Here’s How to Avoid Stockouts During Peak Buying Season

Peak buying seasons can be make-or-break moments for brands, whether you’re DTC or in wholesale. 

If you run out of product just when your wholesale buyers are placing orders, you risk losing revenue, damaging relationships, and pushing buyers to your competitors. 

The good news? You can plan ahead and avoid stockouts if you follow the right strategy.

Forecast Demand With Precision 

The first step to avoiding stockouts: get serious about forecasting. 

Seasonality, channel shifts, weather events, and promotional pushes all drive demand spikes. 

Resources show that reviewing historical data and monitoring supply chain readiness are key.

For apparel wholesale, analyze your last three to five years for each channel (club pro shops, resort boutiques, online portal), identify when buyers placed the biggest orders, map the lead time from PO to receiving and shipping, then build in a safety buffer.

Pro Tip for Brands:

• Pull product-level sales by season 
• Identify fastest-moving SKUs and allocate higher safety stock for them
• Use collaborative forecasts with your wholesale buyers (ask their pre-books early)
  
  

Set Reorder Points and Safety Stock 

Running lean is smart. But, operating too lean during the wholesale peak season can be a stockout risk. 

Well-known inventory frameworks say to define a reorder point along with a safety stock. 

Safety stock acts as your “insurance” to handle demand spikes or supply delays.

Pro Tip for Brands:

• Categorize SKUs by priority (A = best seller/wholesale favorite; B = steady; C = niche)
• For A SKUs, front-load a higher safety stock prior to peak buying windows
• Automate alerts when stock hits reorder or safety levels so you trigger PO or reprint

Build Supplier and Production Flexibility

Your supply chain must flex when your forecast anticipates big demand. According to industry guidance, strong supplier relationships along with flexible manufacturing are your best bet to avoid stockouts.

In apparel wholesale context:

• Negotiate tiered MOQs. Commit early to baseline and build in options to ramp if pre-books exceed forecast
• Have a backup supplier or alternate fabric source ready for critical SKUs
• Review your lead time buffer. If your lead time is 12 weeks, treat it like 14–16 in high-risk seasons
  
  

Leverage Real-Time Inventory 

Stockouts often happen not only because you ran out, but because your system thought you still had stock. 

This is why you need real-time visibility across your company’s wholesale (or DTC) operations. 

Pro Tip for Brands:

• Utilize a B2B portal or ERP that syncs inventory across direct-web,  wholesale orders, and rep orders (we have a recommendation)
• Set up back-order triggers so buyers and reps know when an item is delayed instead of placing blind orders
• Use dashboards for fast-moving items. When weekly sales exceed X, trigger a reorder review
  
  

Prioritize Your Wholesale SKUs

During peak buying seasons, you don’t have unlimited budget or warehouse space. Focus inventory where the opportunity and risk are highest. Industry guidance notes that prioritizing SKUs helps avoid stockouts without overcommitting to all items. 

Pro Tip for Brands:

• Run an ABC analysis. A = top 20% SKUs generating 80% reorder volume in prior peak seasons
• Align your safety stock and reorder priority to those A-items
• Communicate with your wholesale buyers: “here are our priority SKUs for Q2 pre-book” to align expectations

Use Pre-Books, Milestone Checkpoints, and Reorder Triggers

Because wholesale buyers commit before the season, your content and processes should reflect that timeline. Build countdowns, reminders, and reorder triggers. 

For Example:

• Send “12 weeks to delivery window” reminder to buyers
• Auto-alert internal team when a SKU hits 75% of forecast and lead time says it must PO now
• Build “reorder triggers” content. This can be once a product has sold through 60% of allocated inventory, you trigger ramp or stop-sell

Communicate Transparently with Buyers When Risk Is High

Even the best systems hit speed bumps like supply chain delays, raw material shortage, freight hold-ups. 

When you tell your wholesale partners early, stockouts become shared problems rather than surprises. Research shows good communication builds trust and preserves relationships. 

Pro Tip for Brands: 

• Provide real-time inventory visibility for reps/buyers (via a portal like RepSpark)
• Send “At risk” SKU list emailed weekly to top wholesale accounts
• Provide alternative product suggestions when primary SKU is running short

Once the buying window passes and orders are delivered, don’t just move on. Do a post-mortem that details which SKUs stock-out, which over-stocked, and which delivered late. 

Use that data to refine your forecast, safety stock levels, and supplier flexibility. 

The next peak will be smarter.

And if you want a system that will make keeping track of all of this much easier, then reach our team because we’re sure we can help.

FAQ

What causes stockouts during peak wholesale seasons?
The biggest causes are generally inaccurate demand forecasts, long or inflexible lead times, lack of safety stock, multiple sales channels draining the same inventory, and poor visibility/communication in the supply-chain.

How early should I prepare inventory for a peak buying season?
Ideally you begin 3-4 months before the wholesale order window opens. That means forecasting and PO placement may begin 4-6 months ahead. Review lead time, production, freight, and delivery to back-calculate your trigger dates.

What is a good safety stock level in apparel wholesale?
It depends on category, lead time, and volatility. A starting rule: safety stock = (maximum daily usage × maximum lead time) − (average daily usage × average lead time). Use this as a baseline, then adjust based on peak season risk. 

How can I balance avoiding stockouts without over-stocking and tying up cash?
Prioritize SKUs by risk/return (A-items deserve higher safety stock), forecast using historical and market signals, use flexible supplier agreements, monitor inventory in real time, and trim weaker SKUs. That gives you focus where it matters.

What should I communicate to my wholesale buyers if I see inventory risk?
Be proactive. Share that "we are seeing high pre-book demand on the sun-shirt SKU and product lead time is X. If you want to secure inventory, please commit by date Y." Provide alternatives and transparency to maintain trust.