Lead Times

In this article

we will discuss the importance of lead times for your suppliers and products, how and where to use it and how it is used in the Order Proposals.

What is Lead Time?

Lead times are a crucial concept in retail, impacting how businesses plan, manage inventory, and meet customer demand. In this article we’ll provide you with an overview of how lead times work for a retailer and how you can make the most of them in your inventory management.

3 Levels of Lead Times

Shelf Planner allows you to set lead times on different levels:

1. Default Lead Time
2. Lead Time by Supplier
3. Lead Time by Product

If no lead time is set by Product (SKU), the Lead Time by Supplier will be used. If no Supplier lead time is set, the Default Lead-Time is used:

This cascading logic basically means that if you don't want to set up a lead time for each product, the replenshment proposals will be calculated using the Lead Time by Supplier.

At the same time, if you don't have a lead time set by supplier, the calculations will use the Default Lead Time. 

We recommend to at least use a lead time by Supplier to improve the order proposals. 

Default Lead Time

The default Lead Time is set in the Settings page. 

Lead Time by Supplier

The Lead Time by Supplier is managed in the Supplier Settings on the Supplier pages. 

When you enter or update a Supplier, you can set the Lead Time for all product you carry from this supplier:

Lead Time by Product

On the Product Settings page, you can open the edit function with the pencil icon:

A popup appears for the item with the values you can change the Lead Time for the individual product:

The number represents the amount of weeks it take for a supplier to deliver the goods to your warehouse. 

The Lead Time by Product overrides the Lead Time by Supplier and also the Default Lead Time for your store.