Keune

Rapid revenue growth and volatile demand peaks driven by successful product launches were placing increasing pressure on the supply chain of Keune Haircosmetics. With Slimstock’s solution, the Dutch haircare brand not only gained greater control over production and inventory, but also improved collaboration across its supply chain.

“Had we continued in the same way, I would have had to keep hiring additional planners,” says Director Supply Chain Planning Mika Huits.

A renowned brand facing growing challenges

Keune is a well-known name among hairdressers. Its professional shampoos, conditioners and other haircare products are manufactured in the Netherlands and sold to salons in more than eighty countries. Alongside its own range, the company also develops and manufactures private label cosmetics for major retail brands such as Rituals, Gisou and Bleach London under the name Keune Beauty Solutions.

Supply chain under pressure

Although Keune has been operating for more than a century, the company is currently experiencing its strongest period of growth to date.

“Revenue has almost doubled in four years, and demand has become more volatile,” explains Huits.”When a product is picked up by an influencer on TikTok, demand can suddenly explode. We then need to respond extremely quickly and assess what is still possible in terms of production capacity and raw material availability from suppliers.”

With the IT tools Keune had relied on until recently, responding quickly was almost impossible. Production and inventory planning were managed through internally built spreadsheets containing highly complex formulas. According to Huits, this made the organisation vulnerable to errors and difficult to scale.

“Planners had to check everything manually, meaning that creating a replenishment order alone could take hours. If you work in that way while growing as quickly as we were, you constantly need to recruit additional planners.”

More than just software

To create a more agile and scalable planning organisation, Keune began searching for a new supply chain planning solution. Following an extensive selection process, Slimstock was chosen.

“It was not only because of the software,” Huits emphasises. “Above all, Slimstock is a company that supports your growth ambitions. We were not looking for a supplier that simply installs software and leaves. We wanted a partner that helps you develop further, with consultants who challenge you and encourage critical thinking.”

From reactive to proactive planning

The software is now live, and Huits is already seeing significant improvements, particularly in the utilisation of scarce production capacity.

“Slimstock’s platform creates a long-term production plan based on optimal batch sizes, allowing our production planners to identify capacity peaks and troughs months in advance. They can take action early, such as bringing production forward or outsourcing orders. Previously, we only saw problems once they had already occurred. Now we can anticipate them and distribute production workloads far more effectively.”

Inventory levels have also fallen substantially, by 12% across the entire supply chain and by even more in certain warehouses. According to Huits, this is because planners now have much greater visibility of future demand.

“Slimstock’s solution not only provides more reliable forecasts, but also helps planners focus on the products that genuinely require attention. For example, items that are selling more slowly or much faster than expected. In the past, a planner using Excel might have had to review a thousand products at once. Now Slimstock’s platform immediately highlights the fifteen items that require action. We never had that level of insight before, which meant we often carried additional safety stock for every product just to be sure.”

Better forecasts, stronger collaboration

According to Huits, the greatest advantage of the new solution is its ability to improve collaboration with supply chain partners.

“Some customers and distributors had always provided us with forecasts, but now we can analyse and validate those forecasts using Slimstock’s platform. If we identify major discrepancies or consistently unreliable projections, we can discuss them directly. Instead of having conversations about delivery issues after the fact, we now have meaningful discussions about how we can improve the supply chain together. That is a huge step forward.”

In some cases, this collaboration has even resulted in new planning methods. One example is Bleach London, for whom Keune now produces to stock rather than to order.

“Thanks to Slimstock’s solution, we have sufficient insight into demand to work in this way confidently. It gives us the flexibility to bring orders forward or run larger production batches, enabling us to use our factory more efficiently. Importantly, this is achieved without compromising on agreed service levels, because those are non-negotiable.”

Supporting strategic network decisions

The software has also proven valuable in an area Huits had not originally anticipated: network scenario modelling.

“Our network currently consists of seven distribution centres, and we are considering further expansion across Europe. Together with a Slimstock consultant, we assess how new locations would affect service levels, inventory costs and internal transport flows. This helps us make better-informed decisions.”

According to Huits, the initial implementation has already delivered substantial benefits, but there is still considerable untapped potential in the partnership with Slimstock.

Keune is currently implementing the new Business Intelligence module, which provides deeper insight into financial performance and product profitability. However, Huits is most excited about the new production scheduler that Slimstock is developing.

“If we can also manage detailed factory scheduling within Slimstock’s platform in the future, that would be ideal. It would mean having everything in one platform and reducing our dependence on Excel even further.”

Ready for the next phase of growth

With this implementation, Keune Haircosmetics has established a scalable foundation for future growth. More orders, a wider product range, additional production lines and new warehouses no longer automatically create extra workload for the planning team.

“The majority of orders are generated automatically, allowing planners to focus on exceptions. Instead of manually checking orders and constantly firefighting, they now have time for analysis and collaboration. That also makes the role much more enjoyable.”

Keune’s supply chain has become more efficient, scalable and predictable, while planners have gained additional time for analysis and collaboration.

Huits concludes:

“With Slimstock, we have gained more than software. We have a partner with the knowledge and expertise to help us take the next steps in our development.”