Boon LLC

PSA: Q2 is over. And if you haven’t looked back at it yet, you’re leaving real money on the table.

January through June is 50% of your year. Half. And that data sitting in your reports is actually a cheat code for the future.

Here’s what a proper Q1 + Q2 recap actually unlocks for your product brand:

For the near future → Your Q3 open-to-buy decisions, reorder timing, and demand forecasts should be rooted in what actually sold (and what didn’t) in the first half of this year. If you’re planning Q3 on vibes and last year’s numbers alone, your inventory is already at risk.

For the far future → Q1 + Q2 2027 is coming back around. Wouldn’t you like to walk into it knowing exactly which categories underperformed because you were understocked — vs. which ones dragged because demand just wasn’t there? Those are two very different problems with very different solutions.

A recap isn’t just a report card. It’s your demand forecast recalibration, your stockout post-mortem, your overstock intervention, and your Q4 prep — all in one.

Don’t just archive the first two quarters of the year, dig in and analyze. Your next big inventory win is hiding somewhere in the data.

📲 Save this post. Share it with your ops team. Then go open that spreadsheet.

If you need support > let’s talk: link in bio

Not every brand needs to plan at the component level.

But in our opinion it’s a secret weapon to profitability for beauty and skincare brands. Component item forecasting can genuinely change the trajectory of your business.

Most people think about inventory planning in terms of finished goods — how many units of this SKU do I need, and when. That framework works well for a lot of product types. But beauty and skincare have a structural quirk that makes a deeper layer of planning not just useful, but strategic.

The components — glass bottles, droppers, roller balls, pumps, closures — often take longer to produce than the formulas going inside them. Think lead times that can stretch to a year for certain packaging. And unlike the products themselves, those components tend to stay consistent across seasons and launches.

That consistency is an asset, if you know how to use it.

When you forecast at the component level — layering your component inventory position against your finished goods demand plan, accounting for all the different lead times involved — a few things happen:
→ Receipt flow becomes far more visible and manageable
→ Inventory levels stop being a guessing game
→ Committing to volume upfront with your manufacturer becomes a lever for margin improvement, not just a cash flow risk

It’s genuinely sophisticated planning work. You’re essentially marrying your finished goods demand forecast with a real-time read on both component and finished goods inventory, across lead times that don’t all move at the same speed. The detail required is high — which is exactly why brands who approach it with the right expertise tend to pull away from the competition.

Beauty and skincare is a high-velocity, high-competition space. Leaning on every planning advantage available isn’t really optional.

If your brand is scaling and you’re wondering of component item forecasting would be a good move to make, we’d love to talk. 🤍

🔗 in bio

Inventory planning software and AI-powered forecasting have genuinely changed the game for product-based brands.

But there’s a catch. They work best — and make the most financial sense — when your business is ready for them.

For early-stage and startup brands still finding their footing, dropping budget on an enterprise planning tool before you’ve nailed your rate of sale is skipping a few important steps. The software isn’t the problem. The timing just isn’t there yet.

That’s exactly why we built the Inventory Planning Starter Kit.

It gives early-stage founders a way to plan inventory with real skill and intention — tracking rate of sale, building smarter buys, managing reorders, and understanding how all of it moves through your cash flow — while you grow toward the point where software, AI, and expert support are the obvious next move.

Built by our team (with 200+ combined years of experience across brands like Victoria’s Secret, American Eagle, and Tiffany & Co.) It uses the same methodology we used with those brands except it’s right-sized for where you actually are.
→ Initial buy planning (and every buy after)
→ True rate of sale
→ PO details in one place
→ Reorder timing without the over or underbuy spiral
→ Cash flow impact, clearly mapped

The goal isn’t “stay in spreadsheets forever.” It’s “build the foundation” so the next level actually works.

✨ Link in bio to buy.

Two years in, and Sheridan is still the person you want in your corner when the numbers need to make sense. 🎉

Happy Booniversary, Sheridan Bivenour!

13+ years in the inventory industry — starting in wholesale at Steve Madden, sharpening her craft in merchandising and planning at The Limited, then taking on the beautiful chaos of start-up life at Homage before landing at Boon in 2024.

That kind of range doesn’t happen by accident. Sheridan genuinely loves the work — forecasting, process-building, the moment when a brand stops guessing at their inventory and starts trusting their data. It’s all her wheelhouse.

And Sheridan brings her best to our clients every single day with the kind of precision and steadiness that makes everyone around her breathe a little easier.

Cheers, to so many more years Sheridan. 🥂