Astrid & Miyu Strikes Gold With Automated Replenishment From Inventory Planner

“It’s a massive time saver. It’s gone from taking one person all day to being done in a couple of hours.” – Joanne Langton, Merchandise Manager, Astrid & Miyu 

With 3,000 SKUs, 24 retail stores in multiple regions and a thriving webstore, planning inventory at Astrid & Miyu isn’t the most straightforward of tasks.  

However, until recently it was being made even more difficult by clunky, outdated spreadsheets. 

In a market where demand changes overnight, manual approaches to planning inventory simply don’t cut it. Often it means retailers like Astrid & Miyu run into major issues with overstock and stockouts, which impact cash flow and damage reputation.  

After realizing something had to change and searching for the best cutting-edge demand forecasting and inventory planning tool around, Astrid & Miyu signed up with Inventory Planner by Sage.  

Maggie Vorstenburg, Merchandising Director, Astrid & Miyu, says: “When the business was small, using Excel to plan inventory was fine. But we now have over 20 locations – with plans to add more – and a large portfolio of products, so we needed to bring in a proper solution. 

“I looked at lots of tools but most of them were designed for online-only businesses. Inventory Planner was the best for us as a complex business with a growing number of physical stores, as well as our online operation.” 

A golden opportunity 

Founded in 2012 by Connie Nam, Astrid & Miyu is a London-based contemporary jewelry brand known for its elegant, minimalistic designs. The brand is popular for its unique pieces, made using innovative techniques like 3D printing and with a focus on sustainability. 

Originally started online, the company has opened 24 stores in recent years and diversified into services such as piercing, innovative welded bracelets and tattoos. 

With business booming, choosing an inventory planning tool that could offer automated forecasting and replenishment was a top priority – and Inventory Planner has delivered.  

The top-rated inventory planning tool reveals which inventory to order, how much to order and the perfect moment to order it, based on an accurate calculation of how much a merchant will sell.  

 Its automatic and always up-to-date forecasts factor in supplier timescales, seasonality and promotions alongside historical sales data, which are then turned into easy-to-understand buying recommendations. 

This has been game-changing for Maggie and her team, who are able to calculate accurate buy values directly from the buying recommendations report and send them to suppliers in a matter of clicks. 

Maggie says: “Automated replenishment is where we probably leverage Inventory Planner the most. With so many stores, that was a big draw for us.  

“We’re not a business that overly relies on promotions or one that’s highly seasonal, but accurate planning is still critical for us. We can count on the forecasts from Inventory Planner.” 

Joanne Langton, the brand’s Merchandise Manager, adds: “We’re a complex business in terms of the way we buy, but using automatic replenishment has made things much simpler. It took the team a little while to get on board with a different way of doing things, but now we’re there we’re really seeing the impact.” 

Revolutionising the Jewelry Experience 

The platform offers a range of easy-to-understand inventory reports, including a powerful overstock report which highlights overstocked items and the associated cost, so retailers can quickly see which items to liquidate first to protect cash flow. 

For Astrid & Miyu, the warehouse transfer reports are a particular highlight, providing intelligent recommendations on when and where to transfer items to avoid buying unnecessary stock.  

It’s given the business an easy way to allocate stock depending on the requirements of each store and the online warehouse. 

Joanne says: “It’s so much quicker than using Excel.  

“Now we get one report that allocates the required stock to our individual stores. It’s a massive time saver.  

“It’s gone from taking one person all day to being done in a couple of hours.” 

Maggie adds: “It’s helped us optimize our availability in stores. We send the right stock to the right locations and we’re not sitting heavy with stock in locations that aren’t selling well.  

“Being able to have the right stock in the right place at the right time is linked with an improvement in sales.  

“There have been major efficiencies made since we joined Inventory Planner. We’ve definitely saved time and processes have been streamlined and automated which has been key to allowing the business to grow.” 

Success set in stone 

Unlike other solutions, Inventory Planner provides unlimited seats, allowing the entire team to benefit from real-time insights. It also includes expert-led support and ongoing training – an approach which has made a notable difference to the team at Astrid & Miyu. 

Maggie says: “We’ve had a great account manager, which has made a massive difference especially with us adding so many new locations in recent years.  

“Having someone that’s responsive and supportive and really understands your business is invaluable.” 

 “We can count on the forecasts from Inventory Planner.” – Maggie Vorstenburg, Global Head of Merchandising 

With a tech stack that centres around Shopify and Cin7 alongside Inventory Planner, Astrid & Miyu’s sales are split between physical stores and online.  

With continued expansion on the cards, the team is starting to leverage the advanced planning tools that Inventory Planner includes, including market-leading Open–to-Buy (OTB) planning.  

OTB, also known as ‘merchandising planning’ or ‘supply planning’, is an inventory planning strategy that helps retailers accurately work out how much inventory to buy, according to units, cost or revenue. It’s especially important for enterprise-level brands like Astrid & Miyu.  

As a scalable tool, the team can feel confident that Inventory Planner can help them optimize stock, enhance efficiency and improve cash flow, even as they grow.  

Want to see how Inventory Planner can boost your business? Book a demo now.