Inventory systems accumulate history.
They also accumulate item codes created for emergencies, products nobody sells anymore, aliases nobody remembers, descriptions written in 2007, and warehouses that may have changed purpose three times.
Start With What Is Still Operationally Real
Which items are active? Which warehouses are real? Which aliases are still used? Which product lines still make sense? Which historical records must remain available?
Do Not Destroy History Just to Make the List Prettier
Cleanup should respect transaction history, reporting, integrations, and the way old item numbers may still appear in customer or vendor records.
Improve the Future Entry Process
The best cleanup project does more than fix yesterday's list. It also makes the rules for new items clearer so the clutter does not immediately grow back.
Naming, product lines, aliases, warehouse usage, units of measure, costing, and reporting requirements can all be part of that conversation.