Guides
Inventory and purchasing, the practical version.
Working playbooks for the jobs that actually break: keeping the count honest, setting reorder points that fire on time, and running purchasing without living in a spreadsheet. Written from the floor, with real numbers.
7 guides
Each one walks a real operating problem end to end, then points to the tool or feature that runs it for you.
Guide
What is vendor managed inventory (VMI)?
In vendor managed inventory (VMI), the supplier watches the stock they sell you and decides when to replenish it, instead of waiting for you to notice you're low and cut a PO. It can stop the stockouts that come from nobody owning the count. It can also go quietly wrong when the supplier is working off numbers you can't see and can't check.
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Guide
The safety stock formula: how to calculate it, with worked examples
Safety stock is the buffer inventory you hold above expected demand to absorb usage spikes and supplier delays. The simplest formula: Safety Stock = (Maximum Daily Usage × Maximum Lead Time) − (Average Daily Usage × Average Lead Time). A more precise version uses a Z-score and demand variability. Most small teams should start with the simple one and graduate when the data earns it.
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Guide
Inventory management for small business: the practical guide
Inventory management for a small business comes down to four things: knowing what you have, where it is, what changed, and what to reorder next. Most small teams do not need an ERP. They need clean item records, named locations, reorder rules where shortages hurt, and a weekly rhythm that survives a busy quarter.
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Guide
Reorder points explained: formula, examples, and how to set them
A reorder point is the inventory level that triggers a replenishment order before you stock out. Formula: ROP = (Average Daily Usage × Lead Time in Days) + Safety Stock. Set it for the items where shortages cost a job, a customer, or a margin. Ignore it for the long tail until you have usage data.
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Guide
Cycle counting vs. physical inventory: which one to run, and how often
Cycle counting is a recurring partial count of inventory that keeps records accurate without halting operations. A physical inventory is a full count of everything, usually done annually. Most small and mid-sized teams should rely on weekly cycle counts for 90% of accuracy work and run a full physical once a year for finance.
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Guide
Barcode inventory basics: a practical primer for operators
Barcode inventory is the practice of identifying items, locations, and movements with machine-readable codes instead of typed entries. The point is not speed. It's removing the manual typing step from the moments where attention is lowest: receiving, counting, transferring, picking. Done well, barcoding is the cheapest accuracy investment a small business can make.
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Guide
The multi-location inventory playbook
Multi-location inventory has three layers: bin, location, region. Track stock at every physical place it rests, with separate quantities, separate reorder rules, and a clear record of every movement between locations. Get the location hierarchy and transfer accountability right and the rest of the system follows. Get them wrong and every report lies.
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Read it once, then run it in Order3.
The guides explain the work. Order3 does it: reorder points that fire, counts that reconcile, and a draft PO that waits for your approval. Start free.