Purchase Order Planner
The Purchase Order Planner takes the guesswork out of inventory replenishment. Instead of manually reviewing spreadsheets and guessing how much to order, you tell Alfred your goal — how many days of stock you want, or how much budget you have — and it calculates recommended order quantities for every product based on your actual sales velocity, current inventory levels, and any stock already on the way. You can then convert your plan directly into purchase orders, grouped by supplier.
Plan Types
Meet Forecasted Demand
Unconstrained ordering
Alfred calculates the full quantity needed to cover your target period with no budget limit. You get the complete picture of what you need to stay fully stocked.
Maximize Margin ROI
Budget-constrained • Open to Buy
Set a fixed budget and Alfred allocates it to maximize gross margin return (GMROI). High-margin products get ordering priority; lower-return products are reduced or excluded. Toggle 'Include in PO' back on for critical items that were excluded by the budget to guarantee they're ordered.
Maximize Restock Coverage
Budget-constrained • Open to Buy
Set a fixed budget and Alfred spreads it across as many products as possible, equalizing stockout risk. Instead of maximizing margin, this mode minimizes the number of products that run out of stock.
Min/Max Replenishment
Threshold-based • Reorder by rule
Reorder when a (variant, location) is at or below its minimum threshold, restoring it up to its target — adjusted for in-transit POs and projected sales during lead time. Quantities also respect MOQ and pack size. Configure thresholds in Purchase Thresholds; each plan runs against a single location at a time because thresholds are per-location.
Key Concepts
How the Calculation Works
For each product, Alfred looks at three things: (1) How fast is it selling? (sales velocity, measured in units per day), (2) How much stock do you have right now? (on-hand inventory + inbound POs), and (3) How much stock do you need? (based on your coverage target and lead time). The recommended quantity is the gap between what you need and what you have, rounded to the nearest pack size and subject to minimum order quantities. In simple terms: Recommended Qty = (Daily Velocity x Coverage Days) - Inventory at Coverage Start - Inbound During Coverage.
Sales Velocity
Sales velocity is how fast a product sells, expressed as units per day. Alfred calculates this by looking at actual order history over your chosen 'Representative Sales Period' (e.g., the last 30, 60, or 90 days). Importantly, Alfred only counts days when the product was actually in stock — if a product was out of stock for 10 of the last 30 days, velocity is calculated over the 20 days it was available. This prevents understating demand for products that sold out. If a product has no sales history (e.g., a new launch), Alfred falls back to the average velocity of similar products in the same product type.
Coverage Target
The coverage target is how many days of stock you want to have after your order arrives. For example, a 60-day coverage target means you want enough inventory to last 60 days after the new stock is received. Alfred combines this with your lead time to calculate the total forward planning window. If your lead time is 21 days and coverage is 60 days, Alfred plans for 81 days total — 21 days until the order arrives plus 60 days of selling after that.
Lead Time
Lead time is the number of days between when you submit a purchase order and when the inventory arrives and is ready to sell. This includes manufacturing time, shipping, customs, and any receiving/processing time at your warehouse. Getting this right is critical — if your lead time is too short, you'll run out of stock before the order arrives. Alfred supports three levels: plan-level (set for all products), product-level (set in Product Configurations), and supplier-level (set on the Supplier detail page). The most specific value wins.
Inbound Inventory (In-Transit POs)
Alfred accounts for inventory that's already on the way. When you have open purchase orders (submitted, confirmed, or in transit), those quantities are factored into the calculation so you don't double-order. Alfred uses a time-aware simulation — it knows when each shipment is expected to arrive and only counts stock that will be available during the coverage window, not just the total in-transit quantity.
Saved Plans
Save your plan configuration as a named template. Plans remember everything — the plan type, budget, coverage target, filters, per-product overrides, lead time edits, growth adjustments, and exclusions. Use saved plans for recurring purchases (e.g., 'Monthly Basics Restock'), or duplicate a plan to compare different scenarios side by side (e.g., 'Q3 Conservative' vs. 'Q3 Aggressive').
Value Priority Cascade (MOQ, Lead Time, Pack Size)
Three key purchasing parameters — MOQ, Lead Time, and Pack Size — follow a priority system. (1) Supplier-specific values (configured on the Supplier detail page for each product) take highest priority and show a green dot. (2) Product-level defaults (set in Product Configurations) take middle priority and show a blue dot. (3) Plan-level settings (the toolbar inputs above the table) are the fallback and show no dot. You can always override any value directly in the table for a specific plan.
How to Use
1. Create a New Plan
Click 'New Plan' and choose your plan type. In the setup modal, set your Est. PO Submission Date, optionally scope the plan to a specific supplier/vendor and location, then configure the target coverage period, lead time, representative sales period (how far back to look for velocity), and expected growth. For OTB plans, also enter your budget. Click 'Start Plan' to generate recommendations.
2. Review the Recommendations Table
The table shows every product with its calculated recommendation. Key columns include: On Hand (current stock), Inbound (stock on open POs), Est. Vel/Week (projected weekly sales rate), Rec. Qty (how many units to order), and Total Cost (Rec. Qty x Unit Cost). Products are sorted by recommended quantity by default. The summary cards at the top show totals for your entire plan.
3. Adjust Per-Product Overrides
Fine-tune the plan by overriding individual values. Edit the Rec. Qty to manually set an order quantity. Adjust Est. Growth to account for expected demand changes (positive for growth, negative for decline). Edit Lead Time, MOQ, Pack Size, or Unit Cost for specific products. Use the 'Include in PO' toggle to exclude products you don't want to order this cycle.
4. Save & Convert to Purchase Order
Save your plan with a descriptive name for future reference. When you're ready to order, click 'Start PO from Plan' to convert the plan into a purchase order. Products are automatically grouped by their primary supplier, costs are pre-filled, and the PO is ready for review and submission.
5. Reuse for Recurring Purchases
Reuse saved plans on a regular purchasing cadence that roughly matches your coverage target. For example, if your plan covers 30 days of inventory, revisit it approximately every 30 days to generate your next purchase order. Each time you reopen a saved plan, Alfred recalculates all recommendations from your current inventory levels and latest sales data — so the same plan stays accurate over time without any manual adjustments. Note: if your lead time is significant (e.g., 14 days), you'll want to reorder a bit earlier than the full coverage period to avoid gaps while the order is in transit.
Tips & Best Practices
- ✓Start with 'Meet Forecasted Demand' if you're new to purchase planning — it's the most straightforward mode and gives you a clear picture of what you need without budget constraints.
- ✓Set realistic lead times. Underestimating lead time is the most common cause of stockouts — include shipping, customs, and receiving time, not just manufacturing.
- ✓Use the 'Representative Sales Period' thoughtfully. A 30-day lookback captures recent trends but can be noisy. A 90-day lookback is smoother but may miss seasonal shifts. Choose the period that best represents future demand.
- ✓Review the 'Est. Growth' column for seasonal products. If you're heading into a peak season, set positive growth to account for the expected demand increase.
- ✓In OTB modes, if the budget algorithm excludes a must-have product, toggle its 'Include in PO' back on — Alfred will reallocate the budget to include it.
- ✓Duplicate plans to compare scenarios. For example, create both a '60-day coverage' and a '90-day coverage' plan to see the cost difference.
- ✓Check the 'Inbound' column before ordering — if you already have stock on the way, the recommended quantity accounts for it automatically.
- ✓Use the supplier/vendor filter in the plan setup to create supplier-specific plans, then convert each one directly to a PO for that supplier.
- ✓For stable, low-variability products, try a Min/Max Replenishment plan as a complement to your main demand plan. Configure min and target in Purchase Thresholds first — the Min/Max plan only generates recommendations for variants with thresholds at the selected location.