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For the VP & Director of Supply Chain

The VP Supply Chain's Guide to Excess & Obsolete Inventory

Last updated July 2026

The short answer

To reduce excess and obsolete inventory, identify slow movers and dead stock across every location, redistribute what another branch needs, and monetize the rest at fair market value. Maintained ranks every SKU by risk and value and recommends the highest-recovery action — you approve it.

What you're measured on

Speak in turns, fill rate, perfect order, and forecast accuracy.

  • Inventory turns / DSI
  • Fill rate
  • Perfect-order rate
  • Forecast accuracy
  • Total landed cost

Where the value is

  • Surface slow-moving, excess, and obsolete SKUs across all branches in one view
  • Redistribute stock to the branch that actually needs it before buying new
  • Price and monetize true dead stock at fair market value
  • Right-size reorder points so excess stops rebuilding

The pains this removes

  • Excess and obsolete stock spread across branches
  • Low turns tying up cash
  • Overstock in one branch, stockout in another
  • No single view of inventory across DCs

The numbers behind it

~25% / year
Excess and obsolete inventory costs the typical distributor about 25% of its value every year in storage, shrinkage, and cost of capital.
Industrial Supply Magazine
20–30% / year
Inventory carrying cost typically runs 20–30% of inventory value per year (often 25–40% for wholesale distributors).
Institute for Supply Management (via NetSuite)
20–30%
AI-driven optimization can cut inventory 20–30% while holding service levels, and reduce forecasting error up to 50%.
Epicor / MDM

Frequently asked questions

How should a VP Supply Chain approach reduce excess and obsolete inventory?

Speak in turns, fill rate, perfect order, and forecast accuracy. To reduce excess and obsolete inventory, identify slow movers and dead stock across every location, redistribute what another branch needs, and monetize the rest at fair market value. Maintained ranks every SKU by risk and value and recommends the highest-recovery action — you approve it.

What outcome should a VP Supply Chain expect?

Clear the graveyard aisle and stop the write-offs. Surface slow-moving, excess, and obsolete SKUs across all branches in one view

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.

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