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Free inventory planning tool

Free Lead Time Calculator for Reorder Planning

Calculate total lead time, reorder point, safety stock, and the latest date to place your next purchase order. Model production, freight, customs, demand, and inventory in one free planning tool.

No signup required
Safety stock built in
Order deadline included

The calculator opens with a realistic ocean-import example. Replace the defaults with one SKU's actual numbers to see when its reorder window closes.

Total replenishment lead time

56 days

Reorder point

1,400

Safety stock

280 units

Days of cover

75 days

Order by

Calculating date

Planning horizon70 days

Calculate Lead Time and Reorder Point

Results update instantly as you replace the example values.

Lead Time Inputs

Demand and Inventory

This is a planning model. Final reorder decisions should still reflect supplier reliability, seasonality, and actual demand swings.

A reorder date only helps if someone watches it.

SupplyAutomate keeps stock, supplier lead times, and purchase orders together, then flags the SKUs whose reorder windows are closing.

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Replenishment Results

Lead time and reorder analysis

Total Lead Time

56 days

Production + transit + customs

Reorder Point

1,400

Covers a 70-day horizon with the buffer

Healthy stock

Stock is healthy. You have about 5 days before the order needs to be placed.

Safety Stock

280 units

Days Until Stockout

75 days

Latest Order Date

Calculating date

5 days from now

Coverage At Reorder

10 weeks

Go beyond a one-off calculation

A reorder date is only useful if something watches it

SupplyAutomate tracks stock, suppliers, and purchase orders together, so the reorder point you just calculated becomes an alert your team acts on instead of a number in a spreadsheet nobody reopens.

How Lead Time Calculation Works

Reorder timing improves when every stage between PO placement and warehouse receipt is modeled explicitly. Once the order date is clear, turn the plan into a supplier-ready purchase order.

1. Supplier and production time

Start with how long your supplier needs to produce and prepare the goods before they can ship. This is the first term in any lead time calculation.

2. Transit and customs time

Add ocean or air transit, customs clearance, and the handoff into your warehouse. These are the days most reorder plans forget.

3. Safety buffer discipline

The buffer absorbs late shipments and demand spikes. It sits on top of lead time rather than inside it, so you can see what each one costs you.

The Formulas This Calculator Uses

Nothing here is hidden. These are the exact calculations behind every number above.

Total lead time

production + transit + customs

The safety buffer is deliberately excluded. Lead time is what your supply chain takes; the buffer is a cushion you choose.

Reorder point

(daily demand × lead time) + safety stock

The standard reorder point formula: cover demand across the lead time, then hold the buffer on top. Use the MOQ calculator to compare that timing with the quantity your supplier requires.

Safety stock

daily demand × safety buffer days

A days-of-cover model. It is simpler than a service-level formula and does not need demand variability data you probably do not have yet.

Latest order date

today + (days of cover − lead time − buffer)

If that date has already passed, the page says how many days late you are. Pair it with the sea vs air freight calculator when you need to buy those days back.

Why Lead Time Planning Matters

Avoid preventable stockouts

Reorder points only work when lead time and buffer assumptions are grounded in reality.

Order with better timing

Knowing the latest safe order date makes replenishment decisions easier across sourcing, freight, and inventory teams.

Set realistic safety stock

A structured lead-time model helps you carry the right buffer instead of guessing based on recent pain.

Reorder alerts

Surface timing risk earlier

Planning rhythm

See order deadlines clearly

Operational accuracy

Track the difference between planned and real lead time

The calculator is free. Missing the date is not.

Stockouts are not a math problem. They are a memory problem.

You just worked out exactly when to reorder. The hard part is remembering on that day, for every SKU, while suppliers slip and demand moves. SupplyAutomate keeps stock levels, supplier lead times, and purchase orders in one workspace and tells you when the window is closing.

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Illustrative SupplyAutomate workspace

SupplyAutomate

Example replenishment view

Reorder window

SKU CB-1180 · 56-day lead time

5 days

Until the order must be placed

1,500 on hand
Reorder point 1,400Stockout in 75 days

56 days

Actual supplier lead time

280

Safety stock held

Aug 11

Latest safe order date

Alerts fire before the window closes, not after the stockout.