Parts below reorder point: a 20-minute morning routine for buyers

Why the report is too long to use

Most ERP and MRP systems can list every part whose stock has fallen below its reorder point. In a plant with a few thousand active parts, that list is rarely short. It mixes parts that will run out tomorrow with parts that crossed the line yesterday and still have weeks of stock, and parts whose reorder point was set years ago for a lead time the supplier no longer quotes.

Sorted by part number or by supplier, the list is a to-do list with no order. A buyer works it top to bottom and reaches the urgent lines whenever they happen to come up.

Below reorder point means "it is time to act." It does not say how much time you have.

Why it matters more right now

In the Institute for Supply Management's October 2026 Manufacturing PMI report, published on November 2, the Supplier Deliveries index was 59.1, up from 59.0 in September: deliveries were slower for an 11th consecutive month. The average lead time for production materials was 87 days, three days more than in September. The Customers' Inventories index stayed at 41.6, which ISM reads as customers' inventories "too low," for a 25th consecutive month. The Inventories index returned to expansion at 51.4, up from 48.6: more manufacturers are restocking raw materials from the same slower suppliers. Longer lead times leave less room between "below reorder point" and "out of stock," and reorder points set for last year's lead times trigger too late.

The data you need

One export, which most systems can produce as a saved report:

• Part number and description
• Usable quantity on hand (exclude stock on hold or in quarantine if you can)
• Reorder point as set in the system
• Usage over the last 4 to 12 weeks, to compute an average daily usage

A second export of open purchase orders (part, quantity, promised date) makes step 3 possible. Our guide to preparing an ERP extract lists the fields for the most common systems.

The routine, step by step

1. Keep only the parts below reorder point (2 minutes)

Filter the export to parts where usable stock is at or below the reorder point. Do not judge them yet.

2. Compute days of cover and sort, shortest first (3 minutes)

Days of cover = usable stock on hand / average daily usage. Use the same usage window for every part. Sort the list by days of cover, smallest number at the top.

Two lines need a flag instead of a number:

• No usage history: cover cannot be computed. Flag the part and check it by hand; do not let it fall to the bottom of the list.
• Zero stock with usage: the part is already out. It goes above everything else.

3. Check what is already on order (5 minutes)

For the top of the list, look at open purchase orders for each part.

• An order arrives before cover runs out: the part is below reorder point but covered. Note it and move on.
• The only order arrives after cover runs out, or is late, or has no promised date: this is a shortage risk. Our guide on which late purchase orders actually matter covers how to judge those lines.
• No open order at all: place one, or find out why there is none.

4. Write today's chase list (5 minutes)

The shortage risks, still sorted by days of cover, are your chase list for the day. Keep it short enough to work properly. For each line, write down the numbers behind it: stock, average usage, days of cover, open order and promised date. When you call a supplier, you are discussing facts, not urgency.

5. Note the parameters that look wrong (5 minutes)

Some lines will keep coming back. A part that falls below reorder point and runs short before every delivery may have a reorder point set for a lead time the supplier no longer quotes, a sign of lead-time drift. Do not change parameters during the morning review. Keep a list and take it to the weekly review; our safety stock recalibration playbook covers how to fix them.

Illustrative example, not a customer result

Three parts below reorder point on the same morning, in part-number order:

• Part 1001, hydraulic fitting: 40 in stock, uses 2 a day: 20 days of cover. An order is due in 6 days.
• Part 2040, motor coupling: 15 in stock, uses 5 a day: 3 days of cover. The open order was due last week, no new date.
• Part 3310, label roll: 0 usage recorded in the last 12 weeks, 30 in stock. Cover cannot be computed.

In part-number order, the coupling sits in the middle. Sorted by days of cover, it is first: it runs out in 3 days and its only order has no date, so it is a shortage risk and goes on the chase list. The fitting is covered by an order that arrives well before it runs out. The label roll is flagged for a manual check: either it is no longer used and its reorder point should be reviewed, or usage is not being recorded.

Where the routine breaks

• Average usage hides spikes. A part with steady usage and a large build next week looks safer than it is.
• Without usage history, cover can only be approximated, and a default threshold decides what counts as short.
• Reorder points are only as good as their settings. If they were set for old lead times or old volumes, the "below reorder point" list itself is wrong; days of cover is the more honest measure.
• Days of cover tells you when a part runs out, not which customer order or work order it affects. Linking the two still requires your planners and your bill of materials.

How WERISCO does this

WERISCO produces a ranked list of parts below reorder point, shortest cover first, from your own export. It reads your stock, usage and open purchase orders together and tells you which late or undated supplier orders will leave a part short before they arrive, ranked by severity, with each part's days of cover shown as evidence. It also shows where your reorder points were set for lead times your suppliers no longer quote. Your team decides what to chase; nothing is written back to your ERP.

Before analyzing anything, it shows which fields are missing or inconsistent, and what that blocks. To see it on your own data, book a supply chain audit: 20 minutes, two exports, no integration.