Blog · Board and management reporting · Supply chain
A supply planning dashboard compares demand with usable stock and dated receipts by SKU and site. This worked example shows how to distinguish a customer shortage from a reserve breach and test a delayed delivery.
A supply planning dashboard compares demand with usable stock and incoming supply by SKU, site and due date. Its first job is to identify exceptions that need a decision: a customer shortage, a breach of target stock or a supply promise that arrives too late.
Use a small reconciliation before adding charts. A clear exception table can explain an issue that a company-wide inventory total conceals.
Supply planning connects demand with inventory, procurement, production and distribution. IBM's supply chain planning overview describes those linked activities. A dashboard for the planner should make the quantities behind an exception visible rather than presenting only a general health score.
Create one comparison row per SKU, receiving site and review period. Keep the as-of timestamp, demand version and supply version attached. Preserve purchase-order or transfer references in the underlying receipt file so the responsible buyer can identify a disputed commitment.
The working exports are:
| File | Fields that determine the comparison |
|---|---|
| Inventory snapshot | SKU, site, usable on-hand quantity, snapshot date |
| Demand plan | SKU, site, requirement date, quantity, version |
| Incoming supply | SKU, destination, open quantity, confirmed available date, reference |
| Planning policy | SKU, site, target closing stock, valuation cost |
Usable stock excludes quantities blocked from the demand being served, such as quarantined goods. Incoming supply means the outstanding quantity, after receipts and cancellations, that will be usable by the relevant date. A shipping date at the supplier is not necessarily an available date at your warehouse.
For a wider management view, use the separate supply chain dashboard. This review stays with item-level supply exceptions.
An illustrative US distributor reviews one warehouse for a five-working-day week. Its opening inventory, demand, confirmed receipts and target stock are below. Costs are internal planning valuations, not estimates of what an emergency purchase will cost.
| SKU | Demand units | Usable opening units | Eligible receipt units | Target closing units | Unit cost (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 500 | 180 | 260 | 40 | 25 |
| B | 300 | 240 | 120 | 60 | 10 |
| C | 200 | 90 | 180 | 20 | 5 |
| Total | 1,000 | 510 | 560 | 120 |
The eligible receipts are confirmed as usable before the associated demand requirements. This assumption matters: a weekly total alone cannot prove it.
Projected closing units = usable opening units + eligible receipts - demand
Customer shortage = MAX(0, demand - usable opening units - eligible receipts)
Target-stock gap = MAX(0, demand + target closing stock - usable opening units - eligible receipts)
The target-stock gap includes the customer shortage. Adding those two columns together would double count part of the exception.
| SKU | Total available units | Projected closing units | Customer shortage units | Target-stock gap units | Gap valuation (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 440 | -60 | 60 | 100 | 2,500 |
| B | 360 | 60 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| C | 270 | 70 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 1,070 | 70 | 60 | 100 | 2,500 |
SKU A requires 60 units to cover demand and a further 40 to protect its target. Its total target-stock gap is 100 units, valued at 100 × $25 = $2,500. SKU C has 70 projected closing units against a target of 20, leaving 50 above target. Those units cannot replace a different SKU.
All quantities and dollar values here are exact. A negative projected balance represents unmet requirements, not a physical warehouse count.
The inventory balance ties:
510 opening + 560 receipts - 1,000 demand = 70 projected closing units
That total sits below the combined target of 120 by 50 units. Yet the sum of item-level target gaps is 100 units. The difference is SKU C's 50 units above target, which offsets A's shortage in the aggregate calculation.
This is why the dashboard should sum SKU-level exceptions after calculating them. Computing one shortage from company totals understates the work the planner must resolve.
IBM's inventory management explanation emphasizes inventory visibility across locations as a condition for fulfilling orders. Apply that principle to every transfer assumption: an available unit at another site becomes eligible supply here only when the transfer can arrive in time. Covirage is not affiliated with IBM.
As another diagnostic, opening-stock cover equals opening units divided by average daily demand. With demand spread evenly across the five working days, A has 180 / (500 / 5) = 1.8 days; B has 240 / (300 / 5) = 4 days; C has 90 / (200 / 5) = 2.25 days. These are exact ratios under an even-demand assumption, not promises about the day an item will run out.
Now suppose 100 of A's incoming units move beyond the week. Demand, opening stock, target and cost stay unchanged. Only eligible receipts change, from 260 to 160 units.
| A comparison | Original receipt date | Delayed receipt date |
|---|---|---|
| Eligible receipt units | 260 | 160 |
| Total available units | 440 | 340 |
| Projected closing units | -60 | -160 |
| Customer shortage units | 60 | 160 |
| Target-stock gap units | 100 | 200 |
| Gap valuation (USD) | 2,500 | 5,000 |
The target gap doubles because 100 fewer units are available within the review period. Its valuation rises by 100 × $25 = $2,500. This does not mean the delayed supply disappeared; its timing changed.
Keep both the previous and current confirmed dates. The buyer should verify the supplier's latest promise, and the planner should identify affected requirements before choosing whether to expedite, transfer stock or revise customer commitments. Those actions remain decisions for the authorized people and their operating systems.
Use collaborative supply chain planning when a customer's forecast and a supplier's commitment need reconciliation. Other layouts belong in supply chain dashboard examples.
Bring a sample of your own demand, inventory and dated supply exports to Covirage; it maps the columns, and its tools compute and check the comparisons, while the external AI model explains the results with every figure traced to its rows. Create a free Covirage account, then set up your business and bring your files.
See self-service analytics for the supporting analysis approach.
Start with SKU and site exceptions that affect a customer due date. Show usable stock, demand, eligible receipts, projected closing stock and the responsible owner. Put broader averages beneath the exception list so excess stock elsewhere does not hide an item shortage.
No. It represents demand that the listed supply cannot cover under the stated assumptions. A warehouse cannot physically hold negative units. Label the balance as a planning projection and investigate whether the gap becomes backlog, a substitution, a transfer or lost demand.
Stock cover summarizes how long inventory lasts at an assumed demand rate. It does not prove that receipts arrive before customer requirements. Use cover to identify thin buffers, then inspect demand and supply dates for items where service depends on an incoming delivery.