As a wine sales rep, having a retailer say “I’ll take 31 cases of that wine” is rare.

31 cases, at 12 bottles per case, is 372 bottles. That means the retailer has to sell a bottle every day, seven days a week, for a bit over a year in order to move through the inventory.

As a wine sales rep, having a retailer say “I’ll take seven bottles of that wine” is frustrating. Why not just buy a case? Or two? C’mon, dude … you order this every week! And like a heartbeat, the next week it’s another seven bottles. Then another seven. Then another seven …

You see where this is going.

The velocity question is not about inventory management or cash flow. The velocity question is all about the satisfaction of continuous sales as opposed to big drops. The privilege you get to communicate about that wine every week. The honor you should feel that every day, seven days a week, that wine sells one bottle in this shop. It’s emotional.

Sometimes the big drop shouldn’t be the goal.