For the Category & Sourcing Manager
The Category Manager's Guide to Trapped Working Capital
Last updated July 2026
To free working capital tied up in inventory, raise inventory turns and cut days sales of inventory (DSI) by removing excess and obsolete stock and right-sizing safety stock — without dropping fill rate. Maintained targets the exact SKUs holding cash hostage and protects service levels while it does.
What you're measured on
Speak in category savings, price variance, percent on-contract, and supplier performance.
- Category savings
- Supplier performance
- % on-contract
- Price variance
Where the value is
- Raise inventory turns / cut DSI on the SKUs holding the most cash
- Remove excess and obsolete stock that never sells
- Right-size safety stock without dropping fill rate
- Give finance one trustworthy view of inventory value and risk
The pains this removes
- No benchmark for what a category should cost
- Tail spend fragmented across suppliers
- Slow quote cycles on tactical buys
- Off-contract leakage in the category
The numbers behind it
Frequently asked questions
How should a Category Manager approach free up working capital tied in inventory?
Speak in category savings, price variance, percent on-contract, and supplier performance. To free working capital tied up in inventory, raise inventory turns and cut days sales of inventory (DSI) by removing excess and obsolete stock and right-sizing safety stock — without dropping fill rate. Maintained targets the exact SKUs holding cash hostage and protects service levels while it does.
What outcome should a Category Manager expect?
Release the cash frozen in stock without hurting service. Raise inventory turns / cut DSI on the SKUs holding the most cash
See what your inventory is really costing you.
Tell us where the cash is trapped — excess stock, idle surplus, slow RFQs — and we'll show you the outcome Maintained can unlock.