Inventory Profit Recovery
Wholesale businesses carry 18 to 25% of inventory that turns less than once per year. That capital is locked, the warehouse space is consumed, and the insurance and handling costs are real, even on product that is not moving.
Most operators know they have slow-moving inventory. What they do not have is a systematic view of exactly which SKUs are dead, what the annual carrying cost of each dead unit actually is, and what the liquidation options look like. Without that view, the problem persists because the solution feels uncertain. Syboost provides the full picture and the recovery plan to act on it.
Request Inventory DiagnosticInventory turns per year by SKU tier, and the percentage of catalog in each tier. The D-tier is where profit leaks. Most operators are surprised to find that over 20% of their catalog generates virtually zero turns, and that each of those SKUs is costing them real money every month in carrying cost regardless of whether it ever sells.
Most operators only think about the purchase price when evaluating slow-moving inventory. The true carrying cost is 22 to 30% of inventory value annually, meaning a $50,000 pallet of dead stock costs $11,000 to $15,000 per year just to sit there. The breakdown below shows where that cost comes from. Capital opportunity cost is the largest single component because that cash could otherwise be deployed into faster-moving product or used to reduce supplier payables.
Enter your total inventory value to see the estimated annual cost of the dead stock portion. This is the carrying cost on the portion of your inventory that is generating no revenue, the floor on what a structured SKU rationalization could save you.
Estimated Annual Dead Stock Cost
22% dead stock rate x 28% carrying cost rate
Four steps from initial diagnostic to permanent fix. The process is designed to be completed within the engagement timeline and leaves the business with a system for preventing the problem from recurring rather than just clearing the current backlog.
Every SKU is classified into A/B/C/D tiers based on rolling 12-month unit velocity and gross margin contribution. D-tier items are flagged immediately for review. The segmentation is run against your full catalog, not a sample, because the distribution of dead stock across categories is rarely what operators expect it to be. High-ticket items tend to be overrepresented in the D tier because buyers are reluctant to markdown them, which compounds the carrying cost.
We calculate the true cost of holding each D-tier SKU, capital tied up, warehouse space consumed, insurance allocated, handling labor, and obsolescence risk, not just the purchase cost. Most operators underestimate the true carrying rate by 40%. When the full cost is laid out on a per-SKU basis, the financial case for liquidation at a discount becomes obvious in most cases.
For each dead SKU, we assess three options: supplier return programs, secondary market liquidation through off-price or export channels, or bundling with fast movers to clear inventory through normal sales channels at a modest discount. Each option has a different recovery rate and timeline. The goal is to maximize recovery per unit while clearing the carrying cost burden as quickly as possible.
Dead stock does not happen once. It recurs if the purchasing trigger that created it is still in place. We identify the reorder rule, safety stock formula, or manual buying pattern that is generating new dead stock every quarter and replace it with a velocity-calibrated reorder model that adjusts dynamically as sales patterns change.
Get Started
Tell us about your business and we will tell you whether there is a recoverable profit opportunity worth pursuing. No pitch. No pressure.
We review your situation before the call
You share your revenue range and biggest challenge. We do homework before we talk.
You get a verbal estimate on the call
We tell you what we would go after first, and what we think is realistically there.
You decide if the engagement makes sense
No pressure. We only take on clients where we can show a clear path to ROI.
We use cookies to understand how visitors use our site and to improve your experience. By continuing, you agree to our Cookie Policy.