What is the reorder point formula for Amazon FBA?
Reorder point = (average daily sales x lead time in days) + safety stock. Lead time includes production plus transit plus FBA check-in. Safety stock covers demand and lead-time variability. If any of those numbers is wrong, you either stock out or bury cash in overstock.
Break it into three numbers
Average daily sales over the trailing 30 to 90 days. Total lead time from PO to available-for-sale in FBA. Safety stock, usually 1.5 to 2 standard deviations of daily demand over the lead time window.
Where it goes wrong
Sellers use 30-day sales during a growth phase and get caught undersupplied 60 days later. Or they use a lead time from last quarter that is now 20 days shorter and hold excess. Refresh both numbers monthly.
Frequently asked questions
Should I include AWD transit in lead time?
Yes, from PO acceptance to FBA-available, including AWD reserve.
Do I need different reorder points per SKU?
Yes. Every SKU has a different velocity and lead time.
Can I automate reorder alerts?
Yes. Nova surfaces SKUs approaching reorder point using live sales and configured lead time.
See this in Nova
Nova surfaces this metric per SKU in near real time so you can act before your next monthly close catches it.
Try Nova free for 14 daysRelated questions
How do I calculate safety stock for Amazon FBA?
Safety stock = Z-score x demand standard deviation x sqrt(lead time in days). For a 95% service level, Z is about 1.65. Use daily sales variability over the last 90 days. Fewer than 30 days of history means guess higher because variability is under-measured.
How do I plan for Amazon supplier lead-time variability?
Measure the last 6 to 10 POs and compute the standard deviation of total lead time. Add that variability into your safety stock. Track supplier lead-time performance monthly. Any supplier missing lead time by more than 15% consistently should either be replaced or padded aggressively in planning.
How do I plan Amazon FBA inventory for Q4?
Place your Q4 hero SKU POs by early July, second wave by late August, and a small third wave for post-Cyber Monday replenishment by mid-October. Amazon FC intake slows in November and early December, so units that miss check-in windows sit outside FBA during the peak.
AWD vs FBA: when should I use each?
AWD (Amazon Warehousing & Distribution) is upstream bulk storage that transfers to FBA on demand. Use FBA for the 4 to 8 weeks of forward cover you actually need. Use AWD for the bulk pallet buffer behind it. AWD storage is meaningfully cheaper per cubic foot than FBA.
How do I get around Amazon FBA restock limits?
Restock limits are set at the account level based on your inventory performance and sales velocity. The three levers that actually raise them: sell through existing stock, improve IPI score, and use AWD or Multi-Channel Fulfillment to prove downstream velocity. Requesting exceptions via case is rarely productive.