Alert when one location falls below its reorder point while another holds surplus of the same item, rather than alerting on absolute stock levels. A transfer is usually days faster and cheaper than a supplier order, so the useful trigger is imbalance across locations rather than a low total.
Why this one is worth an interruption
A store with two locations has two ways to run out. The real one, where the business has none, and the avoidable one, where the business has plenty and it is in the wrong building. Ordinary low-stock alerts only see the first.
The avoidable version is more common than it sounds, because stock arrives where it was delivered rather than where it sells, and nothing corrects that unless somebody looks.
The threshold
Trigger on the relationship between locations, not on either one's absolute number.
| Condition | Set it to | Why that number |
|---|---|---|
| Trigger | one location under reorder point while another has surplus | Both halves are required, or it is just a low-stock alert |
| Surplus defined as | cover above the transfer time plus a buffer | Do not create a stockout at the source |
| Minimum transfer | enough units to be worth the handling | Moving three units costs more than it saves |
| Ignore below | a value floor | Transfer admin is not free |
| During promotions | suspend or widen | Demand is about to change at both ends |
Who should receive it
Whoever can authorise and arrange the movement, which in a small store is often not the person who noticed.
- Whoever can approve a transfer without asking.
- Both locations, since the source needs to pick and the destination needs to expect it.
- Not the buyer, unless the transfer will not cover it and an order is needed anyway.
What to do when it fires
- Check the destination's rate of sale before moving, so you are not solving a one-day problem with a week of handling.
- Confirm the source keeps enough cover for its own demand during the transfer window.
- Raise the transfer with a quantity and an expected arrival, not as a question.
- Record it, so the stock is not counted as missing at the source when it is in transit.
When not to set this alert
Do not set this if you have one location. There is nothing to balance.
Do not set it where transfers between your locations are slower than a supplier delivery, which happens with distant sites. In that case the ordinary reorder point is the right mechanism and this alert only adds noise.
Common questions
When is a stock transfer better than reordering?
When the transfer arrives sooner than the supplier would and the source location has cover to spare. Both conditions have to hold, or you are moving a stockout rather than solving one.
What should trigger a transfer alert?
Imbalance rather than absolute quantity: one location below its reorder point while another holds surplus of the same item. An absolute threshold is just a low-stock alert.
Who should receive it?
Whoever can authorise and arrange the movement, plus both locations. The person who notices the imbalance is often not the person who can act on it.