<P> A stockout, or out - of - stock (OOS) event is an event that causes inventory to be exhausted . While out - of - stocks can occur along the entire supply chain, the most visible kind are retail out - of - stocks in the fast - moving consumer goods industry (e.g., sweets, diapers, fruits). Stockouts are the opposite of overstocks, where too much inventory is retained . </P> <P> The global average of retail out - of - stocks is 8.3% . This means that shoppers will have a 42% chance of fulfilling a ten - item shopping list without encountering a stockout . Despite the initiatives designed to improve the collaboration of retailers and their suppliers, such as Efficient Consumer Response (ECR), and despite the increasing use of new technologies such as radio - frequency identification (RFID) and point - of - sales data analytics, this situation has improved little over the past decades . </P>

What problems may occur if the merchandise inventory is too low