Setting shelf minimums and targets

Minimum answers “when”, target answers “how much”

The minimum is a trigger. It should reflect how long a gap you can live with between the shelf running low and someone getting to it — which is a function of how often you walk the floor, not how fast the product sells.

The target is what you refill up to. Set it by what looks right on the shelf and what fits, then let capacity bound it.

A starting point that is easy to correct

Set the target to a full facing. Set the minimum to roughly a third of it, or to one day of sales for anything fast-moving. Then leave it alone for two weeks.

The useful signal afterwards is the repeat shelf-out report: products that hit empty more than once. Those minimums are too low, and that list is far more reliable than any calculation done up front.

Bulk-setting without losing the exceptions

Rules by product type, vendor, tag or collection cover most of a catalogue quickly. Per-variant overrides survive them, because the twenty lines you have thought carefully about are usually the twenty that matter most.

Common questions

Can targets be suggested from sales history?

They can be suggested, with the calculation shown, and never applied without your approval. A suggestion you cannot inspect is one you cannot argue with when it looks wrong.

Other guides

• Replacing Stocky’s Fill Shelves workflow

  Stocky is going away and Fill Shelves is the part my staff use daily.

• Choosing a Stocky replacement

  Which app do I move to, and am I replacing one thing or several?

• How a Fill Shelves workflow works

  I understand the idea. What are the actual moving parts?