Downtown Duty Free’s path to smarter inventory planning

With complex forecasting requirements, long lead times, and a mix of high-volume and seasonal products, Downtown Duty Free needed a better way to streamline procurement and manage cash flow.

Before implementing Netstock, the procurement team relied heavily on manual, spreadsheet-driven processes. Forecasting over 1000 SKUs across multiple suppliers was slow, error-prone, and exhausting.

Manual forecasts were never fully reliable, with shifting business trends and customer changes requiring constant adjustments. Add exchange rate volatility and lead times of up to three months, and delays often resulted in either stock-outs or excess inventory.

Why Netstock over competitors

Downtown Duty Free evaluated both Netstock and another local Inventory Planning Solution before making their decision.

Smarter, automated inventory planning

Netstock gave the team visibility and control over their inventory processes, automated key reports, and enabled proactive planning.

“Netstock helps us work smarter, not harder.” – Janré Van Zyl

Downtown Duty Free’s favorite Netstock features

Opportunity Engine: Netstock’s AI tool identifies high-value opportunities and highlights risks, such as stock-outs or purchase orders that need review, before they become problems.

“The Opportunity Engine prioritizes fast movers and highest-margin products. It flags when we’re about to miss something or flags when we are about to over-order, which helps us work efficiently—smarter, not harder.” – Janré Van Zyl

Classification & Reporting: Netstock automatically classifies stock items according to sale value and volume, and highlights excess, slow-moving, and expiring stock.

“With Netstock’s reporting, it automatically highlights the top and bottom performers, excess stock, and expiry risks. Before, we would pull a stock report and not even know where to start.” – Sara Ebrahim

Seamless ERP Integration: – Netstock enhances Acumatica data by transforming raw numbers into actionable insights, helping Downtown Duty Free to optimize inventory planning.

The results over 6 months

Time savings, accuracy, and confidence

• From 1–2 days to 10 minutes: Forecasts that once took days are now generated in minutes.
• 90 – 95% forecast accuracy: After validating results repeatedly, the team now trusts Netstock’s numbers.
• 18% fill rate improvement
• 10% reduction in stock-outs
• Reduced manual effort: Freed from repetitive spreadsheet work, the team can focus on strategic decisions.
• Better visibility: Automated classification and reporting help the business control cash flow and reduce excess stock.

“The hours we used to spend on manual work alone cost us more than what we now pay for Netstock. That alone justifies the value Netstock adds. Beyond the time savings, it’s given us the structure and visibility to easily identify expiry stock, slow movers, and excess, making it a far more effective way of working.” – Sara Ebrahim

Netstock’s onboarding & support

Downtown Duty Free highlighted Netstock’s onboarding and ongoing support as a key part of their success. With a dedicated team of industry experts guiding every step, the transition from spreadsheets to Netstock was seamless. The combination of hands-on guidance, responsive consultants, and a rich training library gave the team the confidence to hit the ground running.

“The onboarding was handled with such finesse. Our hands were held throughout the process, and if our Netstock Consultant didn’t know the answer, he immediately connected us to someone who did. Combined with the training library and support team, we’ve had the confidence of always having someone to lean on if we get stuck.” – Sara Ebrahim

Today, Downtown Duty Free continues to benefit from Netstock’s proactive online support model, knowing that expert help and resources are always within reach. This reassurance has allowed their team to focus on strategic inventory planning, not troubleshooting.

Results worth celebrating

By replacing manual spreadsheets with Netstock, Downtown Duty Free has transformed its inventory planning. Within six months, they improved their fill rate by 18%, cut stock-outs by 10%, and continue to save valuable time while improving forecast accuracy. With actionable insights to optimize working capital, the team can truly raise a glass to smarter forecasting, achieving greater efficiency, visibility, and confidence in every decision.