Imagine this: a large retailer has over 60% of its inventory available — yet, sales are dropping. At first glance, it seems contradictory. How can there be missed sales when there's so much stock on hand?
The answer lies in a problem that's often invisible until it's too late — assortment gaps.
Retailers often track inventory health by looking at coverage:
"Do we have enough stock overall?"
But this surface-level metric hides a deeper issue: Are we carrying the right stock — in the right places — to meet actual customer demand?
In one case, we discovered that while shelves weren't empty, they were filled with the wrong variants. For a top-selling product, only 3 of the 8 planned color options were available in a key zone.
Result?
Customers couldn't find the color or size they came for — and walked away.
📉 Outcome: A 12% drop in potential sales — not due to lack of inventory, but due to a mismatch between supply and local demand.
This is one of the most overlooked challenges in retail planning.
Here's why it's critical:
Having 10,000 units in your network doesn't help if what the customer wants isn't on their shelf.
Instead of allocating inventory based on average sales or blanket coverage targets, we helped this retailer take a hyper-local, demand-led approach.
🔄 What We Did:
Implemented rule-driven allocation logic tailored to zones and channel types
Aligned inventory pushes with actual sales signals by geography
Focused on assortment completeness, not just total volume
For example, if Zone A favored brighter shades and smaller sizes, the system ensured those variants reached that region in higher proportions.
By closing the gap between available inventory and relevant inventory, the retailer saw measurable improvement:
📈 Higher shelf conversions
📉 Lower missed-sale opportunities
🛍️ Improved customer satisfaction and loyalty
📊 +12–15% revenue lift in optimized zones
Retail success is no longer about how much stock you have.
It's about how well that stock matches what your customers actually want.
"Assortment completeness isn't just a merchandising metric.
It's a direct lever for revenue and brand experience."
In a competitive retail environment, assortment planning can't be generic. It must be dynamic, data-led, and local.
Retailers that embrace intelligent allocation logic — powered by AI and real-time demand signals — will not only avoid lost sales but unlock new revenue streams from the shelves they already have.