Effective inventory planning helps businesses maintain product availability while controlling excess stock and protecting working capital. provides the ERP foundation for managing inventory, purchasing, and sales, while Netstock adds specialized supply and demand planning capabilities that help businesses turn ERP data into more informed replenishment decisions. Together, these systems can help manufacturers and distributors identify inventory risks, prioritize purchasing decisions, and respond more effectively to changing demand.
Key Highlights
- Netstock adds demand forecasting, inventory optimization, and replenishment recommendations to ERP-based inventory management.
- ABC and XYZ inventory classifications help planners focus on products that deserve the most attention.
- Dynamic safety stock calculations account for demand variability and supplier lead-time risk.
- Automated recommendations support purchasing, production planning, and inventory transfers across multiple locations.
- AI-driven insights help planners identify potential stock-outs, excess inventory, and supplier issues before they become more significant problems.
Why Is Inventory Planning Important for Dynamics 365 Business Central Users?
Inventory planning helps businesses determine how much stock they need, when to replenish it, and how to balance customer service with inventory costs. Although Dynamics 365 Business Central provides important information about inventory levels, transactions, sales, and purchasing, businesses with growing product catalogs or multiple warehouse locations may need more advanced forecasting and planning capabilities.
Spreadsheet-based planning can become difficult to manage as inventory complexity increases. Data can become outdated between updates, formulas can introduce errors, and separate warehouse files can make it harder to see where shortages or excess stock are developing.
Netstock addresses these challenges by connecting to ERP data and adding forecasting, inventory optimization, and replenishment recommendations. Rather than replacing the ERP system, it provides an additional planning layer that helps inventory teams move from manually reviewing data to acting on the issues that need attention.
How Does Netstock Support Inventory Planning?
Netstock is a supply and demand planning solution that uses ERP information to generate demand forecasts, inventory insights, and recommended replenishment actions. It brings together data such as historical sales, inventory levels, open orders, and supplier lead times to help planners make decisions based on current business conditions.
Its capabilities support the inventory planning cycle in several ways:
- Demand forecasting: Selects forecasting models for individual stock-keeping units (SKUs), taking into account historical demand patterns and seasonality.
- Inventory classification: Groups products by sales value and demand variability to help planners prioritize their efforts.
- Inventory policy management: Supports service-level targets and safety stock policies for different product categories.
- Replenishment planning: Generates recommended purchase, production, and transfer orders based on forecasts and inventory policies.
- Performance monitoring: Helps businesses assess forecast accuracy and supplier performance over time.
This approach allows planners to spend less time collecting information and searching through spreadsheets and more time making decisions that affect product availability and cash flow.
How Do You Use Netstock for Inventory Planning with Dynamics 365 Business Central?
A typical Netstock inventory planning workflow begins with connecting ERP data and establishing inventory policies, then moves through reviewing exceptions, approving replenishment recommendations, and measuring results. The process is designed to make inventory planning more consistent without removing the planner's role in final decisions.
1. Connect Netstock to Your ERP System
The first step is to connect Netstock to the existing ERP environment. Netstock lists Microsoft Dynamics 365 among its supported ERP platforms, along with systems such as Sage, NetSuite, SAP Business One, and Acumatica. Businesses using Dynamics 365 Business Central should confirm the applicable integration configuration and requirements for their specific environment.
Once configured, the integration can bring together item information, sales history, open orders, and supplier lead times without relying on repeated manual uploads. Netstock states that most implementations are completed within 90 days or less, although actual timing depends on the business and its implementation requirements.
2. Review Inventory Exceptions on the Dashboard
Netstock's dashboard gives planners a central view of inventory performance and items requiring attention. It highlights potential stock-outs, excess inventory, and supplier delivery problems so users can focus on the issues most likely to affect operations.
This is known as managing by exception. Instead of manually reviewing every SKU, planners begin with prioritized alerts and use their experience to determine which actions make the most sense.
3. Classify Inventory by Value and Demand Variability
Netstock uses ABC and XYZ classifications to help businesses apply different planning policies to different products. ABC classification groups items according to their contribution to sales value, while XYZ classification reflects how predictable their demand is.
These classifications help planners distinguish high-priority inventory from products that can be managed with less intensive oversight. As demand patterns change, classifications can be updated to reflect a product's changing importance.
4. Set Inventory Policies and Safety Stock Levels
Safety stock is the additional inventory held to help protect against unexpected demand or supply delays. Netstock calculates dynamic safety stock based on demand variability and supplier lead-time risk, helping businesses adjust their inventory buffers as conditions change.
Planners can establish service-level targets and policies for different product groups, with specific overrides for items requiring special treatment. That might include seasonal products or inventory with expiry dates. Such policies help balance product availability against the cost of holding stock.
5. Generate and Approve Replenishment Orders
Based on forecasts and inventory policies, Netstock generates recommendations for purchase orders, production orders, and stock transfers. The planning process can account for supplier lead times, minimum order quantities, and other ordering constraints.
For businesses importing goods, Netstock's Container Builder module supports shipment planning using item volume, weight, and container requirements. It helps planners organize orders into containers, improve space utilization, and adjust item allocations when necessary. Planners retain control over the final recommendations and can apply their knowledge of suppliers and business priorities.
6. Synchronize Approved Orders with Dynamics 365 BC
Approved order recommendations can be synchronized back to Dynamics 365 BC, reducing manual rekeying and copy-and-paste work. Dynamics 365 BC remains the system of record for business transactions, while Netstock supplies the additional planning intelligence used to support replenishment decisions.
For Business Central users, the exact order synchronization process depends on the integration configuration.
7. Measure Forecast Accuracy and Refine Planning Policies
Inventory planning requires ongoing review because demand and supplier performance change over time. Netstock provides monthly forecast accuracy assessments, allowing planners to compare forecasts with actual results and review performance by item, category, or location.
When particular products consistently perform differently from expectations, planners can investigate the reasons and adjust inventory policies. This feedback helps keep planning decisions aligned with real demand and supply conditions.
8. Use AI Recommendations to Prioritize Problems
Netstock's AI Opportunities feature identifies issues such as potential stock-outs, excess inventory, and slow-moving products that may become obsolete. Recommendations include estimated financial impacts, helping planners prioritize the problems with the greatest potential business consequences.
AI supports the decision-making process rather than replacing it. Planners can evaluate recommendations, apply their judgment, and provide feedback on the system's suggestions.
Which Inventory Planning Features Matter Most to Business Central Users?
Several Netstock capabilities are particularly relevant to businesses managing numerous products, suppliers, or warehouse locations.
Demand Forecasting That Adapts to Individual Products
Netstock analyzes historical sales, seasonality, trends, and promotions to generate forecasts, selecting forecasting models for individual SKUs rather than applying the same method to every item. Planners can also adjust forecasts and run what-if scenarios to understand how changes might affect inventory requirements.
Inventory Visibility Across Multiple Locations
A consolidated view of inventory, incoming supply, and demand helps planners understand where stock is available and where shortages may develop. Netstock's Excess Redistribution module can recommend transferring stock from a location with surplus inventory to another location facing a shortage, potentially reducing the need for additional purchases.
Supplier Performance and Dynamic Safety Stock
Supplier reliability affects how much buffer stock a business needs. Netstock monitors supplier lead time and delivery performance, using this information to support safety stock and replenishment decisions.
This can help planners respond to changing supplier conditions without relying exclusively on fixed reorder points or manual spreadsheet updates.
Specialized Tools for Importers and Perishable Inventory
Container Builder supports shipment planning for importers, while expiry-date tracking helps businesses monitor perishable products and manage the risk of write-offs. Netstock also offers Report Builder, which allows users to create customized Excel reports for different stakeholders, from executive planning meetings to warehouse operations teams.
What Business Results Can Better Inventory Planning Deliver?
Better inventory planning can help businesses reduce unnecessary stock, improve product availability, and make replenishment decisions more efficiently. Netstock's published customer examples illustrate the potential benefits, although individual results vary according to business conditions and implementation.
- CCI St. Maarten: Reported a 20% reduction in stock holding, a 10% reduction in excess stock, a 22% improvement in stock turns, and a 50% reduction in stock-outs within four months.
- Becco: Reported reducing inventory by 10% to 15% while improving service levels from approximately 80% to more than 95% within six months.
- IRONMAN 4×4: Reported more than $500,000 in reduced stock-outs.
- Redmond Life: Reported a 45% reduction in excess inventory in less than a year.
These examples demonstrate the potential value of combining better forecasting with inventory visibility and more responsive replenishment. They are individual customer results, not guaranteed outcomes for every organization.
How Does Netstock Complement Dynamics 365 Business Central?
Dynamics 365 Business Central provides the ERP foundation for managing inventory transactions, purchasing, sales, and other business processes. Netstock adds specialized capabilities for predicting demand, optimizing inventory levels, and recommending replenishment actions.
The distinction is important because recording current stock levels and determining what should be ordered next are related but different tasks. By combining ERP information with specialized planning capabilities, businesses can make more informed inventory decisions while retaining their existing ERP as the central system for transactions.
For small and midsize businesses, this approach offers a way to extend inventory planning without necessarily adopting a more complex enterprise planning suite.
Frequently Asked Questions About Inventory Planning with Dynamics 365 Business Central
Q: What is Netstock?
A: Netstock is a supply and demand planning solution that uses ERP data to provide demand forecasts, inventory insights, and replenishment recommendations.
Q: Does Netstock integrate with Dynamics 365 Business Central?
A: Netstock lists Microsoft Dynamics 365 among its supported ERP platforms. Businesses should confirm the specific integration configuration and requirements for their Business Central environment.
Q: Can Netstock help reduce excess inventory and stock-outs?
A: Its forecasting, safety stock calculations, and AI-driven recommendations are designed to help identify excess inventory and potential shortages. Actual results depend on the business and its planning processes.
Q: Can planners override Netstock's recommendations?
A: Yes. Planners can review and adjust recommendations and apply specific policies to products that require individual treatment.
Q: How long does Netstock implementation take?
A: Netstock states that most organizations are fully operational within 90 days or less. Actual timelines depend on data readiness and implementation requirements.
Taking the Next Step Toward Better Inventory Planning in Business Central
For businesses using Dynamics 365 Business Central, improving inventory planning starts with identifying where current processes fall short. Reviewing forecast accuracy, excess inventory, stock-outs, supplier lead times, and the time spent preparing orders can help determine whether additional planning capabilities would be valuable.
The next step is to evaluate how Netstock's solution would work with your Business Central environment, inventory policies, and day-to-day workflows. Understanding those requirements first helps establish which capabilities are most relevant and what improvements are realistic for your business.
Are you ready to learn more about how Netstock can benefit your organization? our experts at Netstock for a personalized demo.
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