Checklist template

Out-of-stock and on-shelf availability audit for consumer goods

A ready-to-use checklist with 102 items in 6 sections, covering Shelf availability, Back stock, Ordering, Tags, Phantom inventory, Corrective actions. Use it as-is in InspectLoop, or adapt it to your own standards in minutes.

  • 6 Sections
  • 102 Items
  • 74 Yes / No checks
  • 6 Scored ratings
  • 104 Points

Use this template How audits work

1. Shelf availability 20 items

  1. Category or aisle audited Short text
  2. Time of the audit Choice
    • Morning before 11 a.m.
    • Midday
    • Late afternoon or evening
  3. Authorized items of the brand checked Number
  4. Items with an empty facing (tag present, no product) Number
  5. Items with 2 units or fewer left on the shelf Number
  6. On-shelf availability of the brand in this store (%) Number
  7. Each of the brand's top 10 items by sales has product on the shelf Yes / No 1 pt
  8. Each item in the retailer's current ad has product on the shelf Yes / No 1 pt
  9. Each item on a secondary display also has product in its home section Yes / No 1 pt
  10. No empty facing has been filled with a neighboring item Yes / No 1 pt
  11. No empty facing is hidden by product pulled sideways from the next facing Yes / No 1 pt
  12. Product sitting at the back of deep shelves has been pulled forward within reach Yes / No 1 pt
  13. Items in pushers or gravity-feed trays slide forward freely Yes / No 1 pt
  14. Product on the top shelf can be reached without a step stool Yes / No 1 pt
  15. The shelf capacity of the top 10 items holds at least one full case plus the minimum Yes / No 1 pt
  16. Multipacks and single units of the same item are both available where both are authorized Yes / No 1 pt
  17. Holes found during the audit were photographed with the shelf tag readable Yes / No 1 pt
  18. The store's own out-of-stock scan or gap report was run today Yes / No 1 pt
  19. The audit's count of empty facings agrees with the store's gap report for the same section Yes / No 1 pt
  20. Availability of the brand at the shelf Rating
    • 98% or more 5 pts
    • 95% to 97% 4 pts
    • 90% to 94% 3 pts
    • Below 90% 1 pt

2. Back stock 17 items

  1. The back room was checked for every item found empty on the shelf Yes / No 1 pt
  2. Empty items that had stock in the back room Number
  3. Empty items with no stock anywhere in the store Number
  4. Back stock of the brand is kept in one marked location Yes / No 1 pt
  5. Cases in the back room have the item description visible without moving other cases Yes / No 1 pt
  6. The store's back room location system shows where each case of the brand is stored Yes / No 1 pt
  7. Cases found in the back room were scanned into their location Yes / No 1 pt
  8. Top stock above the section holds product for the items directly below it Yes / No 1 pt
  9. Overstock from a past promotion is being sold down through a display Yes / No 1 pt
  10. No pallet of the brand from the last delivery is still wrapped in the receiving area Yes / No 1 pt
  11. The last delivery was worked to the shelf within the time set by the retailer Yes / No 1 pt
  12. Partial cases returned from the shelf are sealed and labeled Yes / No 1 pt
  13. Product for the brand's displays is stored apart from shelf replenishment stock Yes / No 1 pt
  14. Night or early-morning stocking crews work the brand's category on every delivery day Yes / No 1 pt
  15. A store employee could find the back stock of an item named by the auditor within 5 minutes Yes / No 1 pt
  16. Main reason stock in the back room did not reach the shelf Choice
    • No such case found
    • Not yet worked
    • Could not be located
    • Shelf capacity too small
  17. Control of back stock Rating
    • Located, labeled and worked daily 5 pts
    • Present but hard to find 3 pts
    • Unorganized or unworked 1 pt

3. Ordering 17 items

  1. How the brand is replenished at this store Choice
    • Retailer's automatic replenishment
    • Store-written order
    • Rep or distributor order
    • Direct store delivery
  2. An order for each empty item is already open in the store's system Yes / No 1 pt
  3. The quantity on open orders covers the shelf capacity of the empty items Yes / No 1 pt
  4. The store's order for the brand was sent on its last scheduled order day Yes / No 1 pt
  5. The last delivery of the brand arrived on its scheduled day Yes / No 1 pt
  6. Ordered items shorted by the warehouse or distributor on the last delivery Number
  7. Shorted items were ordered again Yes / No 1 pt
  8. The minimum shelf quantity that triggers an order is set above zero for the top 10 items Yes / No 1 pt
  9. The case pack ordered fits the shelf capacity of the item Yes / No 1 pt
  10. The forecast for items in the coming ad was raised before the ad order was sent Yes / No 1 pt
  11. Display quantities for the coming ad were ordered at least one delivery cycle before the ad starts Yes / No 1 pt
  12. Items out of stock at the retailer's warehouse are identified on the store's order report Yes / No 1 pt
  13. The supplier's sales rep has been told which items the warehouse cannot supply Yes / No 1 pt
  14. No item is blocked from ordering in the store's system while it is still authorized Yes / No 1 pt
  15. The department manager reports that the top 10 items stay in stock between two deliveries Yes / No 1 pt
  16. Days between the order and its delivery for this store Number
  17. Ordering as a cause of the gaps found Rating
    • Not a cause 5 pts
    • A cause for a few items 3 pts
    • The main cause 1 pt

4. Tags 16 items

  1. Every authorized item has a shelf tag Yes / No 1 pt
  2. Authorized items with no shelf tag Number
  3. Each tag shows the current package size and description of the item Yes / No 1 pt
  4. Tags of discontinued items have been removed Yes / No 1 pt
  5. The item number on the tag matches the product placed above it Yes / No 1 pt
  6. The facing count printed on the tag or planogram matches the shelf Yes / No 1 pt
  7. The capacity or minimum printed on the tag matches the store's system Yes / No 1 pt
  8. New items received in the last 4 weeks have a tag and a facing Yes / No 1 pt
  9. The barcode on the tag of 5 items sampled scans with the store's handheld Yes / No 1 pt
  10. Temporary out-of-stock tags are used only for items the warehouse cannot supply Yes / No 1 pt
  11. No tag is hidden behind a shelf strip or a pusher Yes / No 1 pt
  12. The section was reset to the current planogram version Yes / No 1 pt
  13. Date of the last reset of the section Date
  14. Tag requests made on the previous visit were filled Yes / No 1 pt
  15. The location of each item in the store's system matches the aisle and section where it is shelved Yes / No 1 pt
  16. Tag accuracy in the brand's section Rating
    • Every item tagged correctly 5 pts
    • A few missing or wrong tags 3 pts
    • Many missing or wrong tags 1 pt

5. Phantom inventory 17 items

  1. Empty items for which the store's system shows stock on hand Number
  2. The system on-hand of each empty item was read from the handheld during the audit Yes / No 1 pt
  3. Empty items showing stock on hand were counted on the shelf and in the back room Yes / No 1 pt
  4. On-hand figures of those items were corrected to the count by an authorized employee Yes / No 1 pt
  5. No empty item shows a negative on-hand in the system Yes / No 1 pt
  6. Damaged and out-of-date units removed from the shelf were scanned out of inventory Yes / No 1 pt
  7. Product moved to a display is still counted under the same item number Yes / No 1 pt
  8. Multipacks broken into singles are adjusted in the system per the retailer's procedure Yes / No 1 pt
  9. Units found in the wrong section or in go-backs were returned to their facing Yes / No 1 pt
  10. Mis-shipped items (wrong flavor or size in the right case) were reported to receiving Yes / No 1 pt
  11. Known theft of the brand's items is recorded as an inventory adjustment Yes / No 1 pt
  12. The store runs cycle counts of the category on the retailer's schedule Yes / No 1 pt
  13. Date of the last cycle count of the category Date
  14. Items with no sales for 7 days while showing stock on hand appear on a store exception report Yes / No 1 pt
  15. Someone in the store works the no-sales exception report each week Yes / No 1 pt
  16. On-hand corrections made during the audit Number
  17. Accuracy of the store's on-hand figures for the brand Rating
    • Counts match the system 5 pts
    • Small differences on a few items 3 pts
    • Large differences or many phantom items 1 pt

6. Corrective actions 15 items

  1. Every empty item with back stock was filled before the auditor left Yes / No 1 pt
  2. A root cause is recorded for each empty item Yes / No 1 pt
  3. Most frequent root cause in this audit Choice
    • Not worked from the back room
    • Not ordered or under-ordered
    • Shorted by the supplier or warehouse
    • Wrong on-hand in the system
    • Tag or planogram error
  4. The department manager reviewed the list of empty items with the auditor Yes / No 1 pt
  5. Capacity changes requested for fast-selling items are written on the planogram change request Yes / No 1 pt
  6. Items shorted by the supplier were reported to the supplier's customer service the same day Yes / No 1 pt
  7. Each corrective action has a named owner Yes / No 1 pt
  8. Each corrective action has a due date Yes / No 1 pt
  9. Items empty on this audit and on the previous one are listed separately as repeat gaps Yes / No 1 pt
  10. Repeat gaps since the previous audit Number
  11. Actions from the previous audit were completed Yes / No 1 pt
  12. Name of the department or store manager who reviewed the results Short text
  13. Date of the follow-up check Date
  14. Overall availability performance of the store Rating
    • Few gaps, each with a cause and an owner 5 pts
    • Gaps found, causes known, actions open 3 pts
    • Many or repeat gaps with no cause identified 1 pt
  15. Corrective actions agreed with the store Comments

About this template

This checklist is part of the InspectLoop template library. Yes / No checks score 1 point when met; ratings score the points shown for each option. The overall score is the percentage of points earned, with N/A answers excluded. In InspectLoop you can add photos, assign corrective actions, require sign-off and compare results across sites.

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