Stock cover
How many days of demand your current stock would satisfy.
01 What it is
Why anyone looks at this number
How many days of demand your current stock would satisfy.
It is the forward-looking version of days of inventory, which makes it the one operations can act on today rather than explain next month.
02 The formula
How it is worked out
Stock cover = current_stock ÷ average_daily_demand grain : daily × product × location unit : days source : Inventory and demand planning systems
Use forward demand, not trailing sales, for anything seasonal. Trailing cover looks safest exactly when the peak is about to start.
03 Worked example
The same number, with real inputs
| Stock on hand | 96,000 units |
| Average daily demand | 1,600 units |
| Supplier lead time | 45 days |
| Calculation | 96,000 ÷ 1,600 |
| Result | 60 days |
Fifteen days of headroom over the lead time. Comfortable now, but a 20% demand rise takes cover to 50 days and the buffer disappears.
04 What moves it
Four things that actually change this number
Demand change
The denominator moves faster than the stock does.
Replenishment lead time
Cover must exceed lead time or a stockout is arithmetic.
Safety stock setting
The deliberate buffer against forecast error.
In-transit visibility
Stock on a ship is cover you already own but often cannot see.
05 Where the number lives
The system, the record and the fields
| System of record | Key record | Fields you need |
|---|---|---|
| Inventory and demand planning systems | Stock item by location joined to Forecast | quantity_on_hand, in_transit, average_daily_demand, safety_stock |
Use forward demand, not trailing sales, for anything seasonal. Trailing cover looks safest exactly when the peak is about to start.
06 How it goes wrong
Three ways this metric misleads people
Trailing demand in a seasonal business
Cover looks healthy in the quiet month before the peak.
Fix: Use forward forecast demand.Ignoring in-transit
Teams expedite stock they already own but cannot see.
Fix: Include confirmed in-transit, flagged separately.One target for every line
A-items and long-tail items need very different cover.
Fix: Set cover by product class and by lead time.08 Questions
Frequently asked
How much cover should we hold?
Enough to bridge the replenishment lead time plus a buffer for forecast error at the service level you have promised. Anything above that is a decision to hold cash as stock.
Why does cover differ from days of inventory?
Days of inventory looks backwards at what you consumed; cover looks forward at what you expect to consume. In a changing market they can point in opposite directions.
One definition, everywhere it is used
SCIKIQ stores this metric once and serves it to every dashboard, board pack and agent that asks.