key Features of the Inventory Tracking Sheet

Your inventory tracking sheet should include the following:

  1. Product Details:
  2. Product name, SKU (Stock Keeping Unit), ASIN, supplier details.
  3. Stock Levels:
  4. Current inventory, inbound inventory, units sold, and units available.
  5. Reorder Point:
  6. Automatically calculate when to reorder based on sales trends and lead times.
  7. Sales Tracking:
  8. Monitor daily/weekly sales to forecast inventory needs.
  9. Shipment Tracking:
  10. Keep track of shipments sent to Amazon warehouses.

2. Setting Up the Sheet

Step 1: Create Columns for Product Details

  • Columns for basic product information:
  • Product Name: Name of the product.
  • SKU: Stock Keeping Unit (unique identifier for inventory tracking).
  • ASIN: Amazon Standard Identification Number.
  • Supplier Name: Name of the supplier or manufacturer.

Example:

| Product Name | SKU | ASIN | Supplier Name |
|------------------------|-----------|---------------|----------------------|
| Bamboo Cutting Board | BC12345 | B08XY12345 | XYZ Supplies |
| Reusable Water Bottle | WB56789 | B07DF56789 | EcoGoods Inc. |


Step 2: Add Stock Levels and Sales Tracking

  • Columns for tracking inventory:
  • Starting Inventory: Units in stock at the start of a period.
  • Units Sold: Total units sold during the period.
  • Current Inventory: Remaining units in stock.
  • Inbound Inventory: Units currently in transit to Amazon FBA warehouses.
  • Total Available: Remaining inventory plus inbound inventory.

Example:

| Starting Inventory | Units Sold | Current Inventory | Inbound Inventory | Total Available |
|-------------------------|----------------|------------------------|------------------------|----------------------|
| 200 | 50 | 150 | 100 | 250 |


Step 3: Add Formulas for Automation

  1. Calculate Current Inventory:
    Formula:
    [ {Current Inventory} = {Starting Inventory} - {Units Sold} ]
    Example:
    If Starting Inventory = 200 and Units Sold = 50, then:
    [ 200 - 50 = 150 ]

  2. Calculate Total Available:
    Formula:
    [ {Total Available} = {Current Inventory} + {Inbound Inventory} ]
    Example:
    If Current Inventory = 150 and Inbound Inventory = 100, then:
    [ 150 + 100 = 250 ]


Step 4: Add Reorder Point Calculation

  • Reorder Point: The inventory level at which you should place a new order.
  • Formula:
    [ {Reorder Point} = ({Daily Sales Avg.} * {Lead Time (Days)}) + {Safety Stock} ]
    Example:
  • Daily Sales Avg. = 10 units
  • Lead Time = 15 days
  • Safety Stock = 50 units
    [ (10 * 15) + 50 = 200 ]

Columns:

| Daily Sales Avg. | Lead Time (Days) | Safety Stock | Reorder Point | Status |
|-----------------------|----------------------|------------------|-------------------|------------------|
| 10 | 15 | 50 | 200 | Place Reorder |


Step 5: Add Shipment Tracking

Track shipments sent to FBA warehouses: - Shipment ID: Unique ID for each shipment.
- Shipment Date: When the shipment was sent.
- Expected Delivery Date: When it will reach the warehouse.
- Units Shipped: Number of units sent in the shipment.
- Status: Delivered, In Transit, Pending.

Example:

| Shipment ID | Shipment Date | Expected Delivery | Units Shipped | Status |
|------------------|-------------------|------------------------|-------------------|------------------|
| FBA12345 | Jan 15, 2025 | Jan 20, 2025 | 100 | Delivered |
| FBA12346 | Jan 20, 2025 | Jan 25, 2025 | 200 | In Transit |


3. Example Layout for Inventory Tracking Sheet

Here’s a complete example layout:

| Product Name | SKU | ASIN | Starting Inventory | Units Sold | Current Inventory | Inbound Inventory | Total Available | Daily Sales Avg. | Lead Time (Days) | Safety Stock | Reorder Point | Status |
|------------------------|-----------|---------------|-------------------------|----------------|------------------------|------------------------|----------------------|-----------------------|----------------------|------------------|-------------------|------------------|
| Bamboo Cutting Board | BC12345 | B08XY12345 | 200 | 50 | 150 | 100 | 250 | 10 | 15 | 50 | 200 | In Stock |
| Reusable Water Bottle | WB56789 | B07DF56789 | 300 | 120 | 180 | 50 | 230 | 12 | 20 | 60 | 300 | Reorder Soon |


4. Automate and Visualize with Conditional Formatting

Use conditional formatting to highlight critical inventory levels: - Low Inventory: Highlight rows in red when "Current Inventory" is below "Reorder Point."
- Healthy Inventory: Highlight rows in green when stock levels are above reorder thresholds.


5. Expand with Dashboards

Turn your inventory data into a dashboard for at-a-glance insights: - Use bar graphs for stock levels by product.
- Create a pie chart for product sales distribution.
- Add trendlines for sales growth over time.


6. Tools to Supplement Your Inventory Sheet

  • RestockPro: Advanced inventory forecasting and tracking.
  • SoStocked: Streamlined inventory management for FBA businesses.
  • InventoryLab: Combines inventory tracking with profitability analysis.

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