How to Read the Amazon Inventory Health Report Like a Pro: The Columns That Actually Matter

Most Sellers Open This Report and Immediately Close It

The Amazon Inventory Health Report looks like an Excel spreadsheet that exploded. Fifty-plus columns, color-coded cells, numbers that don't always make sense, and warnings you're not sure how to fix.

I spent my first year checking maybe three columns and ignoring the rest. That cost me money in long-term storage fees, lost Buy Box time, and stockouts I could've prevented. Once I learned which columns actually drive decisions, my inventory problems got simpler.

Here's what matters and what doesn't.

Where to Find It and Why You Should Check Weekly

You'll find the Inventory Health Report in Seller Central under Inventory > Inventory Planning > Inventory Health. Download it as a spreadsheet—don't try to work from the browser view.

I check mine every Monday morning. That's frequent enough to catch problems early but not so often that I'm chasing noise. If you're managing more than 50 SKUs, weekly is the minimum.

The report updates daily, but Amazon's data lags by 24-48 hours. So if you shipped inventory Friday, don't expect to see it reflected until Sunday or Monday.

The Five Columns I Check First Every Time

1. FBA Sellable Inventory

This is your current stock that's actually available for sale. Not reserved, not inbound, not in some processing limbo—sellable right now.

I compare this number against my sales velocity to estimate days of inventory remaining. If I'm selling 10 units per day and I have 80 units sellable, I know I have roughly 8 days before I'm out. That's the most important math in inventory management.

2. Inbound Quantity

How many units are on their way to Amazon's warehouses. This includes both working and shipped status.

If my sellable inventory is low but I have 200 units inbound that'll arrive in 5 days, I'm not panicking yet. If inbound is zero and I'm running low, I need to create a shipment immediately.

3. Reserved Quantity

Units that Amazon is holding for customer orders, FC transfers, or problem investigations. Most of the time this number is small and temporary—maybe 2-5% of your sellable inventory.

If it's higher than 10%, something's off. I've seen this spike when Amazon's moving inventory between warehouses or when there's a problem with the listing. Check the Reserved Inventory report for details.

4. Estimated Excess Quantity

Amazon's algorithm thinks you have too much stock based on your recent sales velocity. If this column shows a number, you're at risk for long-term storage fees or aged inventory charges.

I don't panic over small numbers here. But if it's showing 50+ units and I'm selling 3 per week, I know I need to either run a promo or liquidate some stock before the next fee assessment.

5. Estimated Days of Supply

Amazon's guess at how many days your current inventory will last. It's based on recent sales trends, so it's not always accurate—especially if you just ran a sale or had a seasonal spike.

I use this as a sanity check, not gospel. If Amazon says 45 days and my own math says 15, I trust my math. But if both are saying 7 days, I know I need to ship more inventory fast.

The Columns I Used to Stress Over But Don't Anymore

Restock Recommendations: Amazon's suggestions are conservative and often wrong. They don't account for promotions, seasonality, or lead times from your supplier. I calculate my own restock quantities using ReplenFlow because I can adjust for my actual business reality.

Advertised SKU: Nice to know which products have active PPC campaigns, but it doesn't change my inventory decisions. I already know what I'm advertising.

Customer Shipment Volume (Last 30 Days): This is just your unit sales. You probably already track this elsewhere. It's helpful for a quick reference but not actionable on its own.

Inventory Age: Shown in 90-day buckets. Important if you're near a fee assessment date, but if you're checking your Estimated Excess Quantity and Days of Supply regularly, you're already catching age problems early.

The Red Flags That Require Immediate Action

Stranded Inventory: If you see any units marked as stranded, fix the listing issue immediately. You're paying storage fees for inventory that can't sell. Usually it's a suppressed listing, missing attribute, or policy violation.

High Estimated Storage Costs: If this column is showing big numbers, you're either overstocked or holding slow-moving inventory through a fee assessment period. Run the numbers—sometimes it's cheaper to liquidate than to keep paying storage.

Sellable + Inbound Combined Is Less Than 14 Days of Supply: You're about to stock out. Create a shipment today, even if it means paying for faster shipping from your supplier. A week out of stock costs more than expedited freight.

How I Actually Use This Report (Not How Amazon Wants Me To)

I don't follow Amazon's restock recommendations. I download the report, pull out the five columns I mentioned, and run my own calculations in a separate spreadsheet.

For each SKU, I calculate my actual days remaining based on the last 7, 14, and 30-day sales velocity. I compare those numbers. If they're all roughly aligned, I use the 14-day average. If they're diverging, I investigate why—did I just run a promo? Is it seasonal?

Then I add my supplier lead time plus Amazon receiving time (I budget 10 days for that), plus a safety buffer. That tells me my reorder point.

This process takes me about 30 minutes for 40 SKUs. It used to take 2 hours before I built a system. If you're managing more products or want to automate the calculations, tools like ReplenFlow can handle the math for you without needing API access—you just upload the report.

The One Column That Might Save You $10K+ Per Year

Estimated Long-Term Storage Fees. This shows up a few weeks before Amazon charges you.

Most sellers see this number, panic, and then forget about it. I literally set a calendar reminder when I see charges coming. If the fee is more than the liquidation cost, I send the inventory to a liquidation service or run a steep discount.

Last year this saved me about $3,400 in storage fees on slow-moving holiday inventory. I sold it at a 40% discount instead of paying Amazon to keep storing it. I lost margin, but I didn't lose the entire inventory value.

Stop Treating This Report Like Homework

The Inventory Health Report isn't a report card. It's a diagnostic tool.

You don't need to understand every column. You need to know which five numbers tell you if you're about to stock out, if you're overstocked, or if you're about to get hit with fees. Check those every week. Fix problems when they're small.

That's it. That's the entire system.