With the right prompt, AI tools like Claude, ChatGPT, or Perplexity can help you know when to restock inventory, if you should purchase in bulk because prices drop seasonally, possibly predict when better prices will become available and when to hold off on ordering, and when to set a reminder on your calendar to place a reorder. It’s as easy as uploading past data and entering the right inputs.This works for service providers like HVAC companies and auto shops, as well as retailers that sell clothes or gift items.
By knowing when to restock or buy in bulk you’ll be able to keep customers happy by not making them wait for out of stock supplies or inventory, and keep your cash flow stronger as you can save per unit if you know when prices drop. You’ll also be able to prepare the cash flow to pre-order versus needing to figure it out on the fly. Here’s some of the prompts to get you started.
Stocking Up for Busy Seasons
AI can be used to know when to restock inventory for a holiday season or to predict when you’ll begin running low. The prompt for stocking up on busy seasons will require you to upload when seasonal sales start coming in.
Halloween sales likely start in August then pick up in October, and the December holidays can begin to spike in mid-November with pre-Black Friday sales. This information can be found by breaking out your orders and sales by week with three to five or even fifteen years’ worth of data.
If you can include products by category like t-shirts, hats, and socks, the categories may have different patterns for when they move faster. Socks could be last minute gifts while t-shirts get purchased more quickly in mid-season. This way you know what to order first if you have limited cash flow and don’t want to use revolving credit or inventory financing loans. Lastly, factor in average shipping times for each product category.
Here’s the prompt to try:
“Please look at the document I uploaded that contains a weekly breakdown of sales between January 1st and March 31st from the years 2015 through 2025. Under each week you’ll see the categories of products including socks, t-shirts, and hats with how many units were sold each week. Socks take roughly 1 week from time to order to arrival, t-shirts take 2 weeks from time to order to arrival, and hats take 4 weeks from time to order to arrival.
I need to restock each category twice during this time frame and not run out. Which dates should I place my orders to restock each of the three categories adding an extra two days to the order to arrival times in case of delays?”
Pro-tip: If you add in the cost per item and how much cash flow you have on average by week, you can add in a request to make sure your cash flow stays above a certain amount. This output will only work if the total sales and costs, and your cash flow numbers are included.
When to Reorder Inventory
Knowing your restock trigger isn’t always cut and dried as demand can shift, stock can go missing (especially with businesses that have multiple locations), or food spoils. Assuming there is no theft, no natural disasters or power outages, and the seasons are steady, historic data can let AI help you predict when you’ll need to reorder.
By having an estimate when you’ll need to restock, you can plan ahead by paying down the balance on your business credit card or making sure your line of credit has enough credit available.
This prompt requires you to upload a few years worth of data so the AI system can help you know your restock triggers. Include the following:
- Order history by vendor and the item ordered with the order date.
- The amount of items ordered by vendor.
- The total minimum quantity you need on hand.
- The total amount of stock you have at the end of the period (it can be monthly, weekly, or quarterly depending on your industry).
Here’s the prompt to try:
“Please take the data from the document I uploaded and help me know when to reorder stock from each vendor. The sheet contains five years worth of orders and:
- The date I placed the orders and with which vendor
- How many units by vendor
- The products I purchase from that vendor in the order
- The total amount of each product I have in stock at the end of each month.
I need to maintain a minimum of X products from Y vendor, A products from B vendor, and D products from E vendor at the end of each month. All vendors take 1 week for products to arrive from when I place the order. Please share the date range when I should place my order with each vendor and for how many products on average by vendor so I keep my minimums intact.”
If you can create a spreadsheet with the data where you have the vendors in the columns and other data points in the rows, this makes it easier for the AI system to give you a better output. Define what the columns and rows are in your prompt.
The additional prompt could be:
“The spreadsheet called XYZ has the vendors in the columns and row A is the date I placed the order, row B is how many units in that order, row C are the products purchased. Please see the other spreadsheet called ABC to see my inventory levels at the end of each month. The products match row C from spreadsheet XYZ.”
Times to Purchase in Bulk
Purchasing in bulk can be a good idea if you get a price break, when there’s a sale and you have shelf space available that can wait to turn over, and as a busy season approaches so you can meet demand as it spikes.
By planning ahead it is easier to keep extra cash on hand to finance the bulk purchase, use revolving credit like a business credit card, or take a small business loan that gets paid back as you begin moving through the inventory.
To find when prices are lowest, start by using your purchase price per unit over time, try online tools like the Wayback Machine if the vendor or market place has publicly listed prices as this helps with the predictions, or by keeping sales sheets and price lists from the vendors. Next, upload these to the AI tool with how many units you’ll need and ask it for the estimated cash you’ll need to pay for the purchase, along with the best time to order and save.
Here’s the prompt to try:
“Please look through the documents I uploaded that contain the price per unit that I paid for X product with the date purchased, and the amount purchased over the past five years. I’ve also included the data on how the prices have changed each quarter. Please also find my inventory audits that show how much storage and shelf space is available by month over the past three years.
I want to know when the best time to buy in bulk is based on when the prices may be the lowest, that will fit in the storage space available and allow me to place the least amount of orders per year. Each X product takes up roughly 1 cubic foot.”
AI is an easy and affordable way to help you with restocking and reordering by taking the guesswork and hassle out of this part of inventory and supply management. These prompts can be modified to work for service providers, retailers, and anyone else that needs to have supplies on hand.
SmallBusinessLoans does not provide tax, legal or accounting advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only. You should consult your own tax, legal and accounting advisors.
