Beauty Store Replenishment: How Should Stocking Standards Change with Different Delivery Frequencies?

Beauty Store Replenishment: How Should Stocking Standards Change with Different Delivery Frequencies?

Stocking standards for beauty chain stores need to reflect both sales demand and supply conditions. Even when two stores have similar sales volumes for the same product, their inventory requirements may differ significantly if one receives deliveries once a week while the other receives deliveries three times a week.

When delivery intervals are long, stores need enough inventory to cover the corresponding sales demand. When supply is stable and deliveries are frequent, inventory levels can often be reduced. Incorporating delivery patterns into replenishment strategies helps protect sales while avoiding unnecessary inventory investment.

Stock According to Actual Delivery Intervals and Cover Sales Peaks

The same number of deliveries per week does not necessarily mean that each delivery needs to cover the same number of sales days. For example, a store receiving deliveries on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday faces a longer interval from Saturday to the following Tuesday. If the weekend is also a sales peak, using the average delivery interval to determine inventory may still underestimate demand.

Replenishment calculations should therefore consider both the interval between deliveries and the distribution of demand across different days. Existing saleable inventory and in-transit goods that can arrive on time jointly determine whether the store can support sales before the next delivery. Once the current shipment arrives, the inventory must also connect with the next available delivery.

There may also be a time gap between goods arriving at the store and becoming available for sale because of inspection, receiving and shelf replenishment. Inventory coverage should therefore be measured based on the actual time when products become saleable. If a stockout has already occurred before the current shipment arrives, simply increasing the order quantity for that shipment cannot make up for the earlier sales gap. The delivery arrangement must also be reviewed.

Distinguish Insufficient Stock from Delivery Delays

When supply is delivered according to schedule but products still frequently sell out before the next delivery, the merchandising team should first check whether the stocking standard covers the relevant demand. The standard can then be adjusted for the affected stores and products when necessary.

If supply is stable and deliveries are frequent, stores can also assess whether there is room to reduce inventory. For products that are difficult to continue selling after a campaign ends, reasonable stocking levels can help reduce future overstock and discount pressure.

Stockouts caused by delivery delays require a different response. The team should first compare actual delivery times with the planned schedule and determine whether a sales peak was missed. Increasing inventory may reduce part of the impact, but it also increases capital tied up in stock and cannot replace improvements to the supply arrangement. Any inventory buffer or delivery adjustment should be determined according to demand for priority products and the related costs.

This distinction makes operational decisions more targeted: insufficient inventory calls for an adjustment to stocking standards; untimely deliveries call for a review of supply execution; when both issues exist, each area should be addressed separately.

How PEKON Incorporates Delivery Schedules into Replenishment Calculations

Within configured suggested-ordering projects, PEKON supports maintaining the order release date, estimated arrival date and shipping warehouse by city. The system can calculate transportation days based on the schedule and use the result for suggested-ordering data retrieval and simulations.

When calculating the suggested quantity for a store, the system matches the relevant schedule according to the store’s city and runs the configured formulas together with the applicable ordering rules and parameters. This allows brands to incorporate regional supply differences directly into replenishment calculations instead of keeping them only as notes in a supply plan. The final quantity still depends on the sales, inventory, cycle and other data used by the formula.

Before adjusting delivery schedules or stocking standards, the merchandising team can select representative stores and products for simulation and review how the suggested quantities change. Waiting time already included in the cycle parameters should not be counted again, so that changes in quantity correspond to the actual operational adjustment.

Delivery schedules define replenishment conditions in each region, ordering rules apply those conditions to calculations, and simulations provide a quantitative basis for adjustment. Together, these elements help brands create more suitable store stocking plans while balancing sales availability and inventory investment.