Lara Guevara of Moog Supply Chain found $150,000 in deadstock buried in a warehouse that was choking a brand's cash flow. She used aging reports and sales data to spot the problem inventory, then moved it without discounting by bundling it with bestsellers and running targeted campaigns. The fix included monthly dashboards and purchase limits to stop it from happening again.
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What if $150K of your cash was locked in deadstock? The same cash you needed for your BFCM purchase order, and you had no idea? That's exactly what happened to this akaryll brand with over 12 months of slow-moving inventory piled up, bleeding cash and holding back growth until we uncovered what was really sitting in a warehouse that they didn't even know existed. In just 2 weeks, we uncovered over $150K in hidden overstock and helped this brand turn it into working capital just in time to fund their BFCM purchase orders. And here's exactly how we did it. Step 1: We audited their inventory and found the problem hiding in plain sight. This brand wasn't even tracking SKU age or sell-through. They kept warehousing and reordering without knowing what was actually moving. So we pulled 3 very important reports. First is the inventory aging report, second sell-through rate report, and three, a deadstock snapshot. And together, these 3 reports painted a clearer picture, and over 150K worth of SKUs were sitting idle for 365+ days. Then moving to step 2, we flagged the worst offenders and Stop the bleeding. A surprising number of SKUs were still being reordered even though they had not sold in months. And to uncover this, we use Forecast versus Actual Sales. It reports to spot demand gaps. And then Purchase Order History, which reports to find repeat orders. And then lastly, cross-check it— these two reports with a Dead Stock Report to catch zero movement SKUs. Q, still sitting replenished. These were the worst offenders— SKUs that had not moved in 6-12 months but had fresh inventory arriving just because the tool projected it. And we blocked these reorders, we flagged the excess, and we directed focus to fast movers. Moving to step 3, we gave them visibility so they could recover the value, not just write it off Once the dead stock was clearly identified, we did not push for discounts. Instead, we handed the founder and the marketing team a clear SKU breakdown, sales, so they knew exactly what's needed action. With that clarity, they did bundle aged products with top sellers, they run targeted campaigns for niche buyers, and they even helped launch paid ads to move the right SKU, all without writing off inventory or slashing prices. And our job in Moog Supply Chain is giving them the supply chain clarity that paved the way to these actions. Step 4, we help them understand the real cost, then build a system to prevent it. When we showed them the numbers, their first reaction was, "I thought it was just unsold stock. I didn't realize we were bleeding." this much. That's the real cost of overstock, not just space but cash loss, margin erosion, and missed growth, especially during the high-stakes seasons like BFCF. So we put a long-term system in place. We did monthly aging reports template, forecast versus actual dashboards, open-to-buy controls, and SKU segmentation by performance and seasonality. Now, let's make sure this doesn't happen to you. Even if you clear out your current overstock without the right systems, it's only a matter of time before it creeps back in. And the worst part? You might not catch it until you're scrambling for cash, exactly when you need it the most. If you want to make sure your inventory is always working for you and not against you, click the link below and book a free free strategy call with our key— we'll help you uncover what's hiding in your inventory and what to do about it. After you book that call, check out our other related case study, how an LA-based jewelry brand unlocked $100K in hidden demand with a smart inventory. It's in www.movesupplychain.com. This is a tool that you don't want to miss out.
