3 Reason Why Brands Outsource Inventory Planning: Real Ways Expert Support Accelerates Growth
Why Would I Need Help?: Three Ways Boon Can Take Your Business to the Next Level
A new year always brings reflection—where your business has been and where you hope it’s headed next. For our team here at Boon, it also brings gratitude for the hundreds of product-based brands we’ve supported since 2017 and excitement for the scaling brands we’ll partner with this year. From helping founders launch into national chains to building inventory planning systems from the ground up, we’ve seen firsthand how expert demand planning and inventory management can transform a business.
If you’re wondering whether outsourcing inventory planning or bringing on fractional planning support is right for your brand, here are the three most common (and impactful) reasons growing retailers hire Boon.
You’re Expanding Sales Channels—But Don’t Have the Inventory Systems to Support It
So… you’ve received an offer to sell your product through a national retailer (HUGE congratulations!)—but running a successful DTC business is one thing; forecasting sales and planning inventory for a major chain is an entirely different skill set.
You can’t afford stockouts.
You can’t afford overbuys.
And you definitely can’t afford to mis-forecast demand when you have no sales history in the new channel.
This is exactly where outsourced inventory planning experts make all the difference.
Unlike internal teams who may be attempting this for the first time, Boon brings decades of merchandise planning, retail forecasting, and multi-channel demand planning experience from working with some of the largest retailers in the country. National chains do offer guidance—but they’re supporting hundreds of vendors. They can’t build the custom tools and models your business needs to succeed. We can.
Case Study: Mission-Based CPG Brand Expanding Into a Major Retailer
A CPG client came to us after being awarded placement in a major retailer. They had strong brand momentum but no inventory planning framework to determine initial orders or ongoing rebuys.
Boon built:
A custom store-level sales forecast model using retailer minimums, store counts, and benchmarks from comparable brands
A dynamic reorder tool to help their team react to real-time sales
A flexible inventory forecasting system to support demand spikes and mitigate risks
The result was a smooth, successful retail launch with a robust demand planning structure they still use today.
Case Study: Maternity Brand Expanding Into Amazon
This founder-led brand was frequently selling out of product on their own e-commerce site and had no visibility into raw material constraints, lead times, or production capacity. Launching into Amazon with no forecasting structure would’ve been disastrous.
So Boon designed:
A full raw materials and production forecasting model
A custom sales and inventory forecast by SKU
Tools that clarified lead times, cash flow implications, and reorder windows
The Impact:
2.5x sales growth
14 hours saved per week
50% faster restocks
Complete clarity into inventory and production cycles
When your channel footprint grows, your inventory complexity grows with it. This is when outsourcing demand planning creates massive ROI.
You Need Temporary or Interim Planning Support (Without Losing Momentum)
Sometimes, the need for support isn’t long-term—it’s urgent.
Maybe your sales planner just put in their two weeks.
Maybe your merchandiser is going on leave.
Maybe you’ve outgrown your systems but aren’t ready for a full-time senior planner.
This is the beauty of fractional planners and outsourced inventory support.
Because Boon has experience across most POS and inventory management systems, our onboarding is fast—often just days. We can maintain or improve your planning processes while you hire, restructure, or stabilize internally.
Case Study: Subscription-Based Brand Needing Interim Planning Leadership
This team needed merchandise planning expertise but wasn’t ready to hire full-time. Boon stepped in to:
Build out all initial planning templates
Implement inventory management processes
Support merchants with weekly reporting
Create forecasting and OTB structures that scaled as the brand tripled in size
When they were ready to hire permanently, Boon:
Built candidate assessments
Sat in on interviews
Helped onboard the new planner
Continued supporting high-level analysis as needed
This is the power of flexible planning support—it grows with you.
Case Study: Personal Care Brand Needing Leave Coverage
A team member went on family leave and the brand needed temporary help fast. Boon stepped in, learned their systems, and took over planning responsibilities within two weeks—a timeline impossible for a brand-new hire.
When the internal team member returned, we seamlessly transitioned responsibilities back.
3. Your Team Is Too Stretched to Diagnose (Let Alone Solve) the Inventory Problems
If you’re the founder of a fast-growing retail business, you probably feel this deeply:
The symptoms are everywhere—stockouts, overstocks, cash flow issues—but you don’t have the bandwidth to uncover the root cause.
This is the most common scenario for emerging brands.
When you're buried in the day-to-day, you don't have time to analyze:
Lead times
Inventory turnover
Category-level trends
Vendor constraints
Sales forecast variance
Raw materials vs. finished goods bottlenecks
That’s where outsourced inventory optimization, demand forecasting, and data aggregation can change everything.
Case Study: High-Growth Sportswear Brand With Planning Blind Spots
This company had experienced planners managing individual categories, but no one was looking at the total business. No unified demand plan. No consolidated forecast. No full-picture inventory strategy.
Boon stepped in to:
Aggregate all sales + inventory data
Build a unified forecasting model
Create cross-category visibility
Implement a consistent planning cadence
Improve supply chain predictability and cash flow
Once they could see the whole picture, everything about their business changed.
Let Us Fill the Gaps
If your inventory and sales data feel overwhelming—or if you’re ready to scale but don’t have the planning systems to support growth—this is your sign.
Whether you need:
A fractional planner
A fully outsourced inventory planning team
Custom demand planning tools
Help managing a new sales channel
Temporary planning coverage
A strategic reset to fix forecasting issues
Boon is ready to step in.
Don’t let another year go by pushing your planning problems down the road.
Let 2025 be the year you build the inventory systems that finally support the scale you’re aiming for.
👉 Reach out to us today to book a discovery call.
Your future inventory—and your peace of mind—will thank you.
