[AjithAntony]

For a giant retailer like walmart there are probably large gaps between inventory and merchandising.

I was shopping at Walmart this weekend in a larger city than I'm used to, and the whole place was a mess. ( it was also in the evening. Maybe merchandising elves pop out overnight)

Not a single shelf was in order. Damaged product littering the bottom shelves, discarded items all over the store from various departments, mis-shelved items. No attempt at proper sorting of items that had only subtle differences.

It is very easy to imagine that their inventory management reports 6 of some item, but not a single one is in the place it is supposed to be.

If automatic reorder doesn't kick in until 0, then there are likely many items that will never be replenished until a full inventory is performed. (I don't even know if it is possible for a store like walmart to perform "inventory")