Inventory Management Analysis

Efficient inventory management is essential to the success of any product based business. This April, I took on the FP20Analytics Challenge to explore and analyze inventory data through a year-to-year lens. The objective was to understand inventory performance and draw insights around stock levels, reordering practices, and turnover trends.

🧾 Project Overview

The dataset was clean and well-structured, allowing for smooth data modeling. I created four dimensions for better insights and filtering:

• dim_products
• dim_category
• dim_calendar
• dim_stock

Data Modelling

The key metrics tracked were:

• Total Number of Products
• Total Quantity in Stock
• Average Price
• Out-of-Stock Products

📊 Key Findings

1. Stock Levels & Product Categories

Stock levels across the board leaned toward medium and high, with Books consistently dominating in quantity. Home and Garden products, however, had the highest out-of-stock numbers, raising concerns about demand forecasting in that category.

2. Reorder Behavior

Only a small fraction of products fell below their respective Reorder Points which is the trigger levels for replenishment. Notably, Books topped this list but still only accounted for 47 units, suggesting most products were sufficiently stocked.

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However, this doesn’t mean restocking was frequent. The restock frequency analysis revealed that:

• Over 1 million units were infrequently restocked
• Only about 190,000 units were frequently restocked

This could indicate either long shelf lives or under-monitored inventory turnover.

3. Warehouse and Geographic Trends

• The Top 10 Warehouses storing inventory were identified and mapped.
• Germany led in product quantity in both 2023 and 2024, while Spain took the lead in 2025.
• A regional breakdown showed Belgium performed best in 2023, followed closely by Germany and the UK.

4. Turnover Trends

Turnover rates reveal how quickly products are sold and replaced:

• In 2023, Sports had the slowest turnover, despite having high stock levels.
• Books had a fast turnover, aligning with their high quantities.
• In 2024, although Home & Garden had high quantities, they exhibited only a moderate turnover rate (46.1%). In contrast, Sports and Toys recorded fast turnover rates of 80% and 60%, respectively.
• By 2025, while Spain was the most active market, the total quantity dropped by over 74% compared to 2024. Still, Sports retained a fast turnover rate of 70%, even though it had the lowest stock.

5. Stock Availability

Out of 5,000 products, only 774 were out of stock, showing an overall strong availability across the inventory.

🧠 Conclusion

This analysis showcases how detailed inventory tracking including turnover rates, stock levels, and restock frequency can guide better supply chain decisions. Even categories with high stock levels may struggle with turnover, while those with lower stock may outperform through faster movement.

📌 Key Takeaway: Businesses must balance quantity with performance metrics like turnover and restock frequency to optimize inventory health and reduce holding costs.