What is Obsolete Inventory?

Obsolete inventory is any item in stock that can no longer be used. These items have typically been replaced in the marketplace by more advanced or inexpensive goods, so there is no longer any demand for them. Since these goods cannot be used, their cost is either written off or written down. A write off completely eliminates the inventory asset from the accounting records, while a write down reduces the amount of the recorded asset to the price at which it can still be sold.

Ideally, a business should maintain an obsolete inventory reserve that is paired with and offsets the inventory asset accounts. The amount in this reserve should be the estimated amount by which the inventory asset will be written down, once specific inventory items have been identified as obsolete.

It is possible that some obsolete inventory can be sold off at very low prices; the prices obtained will be higher if the materials management department maintains close watch over the inventory and dispositions items as soon as their usage levels begin to decline.

The presence of a large amount of obsolete inventory is a significant red flag that a business may be entering financial difficulties, since it either implies that the market for the company's goods is weak, or that management is not able to properly manage its inventory asset.

How to Identify Obsolete Inventory

There are several ways to identify obsolete inventory. This can be a critical task, since obsolete items lose value rapidly, and so must be spotted and dispositioned as soon as possible. Here are several identification options:

Conduct audits. Have the materials management staff conduct regular on-site reviews of the inventory, to visually spot items that are not moving. For example, items with a layer of dust on them might be flagged as obsolete.
Review days on hand. A simple inventory report can reveal any inventory quantities that greatly exceed the daily inventory usage level.
Review where used. Run a report from your materials management system that identifies items in stock that are not listed in any actively-used bills of material. These are items that will likely never be used, and so should be dispositioned as soon as possible.