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📦 Inventory Planning & Merchandising

The right product, in the right place, at the right stock level.

A poorly planned inventory is the single biggest source of dark store underperformance — stockouts, wastage, and slow pick times all trace back to it. We design the initial SKU mix, planogram, and replenishment framework so your store runs efficiently from day one.

6,000+
SKUs typical dark store carries
4–5 days
Target inventory holding days
20%
Wastage reduction from good planogram
Daily
Replenishment frequency for perishables
What's included

Everything we handle for you.

📊
SKU mix analysis
Demand modelling for your specific catchment — we identify the 6,000+ SKUs most likely to be ordered in your micro-market.
📐
Planogram design
Full visual planogram — shelf-by-shelf, bay-by-bay — with SKUs slotted by pick frequency and temperature requirement.
🔄
Replenishment planning
Schedules calibrated by category: perishables replenished multiple times daily, packaged goods once. Linked to mother warehouse dispatch.
📈
Dynamic assortment framework
Rules for seasonal assortment changes — which SKUs enter and exit during festive periods, weather events, and demand spikes.
🏪
Opening stock management
We manage the initial inventory inbound — receipt, binning, scanning, and shelf slotting. Store is shelf-ready before platform go-live.
🎯
Merchandising and margins
Private label identification, high-margin category placement, and upsell positioning to drive basket value.
Common questions

FAQs about this service.

How do you decide which SKUs to stock?
We combine platform sales data, neighbourhood demographics, and our cross-city SKU performance database to recommend the initial mix.
How often should the planogram be updated?
We recommend a review every 90 days with in-cycle adjustments for major seasonal events.
Can you help reduce food wastage?
Good inventory planning typically reduces perishable wastage by 15–20% compared to unmanaged approaches.
What about platform-mandated SKUs?
Each platform mandates a minimum set of SKUs. We incorporate those into the planogram as the baseline before adding catchment-specific additions.
Ready to launch your dark store?

Tell us your city and platform. We'll come back within 24 hours with a free location assessment.