Why are the shelves empty?
Find whether the stock gap is at delivery or on the shop floor.
The question
You manage a fictional grocery rollout for a breakfast product. All 30 stores agreed to stock it. Each had a planned delivery before the audit.
| Stores | |
|---|---|
| Stores in the rollout | 30 |
| Planned deliveries confirmed | 28 |
| Empty shelf positions | 10 |
The shelf check covered all 30 stores in the same audit window.
- AI summarySend more stock to every store with an empty shelf.
“Who should act on each stock gap?”
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A strong answer, step by step
Open each step in turn. This is one strong answer, not the only one.
Step 1: What measures shelf availability?
What would you do here? Open the move you’d make.
Divide confirmed deliveries by all stores.
Tempting, but it misses something. A delivery can reach a store without reaching its shelf.
Divide stocked shelves by all 30 stores.
The strong move. This measures what a shopper can find at the audit time.
Divide stocked shelves by only the 28 stores with deliveries.
Tempting, but it misses something. This leaves two rollout stores outside the shelf measure.
See how a strong candidate says it
“Count stores where shoppers could find the item. Divide by all 30 stores that agreed to stock it.”
Why it works: The audit covers the full rollout group. Count every store in the denominator.
Step 2: What do the two records show?
What would you do here? Open the move you’d make.
Report 93.3% shelf availability from the delivery log.
Tempting, but it misses something. This would hide shelves shoppers found empty.
Send new cases to all ten stores.
Tempting, but it misses something. The audit alone does not show whether stock is already in the store.
Report both rates and check stock at the empty shelves.
The strong move. The records together narrow down where to look.
See how a strong candidate says it
“Shelf availability is 20 of 30, or 66.7%. Delivery coverage is 28 of 30, or 93.3%. I would verify where stock is in the ten stores with an empty shelf.”
Why it works: The shelf audit and delivery log count different events. Either can help you locate the gap.
Step 3: Where did the stock stop?
7 of the 10 stores have sellable stock in the backroom. The other 3 have no stock in the store. Of those, 2 missed the planned delivery and 1 received its delivery and sold through it before the audit.
What would you do here? Open the move you’d make.
Separate the seven shelf gaps, two missed deliveries and one sellout.
The strong move. This routes each issue to the right team.
Give all ten issues to the delivery team.
Tempting, but it misses something. Eight of these stores had stock delivered. Seven still have it.
Treat all empty shelves as evidence of higher demand.
Tempting, but it misses something. Only one verified store sold through its delivery.
See how a strong candidate says it
“Seven empty shelves can draw on stock already in the store. Two stores missed delivery. One had a delivery and sold through it before the audit.”
Why it works: The check accounts for all ten gaps and gives each a distinct next action.
Step 4: What should happen before the next audit?
What would you do here? Open the move you’d make.
Send more stock to all ten before another shelf check.
Tempting, but it misses something. That can add inventory while a shelf issue stays open.
Route the three issues to their owners and recheck availability.
The strong move. This responds to verified gaps and measures the same outcome again.
Estimate lost sales by multiplying ten by the average store volume.
Tempting, but it misses something. The audit gives no duration or demand for each gap.
See how a strong candidate says it
“Work with store staff on the seven shelf gaps. Ask distribution to trace the two misses. Ask the replenishment owner to review the sellout. Repeat the same shelf check next cycle.”
Why it works: The response uses a different owner for each observed cause and a common follow-up measure.
The answer, in short
- Decision
- Use the store check to assign the next action.
- Because
- Most empty shelves already have stock in the store.
- What would change it
- A repeat audit shows a different set of delivery or replenishment gaps.
Common traps
- Calling delivery coverage shelf availability.
- Ordering more before checking backroom stock.
Check your answer
- Which stores count in the shelf measure?
- What does the delivery log miss?
- How do the ten gaps split?
- Who owns the next check?
Last reviewed Nov 11, 2026