The Hidden Cost of Not Having a Planner (and How One Brand Fixed It)
The Hidden Cost of Not Having a Planner (and How One Brand Fixed It)
If you're a founder, operator, or leader at a small product-based business, you’ve probably had That Moment:
You’re staring at an inventory spreadsheet late at night, trying to figure out what to order, when to order it, and how much to buy.
Maybe you’re toggling between Shopify and your 3PL, trying to piece together a story.
Maybe you’ve relied on gut instinct.
Maybe you’ve pulled a sales report, added 20%, and hoped for the best.
It’s common.
But it’s also quietly, consistently, and expensively costing you more than you think.
When Planning Falls on the Founder (or No One at All)
In most growing retail and DTC businesses, inventory planning starts as a shared task.
The founder does a little.
The ops lead does a little.
The buyer or merch lead does a little.
And that can work… until it doesn’t.
Without a dedicated planner or demand planning process in place, you’re likely experiencing:
Stockouts on your bestselling SKUs right when demand is highest
Overstock on slower-moving styles that tie up precious cash
Uncertainty around what to buy, how much, and when
Constant inventory fire drills and reactive decision-making
A low-level panic every time you hear “we’re almost out”
If this sounds familiar, it’s not a personal failing.
It’s a structural gap—a really common one—for growing brands that haven’t yet invested in dedicated planning.
The Real Cost: What Inventory Guesswork Is Doing to Your Business
Let’s put some sharper edges on it. Here’s what we often see when inventory planning is done on gut instead of strategy.
1. Missed Revenue from Stockouts
We all see headlines like, “This product sold out in 10 seconds!” and it’s easy to treat selling out like a badge of honor.
But here’s the reality:
Every “Sold Out” on a core or hero SKU = missed revenue
Your ad spend underperforms if shoppers click through and find nothing to buy
Customers who can’t get what they want… often don’t come back
A stockout isn’t just a temporary oops. It can damage customer trust, hurt paid performance, and slow momentum for months.
2. Cash Trapped in Inventory That Won’t Move
On the flip side, overordering feels safe—right up until you’re sitting on three months of inventory that isn’t moving.
Then you’re dealing with:
Forced markdowns and promotions
Higher storage and holding costs
Tight cash flow when you need it most
Those dollars could have funded your next product launch, wholesale expansion, or marketing campaign. Instead, they’re sitting in boxes.
3. Team Burnout + Founder Fatigue
When there’s no clear forecast or reorder plan, every inventory decision feels urgent:
Your ops lead is making high-stakes decisions in spreadsheets
Your team spends nights and weekends chasing numbers
You—the founder—are still the final safety net
It’s not sustainable, and it keeps your business reactive instead of strategic.
A Real Example: How One Fierce Brand Took Back Control of Their Inventory
Let’s talk about Larken—a postpartum and maternity brand on a mission to make life better for moms.
Their products are innovative, beautifully designed, and in high demand. But like many product-based brands, they hit a point where managing that demand internally became overwhelming.
Larken was founded by legal experts, not inventory planners.
Their hero products sold out often.
Raw materials, production timing, and finished goods were hard to connect in one clear picture.
They needed infrastructure and visibility that matched their growth.
They weren’t doing anything “wrong.” They’d simply outgrown founder-led planning.
What We Did Together
When Larken partnered with Boon, the goal was simple:
Bring clarity and control to inventory so the team could focus on serving moms and growing the brand.
Here’s how we did it:
Weekly Strategy Sessions
We met with the Larken team regularly to:
Put structure around planning and production
Act as a thought partner as the business scaled
Turn scattered data into a single source of truth
Dual Forecasting Models
We built two customized sales and inventory forecast models that:
Aligned to their assortment and marketing calendar
Gave visibility into demand by style, channel, and timeframe
Made it easier to scenario plan for growth, promos, and launches
Production & Raw Materials Tracker
Larken didn’t just need finished goods planning—they needed raw materials visibility.
So we created a tool that:
Connected fabric and trims to finished goods
Mapped production timelines to sales forecasts
Highlighted risk before it snowballed into stockouts
Cash Flow Planning Tools
To help them feel confident investing in growth, we built:
A total business cash flow model
Custom reporting that tied inventory decisions to financial impact
Clear guidance on when and how much to buy
These weren’t just “nice-to-have” spreadsheets.
They became the backbone of Larken’s inventory and growth strategy.
The Results
After implementing Boon’s tools and ongoing fractional planning support, Larken is now:
On track to more than double sales this year
Saving 15+ hours per week on inventory tasks
Getting back in stock significantly faster—keeping hero items available and customers happy
Using planning tools that support growth instead of constantly scrambling behind it
““What the Boon team has built is a GAME CHANGER for us. I’m thrilled to be working with the team and so impressed with the results.””
What a Demand Planner Really Brings to the Table
Many founders assume inventory planning is just math.
But good planners don’t just fill in a spreadsheet. They bring:
Structure to your buying and production decisions
Foresight about what’s coming 8–12+ weeks down the line
Clarity in how sales, inventory, and cash flow connect
A strong planner (or fractional planning partner like Boon) helps you:
Translate marketing plans into inventory strategy
Plan buys that align with your budget, goals, and lead times
Avoid reactive restocks and panic orders
Forecast new launches and channel expansion with real visibility
Build a foundation for scale that feels calm, not chaotic
Whether you’re prepping for a seasonal spike, adding a wholesale partner, or launching a new category, planning is what turns growth from chaos into momentum.
You Don’t Have to Guess Anymore
If you’re still making inventory decisions based on:
“What we did last time”
Whatever your platform dashboard shows
Or a gut feeling plus a percentage increase…
…it’s probably time to rethink your approach.
You don’t need a full in-house planning department.
You just need the right support.
At Boon, we partner with product-based brands that care deeply about their customers and want to scale sustainably—not in constant crisis mode.
Our fractional planning model gives you:
Senior-level inventory and demand planning expertise
Custom tools built for your business
Ongoing support without the cost of a full-time hire
So you can stop guessing and start growing—on purpose.
Ready to Get Off the Inventory Rollercoaster?
If you’re tired of late-night spreadsheet sessions, stockout stress, or “I hope this is right” inventory decisions…
👉 Book a free discovery call and get the planning support you (and your business) deserve.
Let’s talk about what’s possible when your inventory finally has a plan.
