AI that watches your stock

Running out of a best-seller is expensive twice: you lose the sale today and the customer may buy elsewhere next week. Over-ordering is expensive too, because cash sits on the shelf. Most buyers manage this with a mix of experience and a weekly look at the stock list. This tour shows what AI adds to that routine, through the eyes of the buyer at a sample cash-and-carry at six in the morning, before the first delivery arrives.

What does the AI stock watch actually do?

It reads your own sales and stock, works out estimates, and puts them on the stock and purchase pages, clearly labelled. It does not order anything by itself.

Every AI block is labelled as an AI estimate, says what it read, and shows the time it was worked out, such as 06:00.

Step by step

1. Open the page and read Worth a look today. The AI suggestions sit on the page under a heading that says what they are. The panel says it reads your own orders, stock and payments and gives suggestions only: you decide. A typical card might note that a regular customer usually orders every week and has not this week, with a button to send a message. Others offer to add a product to a purchase order or to see the report behind them.

2. Open AI suggests reordering. This zone lists the products running low. Each line shows about how many days it has left at the rate it is selling, and a suggested quantity. The suggested quantity tops the product up to about 30 days of sales at its current rate, less what you already hold. A product with 4 days left and a supplier who delivers in 2 is the one to act on today. A product with 12 days left can wait for the next order.

3. Read the label. Each line carries an "AI estimate" tag and a note: from the last 30 days of sales; you choose what goes on the order. That note matters. The estimate is only as good as the recent sales it learned from.

4. Check why it thinks so. Beside the list, the forecast for one product is drawn over its real sales. Solid shows what sold each day. Dashed shows what AI expects next week. In the sample, daily sales climb from around 5 units to around 15 over the month, so the dashed line keeps rising. If the chart shows a one-off spike from a big order, you know to trim the suggested quantity.

5. Press Create purchase order. This starts a draft purchase order with the suggested lines. Nothing is sent. The draft shows the supplier, a note on how quickly they usually deliver, each line, and the totals.

6. Change what you need. The order says you can change every line. Round quantities up to the supplier's case size, take off anything you know is changing, and add a product you want to try. The buyer's knowledge goes in here.

7. Send it yourself. When the order is right, send it to the supplier your usual way, by email, phone or WhatsApp; EasyTaskr does not send it for you. Then mark it Sent to supplier so everyone can see it is on its way. The receipt of the goods is handled later, through goods received, when the delivery arrives.

8. Look at orders short of stock. The last AI zone lists open customer orders that need more than you hold, marked Not enough stock or Out of stock. Seeing these at six in the morning means you can ring the customer, swap a product or split the delivery, instead of finding out at the loading bay.

Why is a 30-day window used?

Thirty days is long enough to smooth out a single busy day and short enough to reflect what is selling now. A product that was quiet three months ago and busy this month is judged on this month. The trade-off is that seasonal swings, such as a holiday rush, only show once they have started. For a seasonal line, look at the chart and use your own knowledge of last year.

A worked example

Say a product has 60 units in stock and sold 150 units over the last 30 days. The rate is 150 ÷ 30 = 5 units a day, so it has about 60 ÷ 5 = 12 days left. If the supplier takes 2 days to deliver and you order weekly, you want enough for at least the next 9 days of sales (7 days until the next order plus 2 days' delivery). That is 45 units, so with 60 on hand there is no need to order this week. If the chart shows sales rising, as in the sample, the picture changes quickly, which is why the estimate is worked out again from fresh sales. The reorder point guide covers the same sum with safety stock.

Tips for buyers

• Look at the chart before trusting a big number. A spike from one large order can inflate the suggestion.
• Round to case sizes on the draft. The suggestion does not know your supplier's pack size.
• Act on the shortest days left first. Sort your attention, not just the list.
• Use orders short of stock every morning. It is the cheapest way to avoid a short delivery.
• Keep sales recorded properly. Sales that never go through the till or orders teach the AI nothing.

Common mistakes

• Treating the estimate as a promise. It is an estimate. A promotion or a lost customer changes the picture.
• Sending the draft without reading it. The draft is a starting point, which is why it is never sent for you.
• Ignoring slow movers. Products not on the list may have too much stock. Check stock value too, as the stock valuation guide explains.
• Ordering for a spike. If last week had an unusual order, trim the quantity.

What to do next

The AI assistant tour shows the same stock suggestions alongside commands like /stock and /owed. For the wider method behind stock levels, read the stock control guide, and for an honest view of AI in a small business, read AI for small business.

The business, products and figures in this tour are sample data.