Reorder points live in someone’s head
The buyer knows the forty items that matter. The other four thousand run out, and the first sign is a customer asking for one.
Industrial Supplies
A long tail of items, and nobody has to watch it.
Industrial supply is fasteners, consumables, tools and safety gear: thousands of items worth a little each, bought by the carton and sold by the piece. OrbitWix keeps a reorder level on every item in every warehouse, converts units on the way through, and tells the buyer what is running out before a customer does.
The problem
Where a long tail costs money.
No single item matters much. Together they are the business, and nobody can keep four thousand of them in their head.
Units don’t convert
Bought in boxes of 100, stocked in pieces, sold in packs of 10. Count in three units and the figure is wrong in at least one.
Dead stock hides in the tail
Items nobody has bought in a year tie up shelf space and cash, because no report ever puts them on one page.
Supplier codes don’t match yours
The customer asks by their part number, the supplier invoices by theirs, and the shelf label uses a third.
Typical workflow
How a reorder runs.
From the moment stock crosses its level to the moment it is back on the shelf, the request, the order and the receipt are one chain.
A reorder moves through six stages: stock below its reorder level, a suggested quantity, a purchase order grouped by supplier, approval, goods receipt and stock available again.
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01 Stock check
PO-2026-0101
Below level
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02 Request
PO-2026-0101
Raised
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03 Purchase order
PO-2026-0101
Grouped
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04 Approval
PO-2026-0101
Approved
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05 Receipt
PO-2026-0101
Received
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06 Shelf
PO-2026-0101
Available
The solution
What OrbitWix puts in place.
Six parts that let a small team run a very large catalogue.
Reorder levels on every item
A level and a reorder quantity per item and per warehouse. When stock reaches the level, a request is raised for the buyer to review.
Units that convert
Buy in boxes, stock in pieces, sell in packs. The conversion lives on the item, so every document counts in its own unit and the stock stays right.
Purchasing grouped by supplier
Requests for dozens of items become one order per supplier, rather than dozens of small orders.
Your codes, theirs and the customer’s
An item carries the supplier’s code and the customer’s own code, both searchable and printed on their documents.
Counter and account sales
A walk-in sale and an account customer’s order draw on the same stock, at the same moment.
Slow-mover visibility
Stock ageing and non-moving items across the whole catalogue, on one page.
Example
One morning, four thousand items.
An illustration of an ordinary day. The names are made up; the sequence is the ordinary one.
- 06:00 Every item in every warehouse is checked against its reorder level. Eighteen are below it, and a request is raised for each.
- 08:30 The buyer reviews the eighteen requests and turns them into two purchase orders, one per supplier.
- 10:15 A counter customer buys 3 boxes of M10 bolts. Stock drops by 300 pieces, because the box is defined as 100.
- 14:00 The fastener supplier delivers two boxes short. The receipt records what arrived, and the order stays open for the balance.
- 17:00 The monthly ageing report flags 37 items with no movement in 180 days, ready for a decision.
Visibility
Reports you read, and work you stop doing.
Both read the same records the work is done on, so neither needs an export to stay current.
Reports
- Reorder reportEvery item below its level, with the suggested quantity and default supplier.
- Stock ageingHow long each item has sat, by warehouse.
- Slow and non-moving itemsThe tail you are paying to store.
- Supplier lead timesHow long each supplier actually takes, from order to receipt.
- Margin by item groupWhich families of items earn their shelf space.
Automation
- A material request is raised when stock reaches an item’s reorder level
- Units converted on every purchase, receipt and sale
- A watch on items out of stock that have open customer orders against them Early access
Items marked early access run on Watcher, which is still being finished.
Recommended apps
Where to start.
Industrial supply runs on stock and buying first. Analytics earns its place once the catalogue is on the system.
Inventory
Reorder levels, unit conversions and stock per warehouse.
Purchase
Requests grouped into one order per supplier, received against it.
Sales
Counter and account sales on the same stock, with customer part numbers.
AI & Analytics
Ageing, slow movers and reorder suggestions over the whole tail.
FAQ
Questions from industrial supply distributors.
How large a catalogue can it hold?
Catalogues in the tens of thousands of items are normal. Items are grouped, searchable by code, description and attribute, and reorder levels can be loaded and updated in bulk from a spreadsheet.
Can an item be bought and sold in different units?
Yes. Each item has a stock unit and as many conversions as it needs — box, pack, carton. Every purchase, receipt and sale is entered in its own unit and converted on the way through.
Do reorder requests raise themselves?
Yes. When stock in a warehouse reaches an item’s reorder level, a material request is raised for its reorder quantity. A buyer reviews it before anything is ordered.
Can we use supplier and customer part numbers?
Yes. An item can carry the supplier’s code and any customer’s own code. Both are searchable, and each appears on the documents that party receives.
Have a different question? Talk to us.
See it run your reorder list.
Send us an export of your item master. We will show how many items are below their level today, and which ones nobody has bought in a year.