Based on the Gross margin that is set on the settings page, the size of the 'C-category' is determined. This category will contain the products which will be the least profitable on an annual basis (longtail).
To quickly free up cash in this category, you can tweak a few settings in Optiply that should help with this. These are listed below:
Reducing the delivery reliability of the 'C-category' so that you will hold less safety stock.
Set the delivery reliability to 0%, which will result in not having any stock of the 'C-category'. This way, these products will only be sold on backorders, and if they make enough profit, they will automatically be moved up to the 'B-category'.
Look in the product details page and filter on the 'C-category'. Here you can check manually if your products are in high stock. If this is the case, you can phase out these products so you don't keep them in stock any longer.
📦 I Don't Want to Keep My Longtail in Stock
A very common piece of feedback we hear is: "My C-category takes up too much of my storage!" Based on the Gross Margin percentages configured on your settings page, Optiply determines the size of your 'C-category'. This category contains the products that are the least profitable for your business on an annual basis—often referred to as your "longtail" assortment.
If you want to quickly free up vital cash flow and clear out warehouse space, you do not need to keep these slow-moving items heavily stocked. Here are the specific settings you can tweak in Optiply to reduce your longtail inventory.
🛑 1. Key Takeaways: How to Reduce Longtail Stock
To stop holding unnecessary stock for your least profitable items, implement one of these three strategies:
Strategy 1: Reduce the Delivery Reliability (Service Level)
If you still want to keep some stock but want to minimise it, simply lower the desired service level for your C-category.
The Fix: By reducing the delivery reliability target, the algorithm will instantly suggest holding much less safety stock for these items. You accept a slightly higher risk of occasional stockouts, but you free up significant capital.
Strategy 2: Set Service Level to 0% (Backorder Only)
If you want to completely stop holding physical stock for your longtail items, you can drop the target to zero.
The Fix: Set the C-category delivery reliability to 0%. This tells Optiply to stop buying buffer stock entirely. These products will now only be ordered and sold on backorder (just-in-time) when a customer actually purchases them. If a product suddenly becomes popular and generates enough profit, Optiply will automatically move it up to the 'B-category' and start keeping it in stock again!
Strategy 3: Phase Out High-Stock Products
Sometimes, you just need to cut the cord on products that are taking up space and simply aren't selling anymore.
The Fix: Navigate to the Products page and use the filters to view only the 'C-category'. Manually review this list to identify products that currently have high stock levels but low demand. You can change their status to "Phased Out." This ensures you never accidentally reorder them again, allowing you to slowly sell through the remaining stock until they are gone for good.
❓ 2. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How exactly is the 'C-category' determined?
The size of your C-category is determined by the Gross Margin distribution rules set in your ABC classification settings. Typically, this category represents the bottom 5% to 10% of your total margin, which often makes up the vast majority of your physical catalogue (the long tail).
If I set my service level to 0%, will my webshop still show the items as available?
That depends on your webshop platform settings (like Shopify or Magento). Setting the service level to 0% in Optiply simply stops purchasing buffer stock. If you want customers to still buy them, ensure your webshop is configured to allow backorders or "sell when out of stock" for those specific SKUs.
Where do I change my C-category service levels?
You can adjust the target percentages for all of your categories by navigating to Settings > ABC - XYZ classification in your main Optiply dashboard.