Infor VISUAL Safety Stock and Reorder Point Calculator
Safety stock in Infor VISUAL is only as good as the number a planner types into part maintenance. This calculator derives it from demand variability, supplier lead time variability and the service level you actually want, then gives the reorder point to match.
Your numbers
Average usage per working day over a representative history.
Standard deviation of daily demand from your usage history.
Order release to dock receipt, in working days.
Spread of actual supplier lead times. Use 0 if reliable.
Used to value the safety stock investment.
Your results
Assumes roughly normal demand and independent demand and lead time variation. Validate against your own history before changing planning parameters.
Safety stock and reorder point vs lead time
Sweeps Average replenishment lead time from 1 to 90, holding your other inputs fixed.
Safety stock review from your ERP data
Optional: we can run this calculation across your parts using read-only data and return a ranked list.
Optional. The tool and every export work without this. No spam.
How to use it
Pull a few months of issue history for the part and compute the average and standard deviation of daily demand. Enter the average supplier lead time and its spread from receipt history. Pick a cycle service level, the probability of not stocking out during a replenishment cycle. The result gives safety stock, reorder point and the cash tied up. Then enter the values in the part's planning fields, such as safety stock quantity, and review them each quarter.
- Use working days consistently for demand and lead time
- Set lead time sigma to 0 only for truly reliable suppliers
- Run A items at higher service than C items
- Round up to the buy multiple or pack size
The formula behind it
Safety stock equals Z times the standard deviation of demand over lead time. That standard deviation combines two sources of risk: demand variation across the lead time, and lead time variation multiplied by average demand. It is the square root of lead time times demand variance plus demand squared times lead time variance. Z comes from the inverse normal distribution at your service level, so 95% gives about 1.645 and 99% about 2.326. Reorder point is average lead time demand plus safety stock.
Reading the chart and the result
The chart shows safety stock growing with the square root of lead time, while the reorder point grows nearly linearly because lead time demand dominates. That is why shortening supplier lead time or reducing lead time spread cuts safety stock and cash. If the days of supply figure looks very large, check for lumpy demand or a few big orders, which the normal assumption handles poorly. For those parts consider order-based planning instead of a statistical buffer.
Common mistakes
The most frequent error is using monthly standard deviation with daily lead time, which mixes units. Another is setting the same safety stock on every part, which overbuilds cheap parts and starves critical ones. Planners also forget that MRP will net safety stock against requirements, so a figure set too high inflates planned orders. Finally, do not combine a large safety stock with a large fixed order multiple for the same part without checking the combined effect.
Frequently Asked Questions
What service level should I use?
Pick by consequence of a stockout. Many plants use 95% for general parts and 98% to 99% for critical or long lead items. Each step up costs disproportionately more stock, so avoid setting everything to the highest value.
Does this replace the VISUAL planning settings?
No. It only calculates a number. You still enter the safety stock quantity in the part planning data, and MRP uses it when netting. Keep a record of how each value was derived.
Why does lead time variability matter so much?
A late shipment affects the whole demand during the delay, so its effect scales with average demand. For fast movers, lead time sigma often drives safety stock more than demand sigma does.
Can I use calendar days?
Yes, if demand and lead time both use calendar days. The key rule is consistency. Mixing working day demand with calendar day lead time understates or overstates the buffer.
If you want safety stock proposals generated across every part directly from your VISUAL data, with the query shown and a human approving changes, we can set that up.
Related Tools
VISUAL EOQ and Lot Size Setup Cost Calculator
Compute economic order quantity and see what your current lot size costs per year, with a sweep chart across lot sizes.
Costing & FinanceInfor XA Inventory Turns and Carrying Cost Calculator
Turn cost of goods sold and average inventory into turns, days on hand, carrying cost and the cash freed by a higher target.
Costing & FinanceVISUAL Part Standard Cost Build-Up Calculator
Roll up material, labor, burden and outside cost for one part and see how lot size changes cost per unit.
Costing & FinanceVISUAL BOM Component Cost Roll-Up Worksheet
Editable table to list components, quantity per, scrap and cost, with extended cost and a total per assembly.
More Supply Chain & Inventory tools
See all- Oracle Fusion Inventory Turns and Carrying Cost Calculator
- Distribution ERP Fill Rate Calculator
- Distributor Rebate Tracking Worksheet
- Branch Transfer Planning Worksheet
- Distributor Slow-Moving Inventory Review Worksheet
- Distributor Vendor Performance Scorecard Worksheet
- Distributor GMROI Calculator
- Distributor Backorder Cost and Fill Rate Calculator
- EOQ with Vendor Minimum Order Calculator