Multi-criteria ABC inventory classification is one of the most widely employed techniques for efficient inventory control, and it considers more than one criterion for categorizing inventory items into groups of different importance. Recently, Ramanathan (2006) proposed a weighted linear optimization (WLO) model for the problem of multi-criteria ABC inventory classification. The WLO model generates a set of criteria weights for each item and assigns a normalized score to each item for ABC analysis. Although the WLO model is considered to have many advantages, it has a limitation that many items can share the same optimal efficiency score. This limitation can hinder a precise classification of inventory items. To overcome this deficiency, we propose a context-dependent DEA based method for multi-criteria ABC inventory classification problems. In the proposed model, items are first stratified into several efficiency levels, and then the relative attractiveness of each item is measured with respect to less efficient ones. Based on this attractiveness measure, items can be further discriminated in terms of their importance. By a comparative study between the proposed model and the WLO model, we argue that the proposed model can provide a more reasonable and accurate classification of inventory items.