Days outstanding inventory – days sales in inventory

Days outstanding inventory is one of the most important concepts that must be well understood, as it measures the average number of days that the company will keep in stock before it is transferred to actual sales, and this greatly affects the cash transfer cycle and shows the company’s ability to transfer its investments to Criticism, and in this article, we will talk about all the details of the days outstanding inventory and its calculation method, especially as it significantly affects the company’s performance.

What are days sales in inventory?

Days sales of inventory (DSI) is a financial ratio that shows the average time it takes a company to convert its inventory into actual sales, and this time is usually measured in days.

The day’s sales of inventory (DSI) take more than stock, and is also defined as the average age of inventory, days outstanding inventory (DIO), days in inventory (DII), days sales in inventory, or days inventory and is interpreted in multiple ways.

It is also one of the most important financial ratios that can be interpreted in more than one way. It can refer to the liquidity ratio in the stock or the number of days that the stock will last in the company.

In general, the fewer the day’s sales of inventory (DSI), the better for the company and the less loss it will have.

you may need to know: Physical Inventory: types and Best Practices

The day’s sales in inventory formula

There is great importance for calculating the day’s sales of inventory (DSI), as it affects the company’s financial position and inventory. There is a specific formula to be able to calculate the day’s sales of inventory (DSI), which is as follows:

• (Inventory / Cost of Sales)* (No. of Days in the Period)

As we mentioned, the smaller the output, the better for the company and its inventory, so it is able to convert its sales into inventory in the shortest possible time.

Importance of Days Sales Inventory to Businesses and Investors

The Days Sales Inventory to Business and Investors is also very important, as it helps them better:

• Manage their company’s inventory, and it helps them determine how long their company needs to turn their existing inventory into sales.
• Knowing the extent of inventory liquidity, the smaller its output, the more positive it is for the company, as it shows it that it is able to convert its inventory to cash quickly.

you may need to know: 5 Strategies to build Supply Chain Resilience in a Connected World

What are days outstanding inventory (DIO)?

As mentioned earlier, the concept of Days outstanding inventory (DIO) is not different from the concept of days sales of inventory (DSI), both of which have the same meaning but no more.

Whereas, Days outstanding inventory (DIO) refers to the average number of days it takes a company to replace its inventory for actual sales.

The Days outstanding inventory (DIO) can be used to optimize a company’s marketing, sales, and pricing strategies, as well as product pricing, based on consumer demand and spending patterns.

How to improve days outstanding inventory

Due to the great importance of days outstanding inventory to any company, companies should try to improve it on an ongoing basis.

The following are a number of ways that can help you in improving the days outstanding inventory:

• Accurately increase forecasting and planning, in order to address inconsistencies between actual sales and projected sales.
• Disseminate better, more effective and impactful marketing strategies.
• Accelerate sales, which will help speed up the monetization of your inventory.
• Use some techniques, such as on-time delivery, to improve your company’s inventory levels.
• Provide some offers and discounts that will help you get rid of obsolete inventory quickly.

you may need to know: What is a Bonded Warehouse? Our Guide in logistics

Why should I use the Days Outstanding Inventory formula?

The days outstanding inventory (DIO) can be calculated by the following formula, which will give the same output as the first concept, with only different inputs, where:

• DIO = average inventory/cost of goods sold x number of days

Thus, the lower the days outstanding inventory (DIO) the better for the company, this means that the company’s inventory liquidity is high, and therefore it can convert its inventory to sales quickly.