What is a good IPI score?

Amazon sets a minimum threshold above which you get generous or unlimited FBA storage, and that threshold has changed over time, so check the current number in Seller Central rather than relying on a figure quoted elsewhere. Generally, the higher and more stable your score, the safer you are from storage limits. Aim to stay comfortably above the current floor so a normal restock does not push you over a cap.

What happens if my IPI score is too low?

Amazon can apply FBA storage limits that cap how much inventory you may hold by storage type. If you hit the cap you cannot send in more units, which can stall restocks and launches, and you may need to file removal orders to free up space. A low score usually also coincides with higher storage fees and aged-inventory surcharges.

How often does Amazon update the IPI score?

Amazon recalculates IPI on a rolling basis and displays the current score and a trend in Seller Central. Because it reflects recent inventory behavior, fixing stranded inventory or clearing excess stock can move the score over the following weeks rather than instantly. Check it regularly, especially before a big inbound shipment.

What is the fastest way to raise my IPI?

Start with stranded inventory, since reconnecting or relisting those units removes a drag immediately and makes the stock sellable again. Then reduce excess and aged inventory by discounting or liquidating slow movers, and keep your top listings in stock. The lasting fix is ordering quantities that match real demand so you stop overbuying.

Glossary

What is IPI (Inventory Performance Index)?

Amazon's 0–1000 score of how efficiently you manage FBA inventory.

IPI, or Inventory Performance Index, is Amazon's score for how efficiently you manage your FBA inventory. It runs on a scale up to 1000 and is shown in Seller Central. Amazon recalculates the Amazon IPI score regularly using a rolling view of your inventory health, and it functions as a gate: keep your score above Amazon's current threshold and you get generous or unlimited FBA storage; fall below it and Amazon can impose storage limits on how much inventory you may send in.

The score is not arbitrary. It rewards the behaviors of a healthy inventory operation, selling through stock at a reasonable pace, not letting units age into long-term storage, fixing listings that have gone dark, and keeping popular items in stock. Because IPI directly controls your storage capacity and influences the fees you pay, it sits at the intersection of operations and accounting. A low score can force removals, cap restocking, and quietly raise your cost per unit.

What goes into the Inventory Performance Index

Amazon has described IPI as driven by a handful of inventory-health levers, and while Amazon adjusts the exact weighting over time, the core drivers have been consistent. The biggest one is excess inventory: stock sitting in fulfillment centers far beyond what your sales velocity justifies drags the score down. Aged inventory that is heading toward or already incurring long-term or aged-inventory surcharges hurts as well. Sell-through, the ratio of units shipped to units stored over a recent window, pushes the score up when it is healthy.

Two operational hygiene factors round it out. Stranded inventory, units sitting in the warehouse with no active, buyable listing, drags the score and should be fixed fast because those units cost storage while earning nothing. And in-stock rate on your productive listings matters, since running your best sellers out of stock signals poor inventory planning. Do not anchor to any specific numeric threshold you read anywhere, including the score floor, because Amazon changes these values; confirm the current threshold and your current score in Seller Central.

•Excess inventory: too much stock relative to sales velocity lowers the score
•Sell-through rate: healthy units-shipped to units-stored over a rolling window raises it
•Stranded inventory: units with no active listing drag the score and waste storage
•Aged inventory: stock approaching or incurring aged-inventory surcharges hurts
•In-stock rate: running productive listings out of stock signals weak planning

Why your IPI score controls storage limits and fees

The practical consequence of IPI is storage capacity. When your score sits above Amazon's current threshold, you generally get unrestricted or very generous FBA storage. When it drops below, Amazon can apply storage limits that cap how many units, by storage type, you are allowed to have in fulfillment centers. Hitting that cap means you cannot send in more inventory, which can stall a product launch or a Q4 restock at the worst possible moment, and may force you to file removal orders to make room.

IPI also correlates with what you pay. The same behaviors that lower the score, excess and aged stock, are exactly the behaviors that trigger higher monthly storage fees and aged-inventory surcharges. So a low IPI is rarely a standalone problem; it usually means you are already bleeding money on storage. Improving the score and cutting storage cost are the same project. Both depend on knowing your real sell-through and real carrying cost, which is where accurate inventory accounting earns its keep.

How to improve a low IPI score

The fastest wins are usually on the cost-free hygiene items. Find and fix stranded inventory first, since reconnecting a listing or relisting units removes a drag and makes those units sellable again immediately. Next, attack excess and aged stock: discount slow movers, run a sale, or create a removal or liquidation order for units that will never sell through, accepting a small loss to stop the storage bleed and lift the score. Then tighten your in-stock rate on the listings that actually drive your sales.

The durable fix is upstream: order quantities that match real demand. Overbuying is the root cause of most low IPI scores, and it is a planning and cash-flow problem before it is an Amazon problem. Using accurate sell-through and reorder math, rather than gut feel, keeps inventory lean enough to protect both the score and your margin. A clear view of unit-level cost and aging, the kind BeanHawk surfaces from your inventory and settlement data, makes those reorder and liquidation decisions far less guesswork.

IPI and the accounting view of inventory

IPI is Amazon's operational scorecard, but it maps almost one-to-one to inventory concepts your accountant cares about. Excess and aged inventory on Amazon's dashboard is the same slow-moving and obsolete stock that should be watched for write-down on your balance sheet. The storage fees and aged-inventory surcharges that a low IPI signals are real carrying costs that erode gross margin. And the removals you file to lift a sagging score are inventory leaving the system that must be relieved from stock at cost.

Treating IPI purely as an Amazon metric and ignoring its accounting twin is how sellers end up surprised by thin margins. If your IPI is chronically low, your books will show it as rising storage expense, growing aged stock value, and shrinking gross margin per unit. Reading both together gives you the full picture: IPI tells you Amazon is unhappy, and your P&L tells you how much it is costing you.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good IPI score?: Amazon sets a minimum threshold above which you get generous or unlimited FBA storage, and that threshold has changed over time, so check the current number in Seller Central rather than relying on a figure quoted elsewhere. Generally, the higher and more stable your score, the safer you are from storage limits. Aim to stay comfortably above the current floor so a normal restock does not push you over a cap.
What happens if my IPI score is too low?: Amazon can apply FBA storage limits that cap how much inventory you may hold by storage type. If you hit the cap you cannot send in more units, which can stall restocks and launches, and you may need to file removal orders to free up space. A low score usually also coincides with higher storage fees and aged-inventory surcharges.
How often does Amazon update the IPI score?: Amazon recalculates IPI on a rolling basis and displays the current score and a trend in Seller Central. Because it reflects recent inventory behavior, fixing stranded inventory or clearing excess stock can move the score over the following weeks rather than instantly. Check it regularly, especially before a big inbound shipment.
What is the fastest way to raise my IPI?: Start with stranded inventory, since reconnecting or relisting those units removes a drag immediately and makes the stock sellable again. Then reduce excess and aged inventory by discounting or liquidating slow movers, and keep your top listings in stock. The lasting fix is ordering quantities that match real demand so you stop overbuying.
Does IPI affect my storage fees directly?: IPI does not set fee rates by itself, but the behaviors that lower it, excess and aged stock, are exactly what triggers higher monthly storage fees and aged-inventory surcharges. So a low IPI almost always means you are already paying more in storage. Improving the score and cutting storage cost are effectively the same effort.

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