Adventure Operations reduced its inventory by over 30%

Managing inventory before Netstock

Life before Netstock was a constant battle against the limitations of spreadsheets. At the heart of their inventory planning was an extensive Excel file housing over 2500 SKU’s. This file would frequently crash and take up to a day to restore. Once restored, it was evident that some of the data was missing, and the team would have to input it again. This left them feeling disillusioned, with no confidence in their spreadsheets and no trust in the data.

Due to post-COVID-19 lockdowns, camping emerged as a compelling choice for those seeking a break from the monotony of their home environments. The outdoor recreation sector witnessed a surge in late 2020, increasing sales for specific product lines within Adventure Operations’ portfolio.

“We were rather bullish with our forecasts after that and based them off this great year that we had instead of looking at the more realistic view of what we had sold the prior year. This and the lack of data visibility to produce accurate forecasts resulted in excess inventory.”

Results after implementing Netstock

In October 2022, Adventure Operations investigated a few inventory management solutions, ultimately selecting Netstock. Fast forward 12 months, and the results are nothing short of spectacular. “We reduced our excess by over 30% while maintaining a robust 95% fill rate. The key to this turnaround was about having data visibility, leading to forecast accuracy, streamlined operations, and strategic sales initiatives.

Gone are the days of ordering five months of stock at a time. Adventure Operations now operates with agility, opting for smaller, frequent orders. The rhythm is finely tuned, and large inventory commitments are a thing of the past.

Netstock helps save time

Steve would spend close to 2 weeks compiling the analysis for their monthly review. “All this effort has been replaced by a click of a button. Generating an accurate forecast is all about the reliability of the data, and we are confident in the data and trust the order recommendations that we get from Netstock. We never had confidence in our data before.”

What-if analysis

Having complete visibility has allowed Adventure Operations to improve its inventory efficiencies. They can scrutinize surplus orders, making informed decisions on what to push back or cancel. The team in China that works with vendors and navigates all the logistics can look at potential stockouts, pre-empting and resolving issues proactively.

Netstock enables collaboration

Netstock is not just a tool for the sales team; it’s a collaborative platform for the entire organization. Planning, warehouse, logistics, sales, and product teams seamlessly access the same information, fostering improved collaboration and informed decision-making.