Inventory KPIs that actually matter for small teams
You don’t need a dashboard with forty metrics. For a small team, a handful of numbers tell you almost everything about whether your inventory is healthy. Start with these.
Inventory accuracy
The percentage of counts that match reality when you check. If this is low, every other metric is built on sand. Improve it with frequent cycle counts and scannable items.
Stockout rate
How often items hit zero when they shouldn’t. Each one has a real cost; trending this down is one of the highest-ROI things you can do.
Inventory turnover
How many times you sell through your average stock in a period. Too low means cash tied up in dead stock; too high can mean you’re flirting with stockouts.
Dead / slow-moving stock
Items that haven’t moved in 60–90 days. They quietly eat cash and space — flag them and decide to discount or drop. (A great thing to ask your AI assistant weekly.)
How to track them without a data team
Each of these falls out of accurate counts plus transaction history. Keep stock current, and the KPIs become a glance — or a question you ask in plain language.