Slow-moving inventory for building-supply dealers.
Lunica finds what stopped selling, says what it is worth, and drafts the return request, so the decision gets made before the next physical.
Purchasing & inventoryUpdated Oct 202620 ERPs
See it work.
Click through the steps. Fictional data; the real thing runs on your ERP.
| Vendor | Items | Value at cost | Returnable | Window closes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cascade Millwork | 26 | $22,410 | $12,410 | Dec 15 |
| Lakeside Roofing Supply | 41 | $12,960 | $8,200 | Nov 30 |
| Summit Fasteners | 63 | $5,930 | $5,930 | Rolling, 12 months |
| Blue Ridge Truss | 4 | $3,180 | $0 | No returns |
Every item with no sales in six months, by branch and vendor, with the value at cost and the vendor’s return window.
The problem.
Dead stock at a dealer is a report in your ERP nobody runs, because it comes back with four thousand lines and no way to act on them. The item file says ninety-six of something are on hand at Route 9; it does not say the last one sold in February, that Main St sells a dozen a month, or that the vendor takes returns within a year of receipt.
So it sits. The door that could have gone back to the vendor in March is past its return window in September, the pallet of ice melt gets counted again in January, and the carrying cost never shows up anywhere because the inventory is still on the books at cost. The write-down lands at year end, all at once, when the accountant asks.
How it works.
- 1
What stopped selling is found
Every stock item with no sales in the months you set, by branch: on hand, cost, extended value, last receipt, last sale, and the vendor it came from. Seasonal items are judged against the same months last year, so snow shovels in July are not dead stock.
- 2
Sorted into return, markdown or transfer
Returnable if the vendor takes it and the receipt is inside their window. Transfer if the other branch sells it. Markdown if neither. Each item carries the reason and the value at stake.
- 3
A person decides
The buyer opens on the vendor with the most returnable value first. Return, mark down, transfer, keep, or leave it for next quarter. Every decision is kept with the item, so the list gets shorter.
- 4
The return request is drafted
One request per vendor, with the items, quantities, receipt dates and PO numbers from your ERP. The buyer sends it. The markdown and transfer lists are laid out for your ERP and keyed or imported by a person.
How it connects to your ERP.
Lunica reads the item file, on-hand by branch, cost, sales history, receipts with their PO and date, and the vendor on each item through its database or data warehouse, under an account that can only read. Vendor return windows and restocking fees are a rule you set per vendor, not something read from your ERP.
Nothing is sent to a vendor and nothing is changed in your ERP on its own. The return request is a draft the buyer sends; the markdown and transfer lists go back as an import file where your ERP takes one, or keyed by your team from what Lunica prepared. A return the vendor accepts becomes a credit only when a person posts it.
What a week looks like.
- Every item with no sales in months, with its value, by branch and vendor.
- Returns requested inside the vendor’s window, not after it.
- Transfers between branches before a markdown, and markdowns before a write-off.
- The write-down known quarter by quarter, not discovered at year end.
Questions
Does it change costs, prices or quantities in your ERP?
No. The markdown and transfer lists go into your ERP as an import file where your ERP takes one, or keyed by your team from what Lunica prepared, and the return is posted by a person when the vendor’s credit arrives.
How does it know what the vendor will take back?
From a rule you set per vendor: the return window, the restocking fee, whether special orders count. Lunica reads the receipt date and PO from your ERP and checks each item against the rule.
What about seasonal items?
An item is judged against the same months last year. Something that sells every winter and not in July is not on the list in July.
Can it tell a special order from stock?
Yes, where your ERP marks it. A special order that was never picked up is its own list, with the customer and the order on it, because the call to make is different.
Does it send the return request?
No. It drafts one per vendor with the items, quantities, receipt dates and PO numbers. The buyer reads it and sends it.
What does the controller see?
The value by branch, by vendor and by age, and what was decided. The write-down that is coming is visible each quarter instead of at year end.
How much data does the model see?
The rows behind a decision: the items for one vendor, their receipts and sales. The list itself is built from your ERP’s numbers, not by a model.
Available for.
Each version is written in that system’s own terms: its screens, its files, its codes.
Own your AI. Own your software.
Thirty minutes with the people who build it. Bring your ERP.