ELO Product Scoring: Prioritize by Demand

The Problem: Not All Products Are Equal

You have 200 products. Which ones matter most?

Traditional approach: Treat all products the same.

Result: You stock out of best-sellers while overstocking slow movers.

Better approach: Rank products by importance using ELO scoring.

What Is ELO Scoring?

ELO is a rating system originally designed for chess. Stokkfy adapted it for inventory:

High ELO score = High-demand product (must never stock out)

Low ELO score = Low-demand product (okay to occasionally run low)

How It Works

Every product starts with an ELO score of 1000.

When a product sells:

When a product sits unsold:

Over time, the ranking stabilizes to reflect true demand.

Example

Week 1:

Week 2 sales:

Week 4:

Why ELO Beats Simple "Units Sold" Ranking

Problem with "units sold":

ELO accounts for:

Example: Substitution

You sell two similar products:

What happens when Product A stocks out?

Result:

When Product A is low, AI increases safety stock for Product B (so customers always have an option).

How Stokkfy Uses ELO Scores

1. Reorder Priority

When multiple products need reordering, AI prioritizes by ELO:

2. Safety Stock Allocation

Higher ELO = more safety stock:

3. Supplier Negotiation

When negotiating with suppliers, you can share:

Suppliers appreciate knowing which products matter most.

4. Dashboard Insights

Products Tab:

Example:

Real-World Impact

Before ELO prioritization:

After ELO prioritization:

Result:

90% of stockouts are now low-impact. Best-sellers almost never run out.

ELO vs ABC Analysis

ABC Analysis:

ELO Scoring:

Both are useful. Stokkfy uses ELO for day-to-day prioritization and ABC for strategic decisions.

Summary

ELO scoring ranks products by true demand priority.

High ELO products:

Low ELO products:

Result: 90% fewer stockouts on products that matter.