An overlap to put on the calendar
Suppose the first order needs a deposit on day 0 and its balance on day 30. The inventory becomes available for sale on day 65, but the next order requires a deposit on day 40.
That second deposit falls while the first order is still unavailable for sale. These dates are hypothetical; use your supplier and logistics evidence to build the actual schedule. The overlap is what a cash calendar needs to make visible.
Measure lead time through receiving
List the stages from purchase approval to saleable stock: production, inspection, origin handling, transit, customs, inland delivery and receiving. Use measured history where you have it and label any assumed duration.
Amazon describes the reorder point as average daily sales multiplied by lead time, plus buffer stock. Be consistent about the lead time in that formula. Port-to-port sailing time alone will not cover an order-to-saleable-stock plan.
Put the payments underneath
Add the deposit, balance, freight, duties and other outflows on their expected dates. Then add when cash is expected to be available under the business’s actual settlement arrangements. A sale and cash in the bank are different events.
Test a later cargo-ready date, a longer receiving period and weaker sales. Watch the lowest cash balance as well as unit margin. A larger purchase may reduce the quoted unit price while requiring more money earlier and leaving more inventory exposed to slow demand.
Keep procurement and finance on the same version
At the weekly review, identify which dates changed, which payments moved and what decision is needed. Assign the next action to an owner.
Update the reorder signal and cash forecast together before changing the order quantity or approving the next deposit. Otherwise, procurement may be ordering from an inventory plan that no longer matches the payment assumptions finance is using.