Beverage Brewing, Distilling & Fermentation worked example

Distribution Freshness Days with daily distributor demand of 160 cases, kegs, or pallets / day: a worked example

This worked example runs the distribution freshness days numbers for a tougher week than the baseline: daily distributor demand of 160 cases, kegs, or pallets / day instead of the typical 310 cases, kegs, or pallets / day. Estimate finished beverage inventory needed to cover distributor lead time while preserving freshness days and safety stock.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Daily distributor demand: 160 cases, kegs, or pallets / day (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 310)
  • Replenishment and transit lead time: 12 days (held at the documented default)
  • Freshness safety stock: 900 cases, kegs, or pallets (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Inventory covering replenishment lead time = daily distributor demand × replenishment and transit lead time.
  • Protected days of supply works out to 0.01 fresh inventory units at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Unprotected days works out to 13.33 days at these inputs.
  • Inventory works out to 160 pieces at these inputs.
  • Daily usage works out to 12 pieces / day at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where daily distributor demand sits at 310 cases, kegs, or pallets / day and the headline result is 0.03 fresh inventory units, this scenario comes in 48.39% below the baseline at 0.01 fresh inventory units.
  • Use it when setting distributor replenishment targets, planning a new market launch, or balancing stock levels against beer code-date freshness. A result at this level usually justifies acting on the stressed input before touching anything else, because every other figure in the table is downstream of it.

Results at a glance

  • Protected days of supply: 0.01 fresh inventory units (headline result)
  • Unprotected days: 13.33 days
  • Inventory: 160 pieces
  • Daily usage: 12 pieces / day

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Distribution Freshness Days calculator, set daily distributor demand to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.