# Inventory Forecast Dashboard

Plan SKU purchases across 12 months, track inventory units and dollars, compare days-on-hand with target coverage, and identify low-coverage or stock-out risk in a summary dashboard.

- Canonical: https://finamodel.com/excel-dashboard/inventory-forecast
- Excel download: https://finamodel.com/templates/inventory-forecast.xlsx

## About this dashboard

The Inventory Forecast dashboard translates a monthly unit-sales plan into a 12-month view of purchases, inventory, and coverage. A SKU panel records unit cost, unit price, target days-on-hand, and opening inventory, while the sales plan reflects monthly seasonality across the panel.

Review annual units, annual COGS, each SKU’s share of the panel, weighted days-on-hand contribution, and gross margin. The dashboard summarises weighted DOH, peak inventory and its month, lowest DOH month, and coverage or stock-out risk against the thresholds set for the review. An identity check confirms the inventory roll-forward.

Use the forecast to size inventory investment, diagnose thin coverage, or begin procurement planning by SKU. Compare purchase requirements with expected sales and identify the months where opening stock or planned purchases may not support the sales plan. The SKU value distribution helps focus attention on the largest cost contributors.

## What's included

- SKU costs, prices, targets, and opening stock
- 12-month unit-sales plan with seasonality
- Per-SKU purchase plan
- Inventory roll-forward in units and dollars
- Days-on-hand and coverage ratio tracking
- Peak inventory and stock-out risk summary

## Frequently asked questions

### What does the forecast track?

It tracks SKU sales, purchases, opening and ending inventory, inventory value, COGS draw, days-on-hand, coverage ratio, and stock-out risk across a full 12-month forecast period.

### What information is held for each SKU?

The SKU panel includes unit cost, unit price, target days-on-hand, and opening inventory units, alongside the monthly unit-sales plan used to size purchases by SKU.

### What does the dashboard summarise?

The summary includes weighted DOH, peak inventory and its month, lowest DOH month, and coverage or stock-out risk status against user-set thresholds for review.

### Can it support procurement planning?

Yes. The per-SKU monthly purchase plan provides a starting point for procurement by translating expected unit sales and target coverage into planned purchases for each period.

### How can I diagnose coverage risk?

Review the lowest DOH month and minimum coverage against target to find periods where opening inventory or planned purchases may be too thin for expected sales volume.

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