Beco goes from ruff forecasts to purrfect precision

As the company scaled, managing inventory across channels and regions became increasingly difficult, necessitating a more intelligent, forward-looking planning approach.

The Challenge: Reactive planning in a complex environment

Before implementing Netstock, Beco relied heavily on spreadsheets and historical data pulled from Sage 200 ERP. Planning was reactive, time-consuming, and lacked forward visibility:

• No true demand forecasting, only past-based consumption trends
• Heavy reliance on complex spreadsheets prone to errors
• Difficulty managing over 200 SKUs
• Overstocking and stock-outs occur simultaneously
• Limited ability to respond to changing demand across channels

“We were stuck planning in the rearview mirror—no forecasting, just constantly deciding what to order, with little confidence it was the right amount.” Omar Ibrahim, Head of Operations at Beco

The Turning Point – Moving to intelligent forecasting

Beco selected Netstock for two key reasons:

1. Seamless integration with Sage and
2. The ability to use look-alike SKU data to confidently forecast demand for new and replacement products in an NPD-driven business.

Implementation was smooth, supported by Beco’s strong data integrity from day one. “The onboarding process was structured and straightforward, with clear guidance at every stage. Integration was seamless, and we were up and running quickly without any major challenges.”

However, transitioning from spreadsheets required a fundamental mindset shift within the inventory team, moving from manual, reactive processes to trusting a data-driven planning approach. “A lot of trust had to be built initially, so we ran processes in parallel until we knew the data was right.”

The Solution: From guesswork to data-driven decisions

With Netstock in place, Beco transformed how they approach inventory planning:

1. Forward-looking forecasting. The team now uses dynamic forecasts rather than static run rates, enabling better demand forecasting.

2. Centralized, transparent decision-making. All forecasting decisions, overrides, and assumptions are now tracked and visible. “We can add a comment, track overrides, and revisit assumptions; everything is traceable.”

3. Real-Time visibility into risk. Dashboards highlighting stock-outs and surplus inventory allow proactive intervention. “It gives us the chance as a team to review potential issues early enough to speak to suppliers and either slow something down, or speed something up.”

4. Scalable operations. As the business expands into new markets and warehouses, Netstock provides a consistent, scalable planning framework. “If we had kept our old processes as we grew, we would’ve buckled under the bandwidth immediately or had to grow our team.”

The ROI within the first year.

1. Reduced inventory & freed up cash
Within the first 9–12 months, Beco cut overall inventory by 10–15%, unlocking significant working capital.

“Within about nine months to a year, we had a double-digit percentage reduction in inventory holding.”

2. Improved availability & service levels
Service levels jumped from ~80% to 95%+ in just six months, ensuring better product availability across all channels.

3. Scaled operations without adding headcount
Even while expanding warehouses and growing their customer base, Beco maintained the same team size, boosting operational efficiency.

“We’ve increased warehouses and customers, but kept headcount the same.”

4. Stronger financial control.
The freed-up working capital was reinvested strategically, reducing reliance on external funding and lowering interest costs.

“We freed up working capital, reduced debt, and invested in company growth.”

Netstock supports long-term growth

Netstock has enabled Beco to evolve from reactive inventory management to a more mature, data-driven planning process, supporting long-term growth.

• Improved collaboration between the supply chain and sales
• Greater ability to manage demand volatility and customer fluctuations
• More confident, data-backed decision-making for new product launches

Scaling for the future

As Beco expands into new regions and product lines, Netstock remains a critical part of its growth strategy.

“One of the reasons we chose Netstock is scalability. Netstock grows with us, and enables us to make better, faster decisions with the right data, without replacing human judgment.”

As the business scales, it also plans to leverage Netstock’s redistribution capabilities to optimize inventory positioning across locations. In parallel, there is a growing focus on increasing the use of AI-driven insights to further enhance forecasting accuracy, improve decision-making, and support more proactive, data-led inventory planning.