Why single-store reports fail for a group
In one store, spotting an item that will not sell is straightforward. Across a group it is not, because the data sits in separate systems and a product can perform well in one store while sitting untouched in another. Reviewed store by store, that untouched stock never stands out. Only a combined view across every location exposes it.
What counts as dead stock
The working definition is stock on hand with no sales over the review window, distinct from a slow mover, which sells but too slowly to justify the holding cost. Both tie up capital and shelf space. The value that matters is not the count of dead SKUs but the cash locked in them, calculated as units on hand times cost.
What to do with it
Once surfaced, dead stock is a decision list: clear it, return it to the supplier inside the return window, redistribute it to a store where it moves, or stop reordering it. Centralised detection makes that list appear before the capital is written off, not after.
In one 7-store Australian pharmacy group, LensPharm surfaced $21K in dead stock within 14 days of first data.