Identify Overstock

Feature Overview

Identify Overstock helps an Inventory Manager find items that are carrying more stock than the business actually needs. Instead of manually reviewing item cards one by one, a planner defines an Overstock Template that describes what "too much" means — for example, "end-of-horizon inventory value above 50,000" or "highest projected quantity more than 3 times the reorder quantity" — and runs a single calculation across all (or a filtered set of) items.

The calculation projects each item's inventory forward over a date range you choose, the same way the other Reverse Planning journals do, optionally factoring in existing planning lines, demand forecast, and even a lead-time-based horizon. It then checks the projected inventory against the thresholds and rules on the template. Any item that matches is written to a results list on the template card, showing current stock, projected value, and key replenishment parameters (safety stock, reorder point, reorder quantity) side by side so the reviewer can immediately judge whether the item is genuinely overstocked or simply has high normal demand.

Unlike Simple MRP, Move Demand Dates, and Direct Replenishment, Identify Overstock does not produce planning worksheet lines or create any purchase, production, or transfer orders — it is a pure analysis and reporting tool. The reviewer acts on the findings manually (for example, by opening the flagged item's existing purchase orders and reducing or cancelling them).


Pages involved	Reverse Planning – Identify Overstock, Reverse Planning – Identify Overstock Templates
Entity types supported	Items (optionally filtered by location and vendor); results can be scoped per Stockkeeping Unit where one exists
Key configuration fields	Overstock Template, quantity-multiple rules (on the rules subform), value/quantity thresholds, expiration-date rules, AND/OR combination setting
Integrates with	Graphical Inventory Profile (visual inventory curve per flagged item, when that app is installed); shares the same inventory-projection engine as Simple MRP, Move Demand Dates, and Direct Replenishment

Getting Started

Open Reverse Planning – Identify Overstock Templates and create a new Overstock Template with a code and description.
Open the template and, under Filters on multiple of Quantites, add one or more rules — pick a reference field (Reorder Quantity, Lot Size, Safety Stock Quantity, Reorder Point, Order Multiple, Maximum Inventory, Maximum Order Quantity, or Minimum Order Quantity), whether to test the item's End Inventory or Highest Inventory, and how many times that reference value counts as overstock.
Under Filters on Values, optionally set absolute thresholds — e.g. "Show if end inventory value is higher then" a fixed amount — for items you want flagged regardless of the quantity-multiple rules.
Set BothCriteria to OR (flag the item if any rule matches) or AND (flag it only if all rules match).
If you also want to flag items nearing expiration, enable Show items that expire and set a Remaining Shelf Life Percentage; optionally enable Only show lines with Items that expires to restrict the whole template to expiring items only.
Run Identify items with overstock from the template card, and enter the date range (and optional lead-time factor) to project inventory over.
Review the results in the Items with overstock list on the template card.

Related Features

Identify Overstock reuses the same inventory-projection engine as Simple MRP, Move Demand Dates, and Direct Replenishment, so the "highest inventory" and "end inventory" figures it calculates behave the same way they do in those journals. When the Graphical Inventory Profile app is installed, its inventory-curve view is available directly from the results list for any flagged item. Identify Overstock does not feed the Planning Worksheet — it is the one journal in the app with no downstream order-creation step.

User Stories

Finding items with excess inventory relative to their reorder quantity

As an Inventory Manager
I want to flag items whose projected inventory is a multiple of their reorder quantity
So that I can spot items that are overstocked relative to how they are normally replenished

Setup:

On an Overstock Template, add a rule in the Filters on multiple of Quantites subform.
Set the field to Reorder Quantity, choose End Inventory or Highest Inventory, and enter a Times factor (e.g. 3).
Run Identify items with overstock.

Note: The rule only fires for items where the reference value (Reorder Quantity, in this case) is greater than zero.

Flagging items above an absolute inventory value

As an Inventory Manager
I want to flag any item whose projected inventory value exceeds a fixed amount
So that high-value overstock is caught even if it doesn't stand out relative to its own replenishment parameters

Setup:

On the Overstock Template, set Show if end inventory value is higher then to the threshold amount.
Run the calculation.

Flagging items above an absolute quantity

As an Inventory Manager
I want to flag items whose projected quantity — not value — exceeds a set number of units
So that I can catch overstock on low-cost, high-volume items that a value threshold alone would miss

Setup:

Set Show if end inventory quantity is higher then on the template.
Run the calculation.

Using peak inventory instead of end-of-horizon inventory

As an Inventory Manager
I want to test against the highest inventory level reached during the horizon, not just the level at the end
So that I catch temporary overstock peaks that would smooth out by the end of the calculation period

Setup:

Use Show if highest inventory value is higher then and/or Show if highest inventory quantity is higher then instead of (or alongside) the end-inventory thresholds.
On quantity-multiple rules, choose Highest Inventory instead of End Inventory for the test.

Flagging items with high average inventory over the period

As an Inventory Manager
I want to flag items that carried a high inventory value on average across the whole horizon
So that I catch items that are consistently overstocked, not just at a single point in time

Setup:

Set Show if average inventory value is higher then on the template.
Run the calculation.

Note: Average inventory value is calculated as the time-weighted average projected inventory level across the horizon, multiplied by the item's unit cost.

Combining multiple rules with OR

As an Inventory Manager
I want to flag an item if any one of my configured rules matches
So that I get the broadest possible list of potential overstock candidates for review

Setup:

Set BothCriteria to OR on the template.
Configure two or more rules or value thresholds.
Run the calculation — an item is flagged if it matches at least one rule.

Combining multiple rules with AND

As an Inventory Manager
I want to flag an item only when it matches every configured rule at once
So that I get a narrower, higher-confidence list of genuine overstock

Setup:

Set BothCriteria to AND on the template.
Configure two or more rules or value thresholds.
Run the calculation — an item is flagged only if it matches all of them.

Identifying items nearing expiration with excess stock

As an Inventory Manager responsible for perishable or dated stock
I want to flag items with lot/serial-tracked expiration dates falling within a shelf-life percentage window
So that I can prioritise reviewing and moving stock that is both excess and at risk of expiring

Setup:

On the template, enable Show items that expire.
Set the Remaining Shelf Life Percentage — the proportion of shelf life remaining before an expiring lot/serial is included.
Run the calculation.

Restricting a template to only expiring items

As an Inventory Manager
I want to have a template report exclusively on items that are both overstocked by the normal rules and have expiring stock
So that the results list isn't diluted with overstock items that carry no expiration risk

Setup:

Enable Show items that expire and set the Remaining Shelf Life Percentage.
Also enable Only show lines with Items that expires.
Run the calculation.

Note: With this enabled, an item is only included if it has expiring stock — the other rules/thresholds are still evaluated, but items without expiring stock are excluded regardless of whether they'd otherwise match.

Flagging overstocked items that also have locked supply orders

As an Inventory Manager
I want to highlight overstocked items that still have purchase, transfer, or production orders locked against planning changes
So that I know which flagged items can't simply be resolved by cancelling upcoming planned supply — the existing supply is fixed

Setup:

Enable Show is locked order lines exists on the template.
Run the calculation.

Note: This checks for outstanding purchase order lines, transfer order lines, released production order lines, and assembly orders for the item that have Planning Flexibility set to None.

Scoping the calculation to a single location

As an Inventory Manager who manages inventory per warehouse
I want to run Identify Overstock for just one location
So that the results reflect local stock levels rather than being blended across all locations

Setup:

On the request page for Identify items with overstock, use the Item filters (Location Filter) to restrict the run to a specific location.

Scoping the calculation to a vendor or specific items

As a Purchasing or Inventory Manager
I want to run the overstock check against a specific vendor's items, or a specific item number range
So that I can focus a review session on one supplier or product line

Setup:

On the request page, use the No. and/or Vendor No. item filters before running the calculation.

Including forecast demand in the projection

As an Inventory Manager
I want to have the current demand forecast reduce projected inventory
So that items that will naturally be consumed by forecasted demand aren't wrongly flagged as overstock

Setup:

On the request page, enable Include forecast.
Optionally set Ignore Forecast before to exclude forecast entries before a given date.

Including existing planning lines in the projection

As an Inventory Manager
I want to have supply already proposed in other Reverse Planning journals reduce the projected inventory used for the overstock check
So that the check reflects supply decisions already in progress, not just current on-hand and orders

Setup:

On the request page, enable Include Planning Lines.
Optionally restrict this to a specific Planning Worksheet Template Name / Planning Journal batch name to only include one planner's proposed lines.

Applying a lead-time buffer to the projection horizon

As an Inventory Manager
I want to project inventory using a lead-time-based horizon rather than a fixed date range
So that the overstock check reflects how far ahead I can realistically react to a replenishment decision

Setup:

On the request page, set Calculation Type to the lead-time option.
Set the Lead time Factor and Lead Time Buffer (days).

Note: Selecting the lead-time calculation type hides the fixed To-date field, since the horizon is derived from lead time instead.

Viewing an inventory curve for a flagged item

As an Inventory Manager reviewing overstock results
I want to see a visual inventory profile for a specific flagged item
So that I can understand at a glance when and why the overstock built up, without switching to another page

Setup:

From the Items with overstock results list, select a line.
Choose Graphical Inventory Profile.

Note: This action is only available if the Graphical Inventory Profile app is installed.

Reusing and comparing multiple overstock templates

As an Inventory Manager
I want to maintain several Overstock Templates for different review scenarios (e.g. one for high-value items, one for expiring stock)
So that I can run the review that fits the situation without reconfiguring rules each time

Setup:

Open Reverse Planning – Identify Overstock Templates.
Create additional templates, each with its own description and rule set.
Switch between templates from the Identify Overstock Templates action on the main page.

Field Reference

Field name	Where to find it	What it does	Default value
Overstock Template	Identify Overstock / Identify Overstock Templates	Unique code identifying the template.	(blank)
Description	Identify Overstock	Free-text description of what the template is for.	(blank)
BothCriteria	Identify Overstock	Combines all configured rules/thresholds with OR (any match flags the item) or AND (all must match).	OR
Show if end inventory quantity is higher then	Identify Overstock	Flags the item if projected end-of-horizon quantity exceeds this value.	0 (disabled)
Show if end inventory value is higher then	Identify Overstock	Flags the item if projected end-of-horizon inventory value exceeds this amount.	0 (disabled)
Show if highest inventory quantity is higher then	Identify Overstock	Flags the item if the peak projected quantity during the horizon exceeds this value.	0 (disabled)
Show if highest inventory value is higher then	Identify Overstock	Flags the item if the peak projected inventory value during the horizon exceeds this amount.	0 (disabled)
Show if average inventory value is higher then	Identify Overstock	Flags the item if its time-weighted average inventory value over the horizon exceeds this amount.	0 (disabled)
Show is locked order lines exists	Identify Overstock	Also flags the item if it has outstanding purchase, transfer, production, or assembly order lines with Planning Flexibility set to None.	No
Show items that expire	Identify Overstock	Enables expiration-date-based flagging for lot/serial-tracked items.	No
Remaining Shelf Life Percentage	Identify Overstock	The remaining-shelf-life threshold used when Show items that expire is enabled.	0
Only show lines with Items that expires	Identify Overstock	Restricts the whole template to items that also have expiring stock.	No
Field (rule)	Filters on multiple of Quantites subform	The replenishment parameter (Reorder Quantity, Lot Size, Safety Stock Quantity, Reorder Point, Order Multiple, Maximum Inventory, Maximum Order Quantity, or Minimum Order Quantity) to test against.	(blank)
Test for Inventory Level	Filters on multiple of Quantites subform	Whether the rule tests End Inventory or Highest Inventory.	End Inventory
Times	Filters on multiple of Quantites subform	The multiple of the selected field's value that counts as overstock.	0