Field Notes
Markdown flags that merchandisers trust
Thresholds only help when they match how your house actually cuts price — and when someone owns the exception list.
Generic “slow seller” lights train teams to ignore the board. Effective flags on an inventory sell-through rate dashboard are dull in the best way: they encode your written rules — days since intake, minimum units on hand, exit rate versus plan, and whether the option already carries a promotional price.
We also keep an exception list: protected launches, press options, and concession lines that should never auto-flag. If exceptions live only in someone’s head, the dashboard will cry wolf every Tuesday.
During calibration seasons, review the flag hit-rate with buying leads. If half the flags are dismissed for the same reason, rewrite the rule — do not add another colour.