Mountain Warehouse fuels global expansion with AI-powered inventory optimization
Founded in 1997, Mountain Warehouse has become a leading UK outdoor retailer. The retailer has grown from a single store to a global footprint of more than 400 stores, serving customers across the UK, New Zealand, North America and Europe.
When they set out in search of a new inventory management solution, it was because their traditional, manual processes had reached their limits.
Mountain Warehouse partnered with Nextail to implement automated, AI-driven replenishment optimization to boost forecast accuracy and ensure each store receives the right products at the right time. They also implemented store-to-store transfers to dynamically rebalance stock across the network and reduce excess at season’s end.
By moving away from rigid clusters and treating each SKU-store combination uniquely, the leading UK outdoor retailer unlocked a new level of precision and flexibility as well as scalable growth.
Impact at a glance
end-of-season sell-through
fewer weeks of coverage
lower MDQ
The challenge
When manual models hit their limits
Driven by a common fear of lost sales and limited forecasting accuracy, Mountain Warehouse had a tendency to over-allocate stock at the start of the season and weren’t able to capture local demand nuances to make in-season adaptations.
As their product range expanded and growth ambitions accelerated, it became clear that spreadsheet-driven allocation and inflexible replenishment models were no longer sustainable.
Impact
Mountain Warehouse can ensure that each store receives the right product at the right time.
Mountain Warehouse has been able to move away from manual processes and rigid clusters. Now they treat each SKU-store combination uniquely.
Mountain Warehouse has freed up time and working capital which are vital for supporting their global expansion.
“Nextail’s technology gave us the ability to rethink how we approach replenishment and stock-flow. The real differentiator, though, has been their partnership mindset, working with us ever step of the way to ensure we could scale our operations effectively and profitably.”
