The Problem
Stock tables can look fine until one location quietly drops too low. An item may still have quantity somewhere, but if either the shelf or the warehouse is near empty, the team needs to know before it turns into a stockout.
That is why inventory alerts usually need more than one number. Shelf quantity shows what customers or staff can reach right now, while warehouse stock shows whether replenishment is available behind the scenes. Either one can create risk when it falls below the business threshold.
The flow below shows the alert logic. Each item has two stock sources, and a low value in either place is enough to trigger a reorder status.
The Problem: Reorder Risk Can Start in Either Stock Location The alert should fire when shelf or warehouse quantity drops too low.
In this workbook, each product has a shelf quantity and a warehouse stock value. The challenge is to classify each product row, then complete the audit section so the sheet shows the total SKU count and how many items need reorder attention.
- Shelf quantity and warehouse stock are checked separately.
- Either low value should be enough to mark the row.
- The summary should count the flagged reorder rows.
That gives the inventory team a focused action list. Instead of scanning both quantity columns manually, they can filter or review the rows that already carry the reorder status.
How We Solve It
The main rule is simple. A row should say REORDER if shelf stock is below 5 or warehouse stock is below 10. Since either condition is enough, OR is the right helper.
Method 1: IF with OR
Method 1: Flag the row when either stock location drops below its threshold.
This is the method the challenge expects. OR checks both thresholds, and IF turns the result into a readable status. If either location is too low, the formula returns REORDER. Otherwise it returns OK.
This solves the actual stock problem because a shortage in either location is enough to create risk. The formula does not wait for both numbers to be low. It flags the row as soon as one side drops past its threshold.
=IF(OR(B2 < 5, C2 < 10), "REORDER", "OK")
Method 2: Use MIN to spot the weakest point
Method 2: Focus on the weakest stock point across two locations.
If your rule is based on the smallest number across locations, MIN is a clean shortcut. It is not the validator pattern here, but it is useful when the business only cares about the lowest available quantity regardless of where it sits.
This solves a slightly different inventory problem, where the weakest stock point drives the decision by itself. It is useful when the two locations are treated as one combined supply risk instead of having separate thresholds.
=IF(MIN(B2:C2) < 5, "CRITICAL", "STABLE")
Method 3: Grade stock with IFS
Method 3: Use several labels when you want more detail than one reorder flag.
Sometimes one alert is not enough. IFS can create levels such as out of stock, low, and healthy. That gives more detail to planners, even though this challenge keeps the final output to just REORDER or OK.
This solves the planning problem when the team needs more than a yes-or-no warning. It turns one stock check into a clearer status scale, which can help decide which items need urgent action first.
=IFS(B2=0, "OUT", B2<5, "LOW", TRUE, "GOOD")
Function Explanation
1. OR
OR returns TRUE if at least one condition is true. That fits this stock rule perfectly because a problem in either location should trigger the alert.
This is the key business logic. The item does not need both shelf and warehouse quantities to be low before it becomes risky.
Learn more this functionOR
2. IF
IF converts the logical test into the visible label the team will actually read. It is what turns TRUE and FALSE into REORDER and OK.
That label is what makes the worksheet actionable. A planner can filter reorder rows without interpreting the threshold math every time.
Learn more this functionIF
3. COUNTIF
COUNTIF finishes the worksheet by counting how many rows ended up with the reorder label. That gives a quick summary without scanning the whole table again.
The summary count also helps communicate workload. It tells the inventory team how many products need attention right now.
In a real inventory file, the thresholds may vary by product. This challenge uses fixed rules so the formula stays focused on the logic pattern itself.
Check each stock row against the shelf and warehouse thresholds, mark the items that need reordering, and then finish the summary so the worksheet shows the total number of SKUs and how many were flagged.