Slow moving or Obsolete (SLOB) Stock

about this project

The manufacturing client was holding over £900,000 (invoice price at purchase) in packaging stock that had not moved in over 12 months or had been superseded by redesigns. This inventory was taking up 300–500 pallet spaces across warehouse facilities, costing around £11,000 per year in direct storage fees.


A key challenge in tackling this issue was that the Managing Director was highly sensitive about disposing of stock, regardless of cost, due to the potential for reusing some of these items in future products. The Packaging Procurement Lead managed this carefully by reviewing every piece of stock with the MD directly. For each SLOB item, a physical sample was provided to the MD, labelled with the stock number, number of pallet spaces it occupied, date since last use, and original purchase cost.


This approach allowed the MD to make quick, informed decisions during review meetings, leading to a significant reduction in SLOB packaging over a series of sessions. The main improvement area was reducing unusable or unwanted stock, but the ability to present clear, relevant data in a concise format proved critical to achieving this outcome.

Key Project Summary "At a glance"

Project Scope


  • Identify and review all packaging stock over 12 months old or superseded by redesigns


  • Remove obsolete stock and repurpose usable materials


  • Free pallet space for current or incoming materials



  • Establish a repeatable process for managing SLOB inventory

Improvement Strategy


  • Conduct a full review of all SLOB packaging across warehouse facilities


  • Apply 5S principles to organise, categorise, and clear materials efficiently


  • Dispose of obsolete packaging that cannot be repurposed


  • Work with technical and commercial teams to identify opportunities to use existing packaging for current or future products


  • Implement Statistical Process Control (SPC) to track SLOB trends and trigger early action when materials approach aged thresholds



  • Establish a regular review cycle to prevent future excessive build-up


Benefits Delivered


  • £136,900 worth of SLOB packaging disposed of to date


  • £225,000 worth of SLOB packaging identified for reuse through the new process


  • 140 pallet spaces freed, saving £3,066 per year in storage costs


  • Formal, repeatable process introduced to monitor and manage retained stock


  • Long-term storage savings of up to £11,000 per year once all aged stock is cleared or reused



People Involved

  • Sponsor: Manufacturing Operations Director
  • Delivery team: Procurement, Packaging, and Warehouse Teams
  • Support: Technical and Commercial teams for product/packaging alignment, Finance for cost tracking
  • Role of PBI: Led root cause analysis, facilitated Kaizen stock clearance activity, developed the ongoing review process, and introduced SPC monitoring



Focus Area

  • Primary issue: Large volumes of obsolete or slow-moving packaging tying up warehouse space and incurring storage costs
  • Impact: Increased storage costs, reduced warehouse capacity, and lost opportunities to use existing packaging
  • KPIs targeted:
  • Value (£) of SLOB packaging disposed of or reused
  • Pallet spaces freed (number)
  • Annual storage cost savings (£)
  • Reduction in aged stock percentage year-on-year



Process Taken

  1. Data gathering: Identified all packaging over 12 months old or superseded by redesigns, including financial and space usage impact.
  2. Stakeholder management: Developed a tailored review approach for the MD, recognising sensitivities around stock disposal. Samples of each SLOB item were prepared and clearly labelled with stock number, pallet space usage, date since last use, and purchase cost.
  3. Review process: The MD and Procurement Lead jointly reviewed these samples in short, focused meetings, enabling quick, informed decisions.
  4. Triage and categorisation: Grouped items into three categories – reuse, dispose, and store temporarily pending product alignment.
  5. Root cause analysis: Identified lack of formal review process as a key driver of excessive aged stock.
  6. Solution design and implementation:
  • Disposed of obsolete materials
  • Reallocated usable packaging to upcoming product runs
  • Introduced SPC and 5S processes to prevent future accumulation
  • Launched a formal quarterly review cycle

  7. Performance tracking: Ongoing monitoring of SLOB inventory and pallet space utilisation to ensure sustained improvement.