A blank, fillable worksheet that sets the on-hand level to reorder each material at — average usage across your lead time, plus a safety-stock buffer — so you order before you run out without over-stocking.
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Buy too late and you run out mid-run; buy too early and cash sits in stock or a perishable spoils on the shelf. The reorder point is the on-hand level that keeps you between the two. Fill one line per material you buy, and re-run it whenever your usage rate or a supplier's lead time shifts.
A is built from three of your own numbers: how fast you use the material, how long a new order takes to arrive, and how big a buffer you want against things going wrong. The arithmetic is the same for every material:
reorder point = (average usage rate × lead time) + safety stock
Pull each number from the record that owns it — usage from your production or consumption history, lead time from your own purchasing history, safety stock from a rule you set once and apply the same way everywhere. The example values in every table are illustrations to keep the fields legible; replace all of them with your own. Download a blank copy to fill in for your own materials. The lesson on reorder points and lead time walks the reasoning behind the formula.
This sets a trigger, not a guarantee
The reorder point is a planning number built from your own usage and lead times — it is not a regulation, and no agency owns it. It lowers the odds of a stockout; it does not remove them. Re-run it whenever your usage rate, a supplier's lead time, or your safety-stock choice changes, and reconcile it against what actually happens on the floor.
Do this once per purchased material — ingredients and packaging alike. Keep the usage rate and the lead time on the same time unit: if lead time is in days, usage must be per day. The is the middle column; adding your gives the reorder point.
| Material | Average usage | Lead time | Lead-time demand (usage × lead time) | Safety stock | Reorder point (demand + safety stock) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (example) Glass jar, 16 oz | 500 ea/day | 10 days | 5,000 ea | 1,500 ea | 6,500 ea |
| (example) Tomato paste | 40 lb/day | 21 days | 840 lb | 200 lb | 1,040 lb |
| (example) Shipping case, 12-count | 42 ea/day | 7 days | 294 ea | 100 ea | 394 ea |
Trigger on your inventory position, not on-hand alone
Compare the reorder point against your inventory position — what you have on hand plus what is already on order — not against on-hand alone. If you trigger on on-hand by itself, you will reorder again while the first order is still in transit and end up over-stocked.
The three tables below feed the columns above. Build them once per material, and keep the worked numbers so the next person can see how the reorder point was set.
Take a representative stretch of production, total what you consumed, and divide by the days in that stretch. Use a period long enough to smooth out a single big or quiet run.
| Derive average usage | Example (glass jars) | Your entry |
|---|---|---|
| Quantity consumed in the period | 10,000 ea | |
| Days in the period | 20 | |
| Average usage (consumed ÷ days) | 500 ea/day |
Keep the calendar consistent with lead time. If your lead time counts calendar days, divide by the calendar days in the period; if you only draw the material on production days and buy against those, use production days on both sides. Mixing the two quietly under- or over-states the reorder point.
Lead time is the whole wait, from the moment you place the order to the moment the material is on the shelf and usable. Average your last several orders — a supplier's quoted lead time is a promise, your own history is the truth. Your receiving log is where you can read how long orders actually took.
| Derive lead time | Example (glass jars) | Your entry |
|---|---|---|
| Order placed → shipment received | 8 days | |
| Receiving + QA release | 2 days | |
| Lead time (total) | 10 days |
Include the receiving and QA-release time whenever the material is not usable until it clears inspection. A pallet on the dock that is still on hold is not yet inventory you can draw on.
Safety stock is the judgment call in the worksheet. Two honest ways to set it, from simplest to most conservative — pick one and apply it the same way across materials.
Method A — buffer days. Carry a fixed number of extra days of usage. Simple, and enough when a material's demand and lead time are steady.
| Safety stock — buffer days | Example (glass jars) | Your entry |
|---|---|---|
| Average usage | 500 ea/day | |
| Buffer days | 3 | |
| Safety stock (usage × buffer days) | 1,500 ea |
Method B — cover the worst realistic case. Size the buffer to the gap between a bad stretch (a busy run met by a slow delivery) and an average one. Use it for materials where usage or lead time genuinely swings.
| Safety stock — worst realistic case | Example (glass jars) | Your entry |
|---|---|---|
| Max usage (a busy day) | 650 ea/day | |
| Max lead time (a slow delivery) | 13 days | |
| Worst-case demand (max × max) | 8,450 ea | |
| Average demand (avg usage × avg lead time) | 5,000 ea | |
| Safety stock (worst-case − average) | 3,450 ea |
More buffer, fewer stockouts, more cash in stock
A bigger safety stock means fewer stockouts but more cash sitting in inventory — and more spoilage risk on anything perishable. In the example, Method B raises the jar reorder point from 6,500 to 8,450 (which is exactly max usage × max lead time — the worst realistic case). Match the method to how much a stockout of that particular material actually costs you.
The reorder point answers when — the on-hand level that trips a new order. It does not say how much to buy. Order quantity is a separate decision, driven by supplier minimums, pack and pallet sizes, the material's shelf life, and how much cash you want tied up in stock. Set the reorder point here; decide the order quantity on its own terms.
Number and date the worksheet so purchasing and whoever watches inventory work from the same reorder points. Re-run a line whenever its usage rate or lead time moves — a reorder point built on last season's numbers reorders at the wrong moment.
| Field | Example | Your entry |
|---|---|---|
| Material and unit | Glass jar, 16 oz (each) | |
| Reorder point | 6,500 ea | |
| Safety-stock method | Buffer days (3) | |
| Prepared by (name, role) | Sam Ortiz, Operations Lead | |
| Date prepared | 07/15/2026 | |
| Next review (or trigger) | On lead-time or usage change |