Module 9 · Analysis + corrective action

Slow / Non-Moving Stock & Returns

Ageing analysis, slow-moving and non-moving stock identification, return delivery process, rejection handling, debit memo and stock write-offs.

Course reading

Understand the process

Part 1

Read the age of stock carefully

Slow-moving stock sells or gets consumed less often than expected; non-moving stock has no movement during the chosen review period. Age alone does not prove waste: a spare part held for safety may be intentional, while an obsolete component may never be used again. Group items by last movement, demand, value and business reason.

For each old item, ask whether a future order needs it, whether it can be transferred to another site, returned to the supplier, reworked or safely disposed of. Name an owner and deadline for each decision. A report with no action merely describes tied-up cash.

Part 2

Control returns and write-offs

Keep rejected and returned goods in their proper stock status so they cannot be picked as good stock. Record the reason, original document, inspection result and approval for return, credit or write-off. In SAP, the return delivery and associated movements should reconcile with the supplier credit or disposal evidence.

Consider 300 obsolete units valued at 20 each. The book value is 6,000, but a transfer, vendor return and disposal have different financial and operational consequences. Make the decision with purchasing, finance and operations together rather than hiding the balance in an ageing category.

What you must take away

Non-moving stock is a decision that was never revisited.
Ageing must be measured from last movement, not from the purchase date.
A return needs a commercial route (credit or debit note) before it needs a truck.

In the SAP process

Run a stock-ageing or last-movement report per storage location.
Create the return delivery against the purchase order with the return item indicator.
Settle the value with a credit memo or debit note and close the vendor claim.

Case study

A quarter of the store that had not moved in two years

Setting. A spare-parts store supporting an ageing machine fleet.

Problem. Space was tight and new receipts were being stacked in aisles, while a large share of bins held parts with no movement for over 24 months.

How it was investigated

Pulled last-movement dates for every bin and grouped by 0–6, 6–12, 12–24 and 24+ months.
Split the 24+ group into insurance spares (deliberately held) and genuinely dead stock.
Checked which dead items still had an open reorder point that would buy more.

What was changed

Tagged insurance spares formally so they stop appearing as a problem every review.
Built a disposal plan: return to vendor where contractually possible, transfer to sister sites, then scrap.
Removed reorder points for discontinued equipment.

Outcome. Aisles cleared, and the store stopped automatically replenishing parts for machines that no longer existed.

Lesson: Separate 'deliberately held' from 'forgotten' before anyone argues about write-offs.

Illustrative composite of common shop-floor situations — no client names or confidential figures.

Practical template

Stock ageing and disposal decision sheet

Turn an ageing report into an owned, dated action per item.

Material	Value	Last movement	Age band	Category	Decision	Owner	Target date
MAT-7781	42,000	14 Feb 2024	24+ months	Dead	Return to vendor	Buyer	30 Jun

How to use it

Category: active, insurance spare, slow, dead. Only 'dead' and 'slow' need a decision.
Decision options: use internally, transfer, return, sell, scrap, hold with justification.
Review monthly — an ageing report without owners and dates changes nothing.

Download workbook & KPI template (PDF)

Quick quiz — check your understanding

1. Slow-moving stock is:
2. Holding non-moving stock costs money because of:
3. A good action for non-moving stock is:
4. A customer return should be:
5. Stock ageing report shows:

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