Amazon Restock Report Explained: Your Complete Guide to Inventory Planning

What Is the Amazon Restock Report?

The Amazon restock report explained in simplest terms: it's your inventory crystal ball. After managing over 3,000 ASINs across six years, I've learned that this single report can make or break your Amazon business. It tells you exactly what products need restocking, when you'll run out, and how much to send.

Amazon generates this report based on your sales velocity, current inventory levels, and forecasted demand. Unlike the basic Inventory Dashboard, the Restock Report gives you actionable recommendations with specific quantities. It's essentially Amazon's algorithm telling you: "Send us this much inventory by this date, or you'll lose money."

Most sellers either ignore this report or don't understand it. That's leaving thousands of dollars on the table every month. Let me show you exactly how to use it.

How to Download Your Amazon Restock Report

Here's the step-by-step process I follow every Monday morning:

Via Seller Central:

• Navigate to Inventory > Inventory Planning > Restock Inventory
• Click "Download" in the top right corner
• Select "All recommendations" or filter by specific criteria
• Choose CSV format (easier to work with than Excel format)
• The file downloads immediately

Alternative method:

• Go to Reports > Fulfillment
• Select "Restock Inventory"
• Generate and download

The report updates daily, but I recommend downloading it weekly unless you're running promotions or experiencing unusual sales spikes. During Q4, I download it every other day because velocity changes so rapidly.

One critical note: Amazon only keeps 90 days of historical data in easily accessible formats. If you're using inventory management software like ReplenFlow, you'll want to upload these reports regularly to maintain longer-term visibility. We don't have SP-API integration (by design, to keep things simple), so manual uploads are part of my Monday routine.

Breaking Down the Key Columns in Your Restock Report

The Amazon restock report contains 20+ columns. Here are the ones that actually matter:

Critical Columns:

• ASIN / SKU: Your product identifiers
• Available: Units currently in Amazon warehouses (not what's inbound)
• Reserved: Units in customer orders or removal processes
• Recommended replenishment qty: Amazon's suggestion for how many units to send
• Days of supply: How many days until you'll run out at current sales velocity
• Recommended ship date: When you need to ship to avoid stockouts

Important But Secondary:

• Unit sales (last 7/30/60/90 days): Your velocity trends
• Inbound: Units on the way to fulfillment centers
• Alert: Warnings like "Low stock" or "Out of stock"

Here's a real example from one of my products last month:

Column	Value	What It Means
Available	127 units	Current inventory
Days of supply	18 days	Will run out in 18 days
Recommended qty	350 units	Amazon suggests sending 350
Recommended ship date	March 15	Ship by this date
30-day sales	212 units	Selling ~7 units/day

With an 18-day supply and a 12-day inbound shipping time to my 3PL, I needed to place my manufacturer order immediately. This is where the report saved me from a two-week stockout that would've cost approximately $2,800 in lost sales.

Common Mistakes Sellers Make With the Restock Report

I've made every mistake possible with this report. Learn from my expensive lessons:

Trusting Amazon's recommendations blindly. Amazon's algorithm doesn't know you're running a promotion next week or that your manufacturer has a three-week lead time. Their "recommended ship date" assumes you can snap your fingers and create inventory. I adjust their recommendations by my actual supply chain reality.

Ignoring seasonal trends. Last year in August, I followed Amazon's recommendations exactly for a back-to-school product. The algorithm hadn't fully captured the velocity spike. I sold out in four days instead of the projected 14. Now I multiply their recommendations by 1.5-2x for known seasonal products.

Not accounting for inbound inventory. The "Inbound" column shows units in transit, but it doesn't tell you when they'll be available for sale. I've had shipments delayed by two weeks during peak seasons. Always cross-reference with your actual shipment tracking.

Forgetting about reserved inventory. Those "Reserved" units aren't available for new orders. If you have 200 units available but 50 reserved, you really have 150 units to sell.

Overlooking the alert column. When you see "Low stock (1-4 weeks)" - that's your final warning. At this point, you're already playing defense. I aim to restock before this alert ever appears.

How I Use the Restock Report With ReplenFlow

This is my actual workflow every Monday at 9 AM:

Step 1: Download the Restock Report from Seller Central as CSV.

Step 2: Upload it to ReplenFlow (takes 30 seconds, literally drag and drop).

Step 3: ReplenFlow shows me inventory levels across all my ASINs in one dashboard. Since we maintain historical data, I can see trends Amazon doesn't show me in Seller Central.

Step 4: I filter by "Days of supply < 30" to identify products needing immediate attention.

Step 5: Cross-reference with my supplier lead times and minimum order quantities.

Step 6: Place orders with manufacturers, accounting for production time plus shipping.

The manual upload approach works perfectly for my operation. Yes, some tools auto-sync via SP-API, but that introduces complexity and potential API errors. I prefer the control of knowing exactly what data I'm working with. It's 10 minutes per week for complete peace of mind.

For sellers managing 50+ ASINs, this systematic approach prevents the chaos of trying to track everything in spreadsheets. Before using proper inventory management (check out our pricing if you're curious), I missed restocks constantly. Now my stockout rate is under 2%.

Advanced Strategies: Going Beyond the Basics

Strategy 1: The 45-Day Rule. I never let my days of supply drop below 45 days for my top 20% revenue-generating products. Amazon's algorithm is reactive - it suggests restocking when you're already cutting it close. I'm proactive. This buffer protects against supplier delays, shipping issues, and velocity spikes.

Strategy 2: Velocity Segmentation. I categorize my products into three tiers:

• Fast movers (>100 units/month): Check restock needs twice weekly
• Medium movers (20-100 units/month): Weekly checks
• Slow movers (<20 units/month): Bi-weekly checks

This prevents over-focusing on slow products while your best sellers quietly approach stockouts.

Strategy 3: The Inbound Pipeline View. I maintain a separate spreadsheet showing:

• Current available inventory
• Inbound to Amazon (with realistic arrival dates)
• On order from manufacturer (with realistic production completion)
• Total pipeline inventory

This gives me true visibility 60-90 days out, far beyond what the Restock Report shows.

Strategy 4: Seasonal Multipliers. For products with known seasonal patterns, I apply multipliers to Amazon's recommendations:

• Q4 (Oct-Dec): 2.5x baseline
• Back-to-school (July-Aug): 2x baseline
• Post-holiday (Jan-Feb): 0.7x baseline

These multipliers come from my actual sales history, not Amazon's algorithm.

Troubleshooting Common Restock Report Issues

Problem: "No recommendations" showing for active products.

This happens when Amazon's algorithm doesn't have enough sales history (usually less than 30 days of data) or when your inventory levels are already too high. For new products, I manually calculate restock needs based on my launch velocity goals rather than waiting for Amazon's recommendations.

Problem: Wildly inaccurate recommendations.

I see this most often after running promotions or during major external traffic campaigns. The algorithm sees the spike and assumes it's the new normal. Wait 48 hours after the promotion ends, then download a fresh report. The recommendations stabilize.

Problem: Recommended ship date already passed.

You're behind. This means you're likely already experiencing lost Buy Box time or will soon stockout. At this point, consider using air shipping if the unit economics support it. I calculate: (Daily profit × Days saved by air shipping) minus (Air shipping cost - Sea shipping cost). If positive, I overnight it.

Problem: Different numbers in Inventory Dashboard vs. Restock Report.

The Inventory Dashboard updates in near real-time. The Restock Report typically reflects data from the previous day. Always use the most recent numbers when making decisions. This is why I cross-check critical products directly in the Inventory Dashboard before placing large orders.

For more troubleshooting resources, visit our guides section where we cover edge cases and advanced scenarios.

FAQ

How often should I download the Amazon Restock Report?

Download it weekly for standard operations and every 2-3 days during high-velocity periods like Q4 or active promotions. The report updates daily, but weekly checks are sufficient for most sellers to stay ahead of stockouts without creating unnecessary work.

Why doesn't my Restock Report match my actual inventory levels?

The report typically reflects data from 24 hours prior, while your Inventory Dashboard shows near real-time numbers. Additionally, the "Available" quantity excludes reserved units (items in customer orders or pending removal). Always verify critical numbers directly in your Inventory Dashboard before making large restock decisions.

Can I rely entirely on Amazon's recommended replenishment quantities?

No. Amazon's algorithm doesn't account for your specific supply chain constraints, upcoming promotions, seasonal patterns you've observed, or manufacturer lead times. Use their recommendations as a starting point, then adjust based on your actual production and shipping timelines. I typically add 20-50% buffer for my top-selling products.

What's the difference between the Restock Report and the Inventory Age Report?

The Restock Report tells you what to send more of and when. The Inventory Age Report shows how long your current inventory has been sitting in Amazon warehouses - useful for identifying slow-moving products that are generating storage fees. You need both: Restock Report for preventing stockouts, Inventory Age Report for managing excess inventory and long-term storage fees.