A large furniture retailer with multiple showrooms and a central distribution center was dealing with a frustrating contradiction: their warehouses looked full, yet stores kept losing sales because customers couldn’t get the items they wanted.

• Capital Trapped in Slow Movers: Their backrooms and DCs were stacked with bulky items that sat for months, tying up cash in inventory that required heavy markdowns to move.
• Chronic Stockouts in Best Sellers: High-velocity products — recliners, motion sectionals, popular mattress models — were frequently unavailable, frustrating customers and leading to lost opportunities.
• No Real-Time Visibility Across Locations: Associates at one store couldn’t see what was available at another location without multiple phone calls, leaving customers waiting and creating missed chances to save a sale.
• Guesswork in Ordering: Replenishment decisions were being made based on gut feel or static reports rather than predictive demand signals, which meant over-ordering slow movers and under-ordering fast movers.

The leadership team knew the problem was bigger than just “ordering more.” It was about visibility, velocity, and intelligence. They needed a solution that would release cash from the wrong places, keep the right products flowing, and put live data in the hands of both managers and sales associates.

RBA Global implemented a multi-layered Inventory Intelligence System designed not only to fix the immediate stock problems but to transform inventory into a strategic growth lever.

Centralized Inventory Intelligence Platform
We deployed a cloud-based platform that unified data from the POS, e-commerce, and distribution center into a single dashboard. Associates could instantly see what was in stock across the entire network, while managers gained a live view of turns, aging inventory, and open purchase orders.

SKU Velocity Profiling
Every SKU was classified into velocity tiers — fast, steady, seasonal, or slow. This gave leadership a new lens for decision-making: fast movers required tight replenishment cycles, seasonal goods required predictive ordering, and slow movers required markdown planning or removal from the assortment.

Automated Replenishment Triggers
For high-demand items, we established intelligent reorder points based on historical sales patterns and vendor lead times. When inventory dropped below a certain threshold, the system generated purchase orders for review before stockouts could occur.

Rebalancing Playbook
Instead of leaving overstock stranded in one store while another location stocked out, we developed a rebalancing process to shift goods between locations proactively. This not only preserved sales but reduced the need for margin-killing clearance events.

Sales Floor Integration
We linked the intelligence platform directly to the sales interface, so associates could promise accurate delivery dates at the point of sale — even if the item wasn’t in their immediate store. This removed the “let me check and call you back” friction that often killed momentum in the buying process.

The changes were visible both in the numbers and on the showroom floor.

Cash Flow Liberated
By pulling back on slow movers and preventing bloated reorders, the retailer released significant working capital that had previously been frozen in dead stock. This money was redirected into higher-velocity categories and marketing campaigns that actually drove growth.

Stockouts Dramatically Reduced
Fast-moving items, the recliners, mattresses, and dining sets customers expected to take home quickly, were consistently available. This stabilized sales and removed one of the most common sources of customer frustration.

Associates Sold With Confidence
Instead of juggling phone calls to other stores or hedging promises, associates could give firm answers on availability and delivery windows in real time. This not only sped up transactions but made the sales conversation smoother and more credible.

Smarter Buying Decisions
Merchandise managers now had hard data on which SKUs earned their space and which did not. This shifted buying from reactive “we always stock this” to proactive, data-backed decisions that matched actual demand. It also created cleaner seasonal transitions, with less leftover product clogging the pipeline.

Margin Protection
With inventory flowing where it was needed most, markdowns decreased. Clearance events became strategic, not desperate. By moving inventory before it went stale, the retailer preserved more margin per piece sold.

Network-Level Agility
Instead of each store fighting its own battles, inventory became a shared resource across the chain. A sectional that sat too long in one store could be transferred to another location where it would sell quickly, creating a win for both locations and a smoother balance sheet overall.

In short, inventory stopped being a liability and started working like an asset. The system didn’t just prevent stockouts, it gave leadership control, gave associates confidence, and gave customers what they wanted when they wanted it.