Inventory availability is moving up the executive priority list. Clients are increasingly calling to resolve availability issues and proactively position inventory to support profitable growth. Our clients are not alone. According to the Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) October 2026 Manufacturing Report, nearly 23% of responding manufacturers judged their customers’ inventories too low. At the same time, supplier deliveries slowed for the 11th consecutive month. These conditions reinforce the importance of having the right inventory in the right place at the right time to support customer demand and revenue growth.
Similarly, Phocas’ 2026 Inventory Trends in Wholesale Distribution report found that 63% of surveyed distributors lose sales because they do not have the right stock. Yet 22% hold more than 90 days of inventory, and 26% report 6–10% dead stock. The global survey of more than 100 distribution professionals reinforces a familiar challenge: companies can have substantial inventory and still lack the products customers need.
Inventory Availability Is a Revenue Priority
Clients are becoming increasingly focused on inventory availability. For example, a food and beverage manufacturer requested immediate assistance to improve inventory availability, reduce stockouts, and recover lost sales while preparing for a successful peak season. A building products client serving customers such as Home Depot called about inventory availability process and system improvements to mitigate lost sales while rolling out AI-enabled functionality for the future. An industrial products company wanted to improve inventory availability for its aftermarket business to deliberately grow this profitable segment.
Although this goal is reverberating across all types and sizes of clients, they also want to reduce inventory levels where feasible without impacting service, freeing up cash to invest elsewhere in the business. Depending on the growth opportunity, holding inventory steady while supporting higher revenue can also deliver significant value. In essence, they want to right-size and optimize inventory to support customer service, growth, and cash flow. Of course, they must take shelf life, seasonality, promotional demand, packaging availability, and customer requirements into account.
Translate Demand Into Production and Material Plans
This focus is compelling clients to devote more attention to rolling out or better utilizing sales forecasting, master production scheduling (MPS), material requirements planning (MRP), distribution requirements planning (DRP), and advanced planning and scheduling (APS) systems.
Sales forecasting provides a foundation for the demand plan. MPS translates demand into a time-phased plan for what to produce and when, providing a bridge between customer requirements and production. Thus, manufacturers can plan ahead instead of continually reshuffling priorities. MRP uses that production plan, bills of material, inventory, and scheduled receipts to calculate material requirements. Accurate inventory records, realistic lead times, safety stocks, and sound planning parameters are essential.
DRP determines when and where to replenish inventory across warehouses and distribution locations, helping align product availability with customer demand. APS can evaluate equipment, labor, changeovers, and material availability to develop feasible plans and schedules. Planning around these constraints is essential. Clients can often develop an initial plan, but they struggle to adjust it as conditions change while balancing customer service, operational efficiency, material availability, space, capacity, and financial requirements.
Connect Decisions Through SIOP
SIOP (Sales Inventory Operations Planning) brings these decisions together at the business level. Sales, operations, procurement, and finance must agree on demand priorities, capacity requirements, inventory investments, and the financial implications.
For example, a manufacturer pursuing a promotion should evaluate expected sales alongside ingredient commitments, production capacity, shelf life, and the risk of leftover inventory. Leadership can then decide whether the opportunity warrants additional stock, a different production schedule, or a revised customer commitment.
Our client video featuring Nellson illustrates the importance of managing expiring materials. Our client work also includes rolling out customer forecasts in conjunction with product wheel scheduling and APS capabilities to increase production output, reduce changeovers and waste, and meet customer commitments.
Put Planning to Work
Technology delivers value when people use it to make better decisions. Our most successful clients focus on practical improvements that deliver results. Most have a modern enterprise resource planning (ERP) system and can better utilize its planning functionality, supplement it with additional software where appropriate, and maintain dependable data. They measure availability alongside revenue, inventory investment, and aging stock. Their planners focus on managing exceptions and evaluating alternatives so they can act before shortages reach customers.
Manufacturers and distributors that connect customer priorities with production, materials, and executive decisions will be better positioned to grow profitably. Are your planning processes and systems ready to support the opportunities ahead?
If you are interested in reading more on this topic:
Right-size Inventory to Thrive During Inflationary & Recessionary Times