Items sitting in a warehouse or tool crib that have no current demand and tie up capital. This usually happens when a facility upgrades its machinery but keeps the spare parts for the old models, or when a massive batch of custom components is ordered for a canceled project. It takes up valuable shelf space and gathers dust.
Heard on the job
The top racks are full of dead stock from the old production run, so we need to scrap it to make room for the new motors.
Insider tip
Smart shop managers do a yearly purge of dead stock to reclaim floor space and write off the loss.
Also heard as
- obsolete inventory