---
title: "What Is Make-to-Stock (MTS)?"
url: https://www.uncap.com/glossary/make-to-stock
author: "Denis Dyli"
published: 2026-10-28
updated: 2026-10-28
summary: "Make-to-stock (MTS) is a production strategy in which a manufacturer builds or buys items ahead of customer orders and ships each order from finished inventory. Replenishment is planned from expected demand and stock levels, so buyers get the item from the shelf instead of waiting for production, and the business carries the inventory until it sells."
---

# What Is Make-to-Stock (MTS)?

> Make-to-stock (MTS) is a production strategy in which a manufacturer builds or buys items ahead of customer orders and ships each order from finished inventory. Replenishment is planned from expected demand and stock levels, so buyers get the item from the shelf instead of waiting for production, and the business carries the inventory until it sells.

**Make-to-stock (MTS)**: Make-to-stock (MTS) is a production strategy in which a manufacturer builds or buys items ahead of customer orders and ships each order from finished inventory. Replenishment is planned from expected demand and stock levels, so buyers get the item from the shelf instead of waiting for production, and the business carries the inventory until it sells.

## How it works

Make-to-stock is a production strategy in which items are replenished to inventory before customers order them, and each sales order is filled from stock on hand. The opposite approach, [make-to-order](/glossary/make-to-order), produces or purchases an item only to cover a specific customer demand.

Microsoft's Business Central documentation shows the planning settings involved:

- Manufacturing policy: the Manufacturing Policy field on the item card can be Make-to-Stock or Make-to-Order. With Make-to-Stock, the orders the planning run proposes concern only the item itself, not linked orders down the bill of materials.
- Demand: Business Central counts a forecast as a kind of demand, alongside sales orders, so a finished item can be planned against expected sales.
- Reorder point: the Fixed Reorder Qty. and Maximum Qty. reordering policies relate to inventory planning. A reorder point represents demand during lead time, and when inventory is projected to pass below it, the planning system suggests a supply order.

Business Central's documentation says the Fixed Reorder Qty. policy is typically used for items with low inventory cost, low risk of obsolescence and a low number of items.

## Make-to-stock vs. make-to-order

- When supply starts: make-to-stock replenishes ahead of orders from stock levels and forecasts. Make-to-order starts from a specific customer order.
- What the buyer waits for: with make-to-stock, the buyer waits only for picking and shipping. With make-to-order, the buyer waits for the item to be produced or purchased.
- Where the risk sits: make-to-stock carries finished inventory that can turn into obsolete inventory if demand moves. Make-to-order links each supply order to a demand, so the item is made for a known order.

## Example

A manufacturer sells a standard steel enclosure from stock. It sells about 30 a day, and a production run takes 10 days to arrive.

- Demand during lead time: 30 x 10 = 300 enclosures
- Reorder point with 100 units of safety stock: 300 + 100 = 400 enclosures
- Planning check: with 420 on hand, no order is needed yet. When projected inventory passes below 400, the planning system suggests a supply order.

A distributor ordering 40 enclosures gets them from the shelf the same week.

## On Shopify

For products sold from stock, Shopify's guide to setting up inventory says inventory tracking is useful when you need to monitor stock levels and prevent overselling, and that accurate initial quantities ensure customers can only order what you have in stock. You turn it on with the Track quantity setting in a product's Inventory section.

## How Uncap helps

Uncap's guide to [B2B ecommerce for manufacturers](/post/ecommerce-for-manufacturers) says to decide which system is the system of record for each kind of data before anyone writes code. For inventory and availability, the answer it gives is the ERP, sent per location, and for made-to-order items, a promise date often beats a count.

## Related terms

- Make-to-order (MTO)
- Reorder point
- Safety stock
- Economic order quantity (EOQ)
- Inventory turnover ratio
- Obsolete inventory

## Sources

- Microsoft Learn: Design details, planning parameters (Business Central)
- Microsoft Learn: Design details, handling reordering policies (Business Central)
- Shopify Help Center: Setting up inventory for the first time

## Frequently asked questions

### What does make to stock mean?

Make to stock means items are built or bought ahead of customer orders and each order ships from finished inventory. In Business Central, an item on the Fixed Reorder Qty. or Maximum Qty. policy gets a suggested supply order when projected inventory passes below its reorder point.

### What is an example of make-to-stock?

A manufacturer sells 30 standard enclosures a day with a 10-day production lead time and keeps 100 as safety stock, so its reorder point is 30 x 10 + 100 = 400. Orders ship from the shelf, and a new run is planned when projected stock passes below 400.

### What is the difference between make-to-order and make-to-stock?

Make-to-stock replenishes inventory ahead of orders and ships from stock, so buyers wait only for shipping. Make-to-order produces or purchases an item only for a specific customer order, so buyers wait for production but the item is never built without a buyer.