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Product ABC analysis

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ChannelDock now shows an ABC category on products and inbound deliveries. The category is based on how fast a product sells (sales velocity), so your team can see at a glance whether an item belongs near the pick face or further back in storage.

This works for sellers (your own warehouse) and fulfillment centers (per center catalog). Seller and center rankings are calculated separately.

What A, B, and C mean

Category Share of SKUs Meaning Placement hint
A Top 5% Fast mover Prefer pick or front of warehouse
B Next 15% Medium mover Standard warehouse placement
C Remaining 80% Slow mover Prefer back or storage location

Hover or tap the badge to see the placement hint.

Products with no recent sales (sales velocity of zero) are always classified as C.

How it is calculated

  1. ChannelDock already tracks sales per day (sold_per_day) for each product. This is updated by a nightly background job.
  2. After that job runs, ChannelDock ranks all active (non-archived) products by sales per day, highest first.
  3. Percentile cutoffs are applied: top 5% → A, next 15% → B, rest → C.
  4. The cut-off values are stored in your account settings (not as a column on each product). When you open a product or delivery, ChannelDock compares that product’s current sold_per_day to those thresholds and shows A, B, or C.

Because the category is resolved at display time, it always reflects the latest sales velocity without storing a separate ABC field on the product.

Seller accounts use each seller product’s sold_per_day.

Fulfillment centers use each center product’s sold_per_day (center-specific velocity).

Where you see ABC in ChannelDock

Web portal — sellers

  • Inventory → All products — ABC column in the product list.
  • Product detail — badge and placement hint when you open a product.
  • Inventory → Deliveries — ABC badge on inbound delivery lines (useful when deciding where to put received stock).

Web portal — fulfillment centers

  • Products — ABC column and product detail badge (based on center velocity).
  • Deliveries — ABC on inbound delivery lines.

Stock locations export

The stock locations export uses an ABC category column instead of raw sales per day, so warehouse mapping spreadsheets align with the same classification.

ChannelDock mobile app

  • Product screen — ABC badge in the product header (tap for the placement hint).
  • Delivery screen — ABC badge next to each product on inbound deliveries.

Tips for warehouse teams

  • Use A products as a signal when slotting new inbound stock or replenishing pick locations: fast movers should stay easy to reach.
  • C products are fine on higher shelves, bulk zones, or the back of the warehouse.
  • ABC is a velocity ranking within your own catalog, not an industry standard across different sellers. A “B” for one account can mean something different than for another, depending on assortment size and sales distribution.
  • Categories refresh after the nightly sales-velocity job. Right after onboarding, most products may show C until enough sales history is available.

Frequently asked questions

Can I change a product’s ABC category manually?

No. ABC is derived automatically from sales velocity and the percentile thresholds. To move a product to a higher category, its relative sales need to increase compared to your other SKUs.

Why does everything show C?

Common reasons:

  • The nightly job has not run yet for this account.
  • Products have little or no sales history (sold_per_day is 0).
  • The account has very few active products (percentiles still apply, but velocity may be flat).

Is ABC the same for seller and fulfillment center?

Not necessarily. A seller product and the same SKU at a fulfillment center have separate sold_per_day values and separate threshold calculations.

Does ABC affect stock sync or orders?

No. ABC is informational for warehouse placement and inbound handling. It does not change stock levels, routing, or channel sync.

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