Days Sales of Inventory benchmark
Days Sales of Inventory Benchmark for Industrial Distribution (2026)
Last updated July 2026
In industrial distribution, days sales of inventory typically runs 60–120 days. Top quartile turns inventory in under 75 days. Days sales of inventory (DSI) measures how many days it takes to sell the average inventory on hand. Lower is better — it means cash cycles back faster.
DSI = (Average Inventory ÷ Cost of Goods Sold) × 365 Days Sales of Inventory by industry (2026)
| Industry | Typical DSI | What good looks like |
|---|---|---|
| All industrial distribution | 61–90 days | Under 60 days is strong for wholesale distribution |
| Industrial Distribution | 60–120 days | Top quartile turns inventory in under 75 days |
| Oil & Gas Distribution | 90–150+ days | Long-lead spares push DSI high; under 90 is excellent |
| MRO Distribution | 90–180+ days | Service buffers inflate DSI; watch the slow-mover tail |
| PVF Distribution | 75–140 days | Deep SKU tails hide the worst offenders |
| Electrical Distribution | 55–100 days | Faster mix; under 55 is strong |
| Utilities & Power | 90–180+ days | Critical spares inflate DSI; find the redundant tail |
| Oilfield Services | 100–200+ days | Project cycles swing DSI; under 100 is excellent |
| Chemical & Process Manufacturing | 80–160 days | Reliability spares lift DSI; watch the obsolete tail |
Days sales of inventory (DSI) measures how many days it takes to sell the average inventory on hand. Lower is better — it means cash cycles back faster.
Where does yours land? If industrial distribution operations want to move DSI in the right direction, the fastest lever is usually the excess and obsolete tail — the SKUs holding cash without serving demand.
Sources: Phocas Software
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