Reorder Suggestions
How Carpe Inventory IQ calculates what to reorder, when, and how much — using math, not magic.
What are reorder suggestions?
The Reorder Suggestions page analyzes your sales velocity, supplier lead times, and safety stock requirements to tell you exactly which SKUs need to be reordered, how urgently, and in what quantities. Every calculation is based on your actual sales and purchasing data — no guesswork, no black-box predictions, no “AI.”
Select the SKUs you want to order, click “Create Draft PO,” and the system automatically generates purchase orders grouped by supplier — ready for review and sending.
Urgency levels
Each SKU is classified into one of three urgency levels based on its current stock relative to the calculated reorder point:
Critical
Inventory is at or below zero, or will stock out within 7 days at the current sales rate. Order immediately to prevent lost sales.
Urgent
Stock is below the reorder point with a stockout risk within 30 days. Place an order soon to maintain buffer stock.
Upcoming
Stock is approaching the reorder point (within 1.5× of the threshold). Start planning the next order.
SKUs that are well-stocked (“OK”) are hidden from the suggestions page — you only see what needs attention.
How the math works
Every number on the reorder suggestions page is derived from your own data. Here is exactly what the system calculates and how.
1. Average daily demand
The system looks at the last 90 days of sales across all channels (Shopify, Amazon FBM, Walmart) and calculates the average daily outflow for each SKU. For raw materials and components, it also includes dependent demand from bills of materials (see BOM explosion below).
2. Supplier lead time
The system analyzes the last 10 completed purchase orders for each SKU and measures the actual time between the order date and the goods receipt date. It calculates both the average lead time and the variability (standard deviation). If no PO history exists, a default of 14 days is used.
3. Safety stock
Safety stock is a buffer that accounts for variability in both demand and lead times. The system targets a 95% service level — meaning the SKU will be in stock 95 times out of 100. The formula combines demand variability and lead-time variability using a standard statistical model:
Safety Stock = 1.65 × √(Lead Time × Demand Variance + Avg Demand² × Lead Time Variance)
The 1.65 factor corresponds to a 95% service level. More variability in your sales or supplier deliveries means more safety stock is recommended.
4. Reorder point
The reorder point is the inventory level at which you should place a new order:
Reorder Point = (Avg Daily Demand × Avg Lead Time) + Safety Stock
This ensures that by the time new stock arrives, you still have safety stock remaining. The “days until stockout” column shows how many days remain at the current sell-through rate.
5. Suggested order quantity
The suggested quantity covers approximately 2.5 months of supply at the current demand rate (3.5 months if an upward trend is detected). The quantity is rounded up to respect any minimum order quantity (MOQ) set on the supplier record.
6. Estimated cost
The estimated cost uses the best available unit cost, in priority order: last purchase cost (from your most recent PO), then average cost, then standard cost. This gives you a realistic dollar figure for each line and the total at the bottom of the page.
BOM component demand
This is where Carpe Inventory IQ goes beyond what most inventory tools can do. When you sell a finished good that has a bill of materials, the system automatically calculates the demand for each component — down to raw materials.
Example: T-shirt with 3 components
You sell 10 T-shirts per day. Each T-shirt requires:
- 1 × Blank T-shirt → derived demand: 10/day
- 2 × Screen-print transfer → derived demand: 20/day
- 1 × Hang tag → derived demand: 10/day
If Blank T-shirts are also used in a Tank Top BOM (5/day × 1 each), the total derived demand for Blank T-shirts becomes 15/day. The reorder suggestion for Blank T-shirts accounts for demand from both finished goods.
On the reorder suggestions page, components with derived demand show a purple layers icon. Hovering over it reveals a breakdown of which finished goods are driving the demand and how much each contributes.
Both DYNAMIC and MANUFACTURING BOMs are included in component demand calculations. The system analyzes all active BOMs regardless of type.
Trend and seasonal detection
Trending
The system analyzes the last 6 months for consistent upward momentum. If average month-over-month growth exceeds 10% with low volatility, a trend badge appears (e.g., “+15%”) and the suggested order quantity increases to 3.5 months of supply instead of the standard 2.5.
Seasonal
Using 12 months of history, the system identifies recurring peak-demand periods (e.g., “Peak: Nov–Dec”). If a seasonal spike is within 60 days, a pre-order alert appears and the suggested quantity is increased to cover peak demand.
Creating purchase orders
Select the SKUs you want to order using the checkboxes, then click “Create Draft PO.” The system automatically:
- 1Groups selected items by supplier
- 2Creates one draft PO per supplier (5 items from Supplier A + 3 from Supplier B = 2 POs)
- 3Pre-fills quantities, costs, and notes with urgency context and demand reasoning
- 4Opens the PO in draft status so you can review and adjust before sending
Getting the best results
Reorder suggestions improve automatically as you use the system. Here is what helps the calculations be more accurate:
Sales history — At least 30 days of order data gives meaningful velocity numbers. 90 days is ideal.
Purchase order history — Completed POs with goods receipts provide actual lead-time data, replacing the 14-day default.
Supplier assignments — Link SKUs to suppliers (via the SKU detail page or CSV import) so the system knows who to assign on draft POs.
Bills of materials — Active BOMs enable component-level demand calculations. Without BOMs, only direct sales are considered.
MOQ on supplier records — Set minimum order quantities on supplier part number mappings to ensure suggested quantities respect supplier minimums.
Ready to see what needs reordering?