Purchasing & Supplier Management

How to set min/max so the system recommends a buy (without stockouts or over-buying).

Setting min and max levels so the system flags what to reorder before you run out.

Last updated September 16, 2026

Min is the trigger. Max is the order-up-to. The recommended buy is max minus (on-hand plus inbound minus committed), then rounded to MOQ or case pack. That formula is the whole policy. The work is getting the two numbers, and the inbound, right per SKU and location.

Set min as the reorder point

Treat min as the reorder point you will actually honor. If you store safety stock as its own field, the reorder point is safety plus expected demand over actual lead time. Min should equal that reorder point, or you will buy late. Actual lead time is receipt date minus PO date on the last few China POs, not the eight weeks on the quote. Safety stock lives inside the min or the reorder point. Safety stock is not the max. Max is how full you want the location after the PO lands. A-movers get a tighter band and a weekly review. C-items get a higher min relative to velocity, or a longer review cycle, so you are not raising a PO for six units every Friday.

Set policy per SKU and location

Policy is per SKU per location. The East 3PL min is not the West number. FBA is not your 3PL. A kit is not its components. Copy one min across every warehouse and the fat site keeps buying while the thin site stocks out.

Count inbound already on the water

Inbound already on the water must count. A container booked six weeks ago is inbound qty. Ignore it and the system will recommend a second factory PO the week Shopify goes sold-out. Sold-out on the storefront is not the signal if that container is already named. Committed wholesale and holds come off available, or you will buy for units you already promised a retailer. Unconfirmed or slipped POs do not get to count as inbound just to suppress a buy. Name the PO, or leave it out.

System recommends, a human confirms

The system recommends. A human confirms. Do not auto-send a twelve-week China PO off a two-week velocity blip, a drop, or an 850 that will not repeat. Round up to MOQ and case so the recommend is orderable. Then look at cash and dock dates. A recommended qty you cannot pay, or cannot receive this month, is not a buy. How the supplier prices that rounded qty is a price-list question. Here the only question is whether the recommend is honest.

This is not a seasonal forecast and not a sell-through model. Those change the min and max. They do not replace them. A forecast can raise next quarter's max. It cannot auto-send the PO.

Min triggers. Max sizes the PO. Inbound counts. A person hits send.

Run this with AI
Open in Claude Open in ChatGPT

Connect Claude or ChatGPT to your Fulfil data with the Fulfil MCP, then run this prompt on your own numbers.

You are the buyer reviewing system-recommended POs from min/max.
Here is: sku, location, min, max, safety_stock, on_hand, inbound_qty, inbound_po_id, committed, wholesale_hold, daily_velocity, actual_lead_time_days, moq, case_pack, recommended_qty, auto_po (y/n), shopify_sold_out (y/n).
[paste]

Produce:
1. SKUs where inbound on the water was ignored (double-buy) or Shopify sold-out was used as the trigger.
2. Recommended qty that is not max minus (on-hand + inbound - committed), or not rounded to MOQ/case.
3. One min/max copied across locations, or safety stock set as the max.
4. Auto-POs or China buys sized off a two-week blip, a drop, or a one-off 850.
System recommends. Human confirms. Do not treat a seasonal forecast as this policy.

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