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Inventory Management

Dead Stock Percentage

Percentage of inventory that has not been sold or used over a specified period. The KPI creates a shared view of orders, stock, shipments, suppliers, and production activity when its population, event rules, and reporting window are documented.

Business context

Why Dead Stock Percentage matters

Trend Dead Stock Percentage with its numerator, denominator, or contributing inputs so that a shift in scale is not mistaken for an efficiency change.

Business question
Where does Dead Stock Percentage differ most across comparable teams, products, channels, or periods?
Teams that use it
Procurement, inventory, logistics, production, finance, and fulfilment teams.
Decisions it supports
Supplier management, stock policy, transport planning, production improvement, and service recovery.
Calculation

Dead Stock Percentage formula

(Dead Stock ÷ Total Inventory) × 100

Formula components

Dead Stock
The consistently counted dead stock included in the metric’s documented population and period.
Inventory
The consistently counted inventory included in the metric’s documented population and period.
Reporting period
The consistent day, week, month, quarter, or year covered by every input.

How to calculate Dead Stock Percentage

  1. Define the business scope, reporting period, and the event or status that qualifies for Dead Stock Percentage.
  2. Remove duplicates and exclusions according to the documented rule, while retaining a reconciliation count.
  3. Collect each input in the workbook formula from systems that use the same cut-off and unit.
  4. Apply (Dead Stock ÷ Total Inventory) × 100 and label the result with its period, unit, and relevant segment.
Worked example

Dead Stock Percentage example

A fictional supply chain team calculates Dead Stock Percentage for one agreed reporting period.

  1. Dead Stock = 75.
  2. Inventory = 800.
  3. Dead Stock Percentage = 75 ÷ 800 × 100 = 9.4%.

Dead Stock Percentage is 9.4%.

About 9.4 in every 100 eligible units meet the metric’s stated condition.

How to interpret the result

Compare Dead Stock Percentage over a consistent cadence and break it down only by segments large enough to support a decision. Review the formula inputs beside the result so teams can distinguish a real operating shift from a denominator or mix effect.

There is no single target that fits every organisation. Interpretation depends on product type, network design, geography, supplier terms, service promise, seasonality, and measurement period. Document the comparison group before labelling a result strong or weak.

Common mistakes and limitations

Inconsistent scope
Changing the included business units, products, channels, or populations makes the trend look different even when underlying performance is unchanged.
Mismatched periods
Formula inputs from different cut-off dates or time windows do not describe one coherent result.
Reading the headline alone
A single value can hide offsetting movement across segments, volumes, or contributing formula components.
Assuming one universal target
A useful comparison depends on product type, network design, geography, supplier terms, service promise, seasonality, and measurement period; use like-for-like internal trends and clearly documented peer groups.
Inventory Accuracy Rate Percentage of inventory records that match actual physical stock. Safety Stock Level Minimum amount of inventory kept on hand to avoid stockouts. Inventory Backorder Rate Percentage of orders delayed due to insufficient stock levels. Inventory Shrinkage Percentage of inventory lost due to theft, damage, or administrative error.

Turn metric definitions into answers your team can use.

Vizma helps teams understand and track business metrics using their data. Bring your Dead Stock Percentage definition, underlying data, and reporting questions to a Vizma demo.

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