A reorder level is the stock quantity at which you place the next order. Set it too low and you run out on a Saturday night; set it too high and money sits on the shelf until the food expires. This guide explains how to work out a sensible reorder level, and how Kappino inventory and AI Inventory help you keep each one up to date.
What a reorder level has to cover
A good reorder level covers what you will use until the next delivery arrives, plus a margin for a busier day or a late delivery. Three numbers go into it:
- Average daily use of the ingredient.
- Lead time: the days between placing an order and receiving it.
- A safety margin for days that are busier than usual.
A simple formula: reorder level = average daily use × lead time in days × safety factor. For example, if you use 8 litres of milk a day and your supplier delivers two days after you order, 8 × 2 = 16 litres; with a safety factor of 1.2 to 1.3 the reorder level is about 19–21 litres.
Step 1: get real usage figures
Average use is only as good as the data behind it. In Kappino, every POS order deducts the ingredients in its recipe automatically, per size and including the selected options and extras, and a cancelled order reverses the deduction. Open any item to see its full usage history: sales, deliveries received, manual adjustments, waste and transfers.
Step 2: know your suppliers’ lead times
Each item can be linked to several suppliers, each with their own SKU, pack price, pack size, lead time and minimum order, and you can mark your preferred supplier. Keeping lead times on the item means you can see how many days of stock a reorder level needs to cover. Supplier management keeps these details in one place.
Step 3: set the reorder level
Every item in Kappino has a reorder level. If you run several branches, each branch keeps its own stock and its own reorder levels, because a busy city-centre site and a quieter neighbourhood one rarely use the same amount.
Step 4: let the stock list warn you
Once reorder levels are set, the stock list does the watching for you:
- Each item is marked Critical, Low or Healthy against its reorder level, as soon as it crosses it.
- A low-stock filter shows only what needs ordering.
- A daily sweep creates in-app alerts, and admins and managers can receive an email for out-of-stock and critically low items.
- Low stock also appears in the Alerts & tasks panel on the dashboard.
Step 5: check the forecast before you order
Usage changes with the seasons, the menu and the calendar. AI Inventory uses the last 90 days of consumption to predict next week’s ingredient use. For each item you see the predicted demand, its weekly pattern, a confidence level and a suggested quantity to buy. Suggestions are never applied automatically: you decide what to order.
The Analytics tab adds the other side of the picture: overstock and dead stock (items with too many days of cover or no recent use), items expiring in the next seven days and low-stock reorder suggestions.
Step 6: place the order and receive it
You place the order with your supplier as you do today; Kappino does not send purchase orders. When the delivery arrives, record it in seconds: preview the new stock level before saving and update the cost price. Or import the supplier’s invoice, and every approved line is added to stock. Item costs follow the weighted average of what you received.
Step 7: review reorder levels regularly
- Raise levels for items that keep turning Critical before the delivery arrives.
- Lower levels for items that show up as overstock or dead stock.
- Revisit levels when the menu changes or the season turns.
- Check waste by reason: items thrown away as expired usually have a reorder level that is too high.
