Stock and Offers in COD: How to Scale Without Running Out of Cash

In COD, stock is cash sitting on a shelf. Too little and you stop your ads at the worst moment; too much and your money is frozen while customers return or refuse orders. This guide shows how to plan offers and stock with simple, reliable rules.

1. Build offers that raise order value

A good COD offer makes the second piece feel almost free and keeps the first piece affordable.

Tips:

• Put the 2-piece offer in the middle and highlight it — most customers choose it.
• Show the saving in money, not in percent ("Save KSh 1,100").
• Never promise gifts or discounts that the call center or delivery team won't honour — it destroys your delivery rate.

2. Plan stock from delivered orders, not leads

This is the most common and most expensive mistake. If you buy stock based on leads, you will overstock, because a large share of leads never become delivered orders.

Use this number for everything below.

3. The reorder point

You need enough stock to cover the time it takes to receive new stock (lead time), plus a safety buffer.

Example: you deliver 15 orders/day, restocking from China takes 25 days, and you keep 7 safety days:

15 × (25 + 7) = 480 units. When stock falls to 480, place the next order.

4. How much to order

Order to cover one full sales cycle (for example 20–30 days) at the volume you plan to reach — not the volume you hope for.

If your plan is to grow from 15 to 18 delivered per day for the next 20 days: 18 × 20 = 360 units.

5. Scale in cycles with clear rules

Work in fixed cycles (for example 15 days). At the end of each cycle, look at the net profit per delivered order and decide:

This keeps cash flow safe: you only buy more stock when the last cycle proved it was profitable.

6. Track these numbers weekly

7. Reduce returns and damaged stock

• Check quality on arrival and keep photos of damaged units.
• Package fragile items properly — a broken product is a lost sale and a lost customer.
• Avoid products with sizes until you have strong data; they come back more often.
• Make sure ads and landing pages show the real product, real size and real color.

Next step

CODSwiftly stores your stock for free in our warehouses in Africa, ships from there as soon as orders are confirmed, and shows stock levels next to delivered orders — so you reorder at the right time.