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Inventory & working capital

How much working capital can you free up from inventory without hurting service?

Get a first estimate in seconds. Then find which stock may be reduced while customer demand, production and service stay protected.

Working capital Inventory aging Excess & slow-moving stock
Potential working capital to free up
€767,123
52 45 inventory days
Quick estimate
Adjust three variables
€40.0m
€5m €150m
52 days
15 120
7 days
1 day 30 days

Estimate: annual COGS ÷ 365 × inventory days reduced. Use COGS on the same accounting basis as the inventory being assessed.

The inventory trade-off
Too little stock
Shortages & production risk
Too much stock
Cash tied up
The goal
Free up working capital from stock that is not needed to protect service or production.
The short answer

Too much inventory ties up cash. Too little can hurt service or stop production.

Food manufacturers need stock to keep production running and customers supplied. But every extra day of inventory keeps cash tied up in stock.

The calculator shows how much working capital could be freed up if inventory days fall by the amount you entered. The next step is to find the products, SKUs, batches and sites behind that amount.

Then check which stock is still needed for demand, safety stock, production or supply risk.

Check before reducing stock
Check before reducing stock

Before reducing stock, check demand, supply and production needs

A lower inventory target only works if customer service and production stay protected. Check each stock position against demand, supply and production needs before deciding what can be reduced.

1
Demand check

Is the stock needed for confirmed orders, forecast demand or a service commitment?

2
Supply check

How quickly can the stock be replenished? Check lead time, minimum order quantity (MOQ) and supplier reliability.

3
Production & quality check

Is the stock needed for production, reserved, blocked, on quality hold or close to expiry?

Outcome
Stock worth reviewing further

Next, decide which stock is worth reviewing first by looking at stock value and the risk of reducing it.

Next: set priorities
Set the order for review

Look at stock value and risk together

Start with stock where more working capital is tied up and the risk of shortages or production problems is lower. Use these three checks to decide what the team should review first.

  • Older or slow-moving stock

    A good place to look first, especially when demand has slowed or shelf-life risk is increasing.

  • High stock value and cost

    Higher-value stock ties up more cash and can cost more to finance, store and handle.

  • Lower risk to service or production

    Check demand, safety stock, lead times, production needs and quality status before reducing stock.

Protect
High value / high risk

Critical materials, confirmed demand or constrained supply.

Priority
High value / lower risk

Start here. More cash is tied up with lower risk to service or production.

Monitor
Low value / high risk

Less cash tied up and more reason to keep the stock.

Clean up
Low value / lower risk

Useful clean-up work, but with less working capital to free up.

Higher risk Lower risk
The same stock, different questions

Finance, Supply Chain and Operations need the same inventory numbers

Each team looks at the same stock from a different angle. They need the same stock value, demand, status and supply data before they can agree what can change.

Finance
How much cash is tied up in inventory, and where can we reduce it?

Inventory value, inventory days, carrying cost, write-offs and cash.

Supply Chain
Where can we reduce stock without creating shortages or hurting service?

Demand, forecast, safety stock, lead times, MOQ and supplier reliability.

Operations
Which stock do we still need to keep production running?

Materials, packaging, batches, shelf life, quality status and the production plan.

What is needed: bring stock value, demand, status, shelf life and supply data together so the teams work from the same numbers and definitions.

See how Titan supports this

How Titan supports this decision · 1/3

Titan brings the inventory data together before AI starts looking for opportunities

Inventory value alone is not enough to decide what stock can be reduced. Titan brings ERP, WMS, planning and quality data together so stock value can be viewed alongside demand, status, supply and shelf life.

This creates the inventory and working-capital data that Titan Says and Ask Titan use in the next steps.

Titan
Data & AI Foundation

A typical inventory and working-capital data path

Operational systems → Titan Data & AI Foundation → inventory & working-capital data

Operational systems

ERP

value · cost

WMS

batch · status

Planning

demand · forecast

Quality

blocked · expiry

Titan

Data & AI Foundation

Connect and align the inventory context

Connect · ERP, WMS, planning and quality
Align · products, sites, batches and definitions
Add context · value, demand, status and supply

Titan output

Inventory & working-capital data

Inventory value

€5.2m

Inventory days

52

Page scenario

€767k

5245 inventory days

How Titan supports this decision · 2/3

Concept

Titan Says uses AI to find working-capital opportunities in the Titan data

Titan Says starts with the inventory and working-capital data already prepared in Titan. AI can check changes in inventory, demand, stock status, supply and shelf life together to find situations that may be worth reviewing.

In this example, the output is a €767k working-capital opportunity. The next step is to understand which product groups, SKUs and stock positions sit behind that amount.

Titan Says
AI checking

From Titan

Inventory & working-capital data

Inventory value

€5.2m

Inventory days

52

value demand status supply shelf life

Titan Says AI

AI checks the data for opportunities

Compare related changes before bringing an opportunity to the team

1

Check changes

2

Compare context

3

Quantify the opportunity

AI checking Titan data

Opportunity

€767k potential working capital to free up

Check the stock behind this amount against demand, status, supply and production needs.

Inventory days

5245

Potential working capital

€767k

Teams Slack Email
Ask Titan
Microsoft Teams
Ask Titan

From Titan Says

€767k potential working capital to free up

Inventory days 5245
Which product groups make up the €767k?

Working capital by product group

Frozen A is largest
Frozen A €368k 48%
Chilled B €238k 31%
Ingredients C €161k 21%
How much has no confirmed demand or is blocked?

Stock requiring a closer look

No confirmed demand

€169k

Quality-blocked

€103k

Check reservations, production needs, safety stock and replenishment before reducing either amount.

Which SKUs should we review first?

Review high-value, lower-risk SKUs first

To move from 52 to 45 days, start with older or slow-moving stock with limited near-term demand.

Above safety stock Shorter lead time Reliable supply

Exclude reservations, required production stock, quality holds and stock needed to protect service.

Illustrative answers based on the working-capital opportunity above. The team still decides which stock can be reduced.

How Titan supports this decision · 3/3

Ask Titan

Ask Titan helps your team investigate the opportunity

Titan Says has identified a €767k working-capital opportunity. Ask Titan lets Finance, Supply Chain and Operations trace that amount back to product groups, SKUs, batches and stock positions, then check what can be reduced without putting service or production at risk.

Which product groups make up the €767k?

Break the amount down by product group, SKU, batch or site.

How much has no confirmed demand or is blocked?

Separate stock that may be reducible from stock that still needs a closer operational check.

Which SKUs should we review first?

Prioritize by value, demand, safety stock, lead time, quality status and production needs.

Explore Ask Titan
Take the next step

Your scenario shows €767k potential working capital to free up. Now find the stock behind it.

Start with one site, product group or inventory problem. We help find where working capital is tied up, which stock is worth reviewing and what data is needed to check it safely.

Calculator inputs stay in your browser and are not submitted when you adjust the sliders.

Potential working capital to free up
Current inventory days 52 days
Scenario inventory days 45 days
Potential working capital €767k
Target reduction 7 days