National Beauty Distribution Keeps Inventory Lean Across 40+ Brands

Today, the company manages more than 40 brands, employs over 70 people, and imports products from suppliers across Europe, Australia, Asia, North America, and South America.

The rapid growth created new challenges around forecasting, replenishment, warehouse capacity, and maintaining product availability across an increasingly complex global supply chain.

The Challenge: Growth outpaced manual processes

Before implementing Netstock, inventory planning was highly manual.

Although the business had invested in the NetSuite ERP system, purchasing decisions were still heavily reliant on spreadsheets, manual analysis, and individual experience.

Each replenishment cycle involved downloading inventory data, reviewing sales history, and manually calculating order quantities.

This approach was manageable with a handful of SKUs. It wasn’t manageable at scale. When the company onboarded a new brand carrying an additional 900 SKUs, the cracks started to show.

Challenges included:

• Seasonal demand patterns were difficult to identify
• Stock-outs became more frequent
• Lead time variability was hard to manage
• Purchasing decisions consumed significant amounts of time
• Inventory visibility was limited
• Company growth was placing increasing pressure on a small team

“Where we were seeing significant pain was the stock-outs. It affected our bottom line because we’re not making those sales, but it also affected relationships with key accounts,” says Keith Walsh, Purchasing Manager at National Beauty Distribution

Why Netstock?

National Beauty Distribution evaluated one other inventory planning solution before selecting Netstock. “While this platform offered extensive functionality, it was overly complex and designed for large enterprise teams. Netstock stood out for its intuitive user experience, practical approach to inventory planning, and ability to deliver value without unnecessary complexity or cost.”

As the team explored different options, it became clear that Netstock was built with inventory planners in mind, providing the functionality they needed in a format that was easy to understand and adopt.

“They spoke my language. The intuitive interface made it easy to navigate key inventory metrics, enabling the team to gain immediate value from the solution and accelerate adoption across the business.”

Implementing Netstock

The implementation process also helped improve inventory data quality across the business. While the software was straightforward to deploy, the project highlighted opportunities to improve lead time management, supplier information, and inventory data accuracy.

The Netstock team worked closely with National Beauty Distribution to ensure the system was configured correctly and aligned with their business processes.

From manual guesswork to intelligent planning

One of the biggest transformations was moving away from spreadsheet-based planning and towards data-driven forecasting.
Previously, purchasing decisions were often based on recent sales history, making it difficult to account for seasonal demand.

A good example was the company’s sun-care product range. “In Ireland, we’re not selling much sun care in November. We might sell two units a month. Then summer arrives, and suddenly we’re selling 24 to 48 a month.”

Without visibility into historical seasonality, products regularly sold out at the worst possible time. With Netstock, those seasonal patterns became visible.

The result was a significant reduction in stockouts and improved product availability throughout the year.

Saving hours every week

Perhaps the most immediate benefit was the amount of time saved. Inventory planning that previously consumed large portions of the week can now be completed in minutes.

“A large order could have taken me three to five hours. Now it takes 20 to 30 minutes.”

By automating much of the forecasting and replenishment process, the team can focus on higher-value activities that support business growth. “There are plenty of other things to do that add more value to the business as a whole.”

Scaling without increasing headcount

As National Beauty Distribution continued to expand into new warehouses and add new brands, leadership faced a choice: hire additional inventory planners or find a smarter way to scale. Netstock made that decision easy.

“We could have hired two people to do that role, but we didn’t need to. We adopted Netstock, and it worked out perfectly.”

The business has been able to keep inventory planning centralized while supporting substantial growth, enabling it to expand operations with a lean team and without significantly increasing administrative overhead. “We’ve been able to keep the team lean as we’ve grown.”

Growing sales without inflated inventory holding

While sales have continued to grow year after year, inventory investment has become more efficient.

“For the last three years, our CEO has commented that while we’re growing, our inventory holding is coming down.” Even as sales volumes have increased, inventory levels have remained stable or even reduced, demonstrating a more efficient use of working capital. The impact has been significant, with the business improving stock availability, reducing unnecessary inventory investment, and strengthening cash flow.

“Capital has absolutely been freed up, which has enabled the company to reinvest in growth initiatives while maintaining confidence that the right products are available in the right quantities at the right time.”

Better forecasting benefits everyone

The benefits of improved forecasting extend beyond National Beauty Distribution. The company now provides suppliers with more accurate forward-looking demand information, helping manufacturers improve their own planning processes.

The impact extends across the entire supply chain. “It’s not only us that benefits. There are four key stakeholders in the supply chain that all gain from accurate forecasting: the end customer purchasing from the salon, the salon owner, us as the distributor, and the supplier. All four benefit from a system that enables more precise, reliable forecasting.”

Managing global supply chain volatility

With products sourced from multiple continents, National Beauty Distribution must continually manage shipping delays, fluctuating lead times, fuel costs, and supply chain disruptions. Netstock provides the flexibility needed to adapt quickly.

“When supply chain conditions change, I simply adjust the lead time and Netstock gives me a whole new suggested order.”

By proactively managing lead times and inventory buffers, the business is able to reduce risk and maintain service levels even during periods of uncertainty.

Where AI fits, and where it doesn’t

Keith leverages Netstock’s AI Opportunities feature to enhance decision-making, while still applying human judgment where context matters most, such as warehouse closures or shifting shipping routes.

“AI is great; it’s a powerful tool. It can help you do your job, but with inventory planning, it can’t do your job for you. There are too many variables. For example, I might already know there’s going to be a shortage of a raw material for a product we’re making, AI can’t always capture that kind of insight. That’s knowledge you carry in your head.”

An unexpected benefit: Stronger teams, better decisions

While National Beauty Distribution implemented Netstock to improve inventory planning and product availability, one of the most significant unexpected benefits has been the positive impact on team morale and cross-functional collaboration.

“Team morale has improved because people are able to do their jobs better.”

With greater visibility into inventory, forecasts, incoming stock, and purchasing requirements, every department is better equipped to plan ahead and make informed decisions. Finance gains clearer insight into future inventory spend, warehouse teams can proactively manage inbound deliveries, and sales teams have greater confidence in stock availability.

The result is stronger alignment across purchasing, finance, sales, and warehouse operations, enabling teams to work more efficiently, make faster decisions, and support the business’s continued growth with confidence.

Looking Ahead

As National Beauty Distribution continues to expand into new markets and distribution centers, Netstock remains a key part of its operational strategy.

The company expects to further leverage forecasting, supplier performance management, inventory optimization, and multi-location planning capabilities as the business evolves.

Customer Perspective

When asked what advice Keith would give other businesses considering Netstock, the answer was immediate: “Just do it. Make the change. See the difference. Trust the system.”