What problem was the spreadsheet causing?

Stock forecasting ran on one enormous Excel workbook, fed by hand from several places at once. Current stock came out of Unleashed, sales figures were typed in from every invoice, and lead times and component lists lived in the sheet too. It took six or seven hours a week of pure data entry, and in a business of four people, it fell to the managing director because he was the only person who held all the knowledge needed. It was also fragile — one digit out could mean serious overstock or understock.

Who owns the software?

Horsleys owns the stock app outright. It's their IP, properly bespoke to their daily function. As Nick puts it, the problem with some companies that offer bespoke is you still don't really get a bespoke system — you just get something they've created. What's different here is you can properly bespoke it to your workflow. It fits like a glove.

What results has the platform delivered?

350+ hours a year of senior time reclaimed — six to seven hours a week that was previously spent moving numbers between a spreadsheet and an ERP. The stock app pulls the data in by itself, so there's no re-keying, no reconciliation, and no chance of a mistyped figure driving an overstock. The managing director's time went back to the business, and a second phase automating more of the operation is now underway.

Inventory planning software

How Horsleys gave their managing director 350+ hours a year back.

Stock forecasting ran on one enormous spreadsheet that only the managing director could maintain, at six or seven hours a week. We replaced it with a stock app that pulls everything together on its own.

Founder hours reclaimed

350+

Six to seven hours of manual data entry a week, handed back to the managing director.

Manual data entry

Zero

The stock app pulls everything together on its own and needs no maintenance.

Client: Horsleys
Industry: Airline cabin products
Team size: 4 people
What we built: Inventory planning software
Time to delivery: 3 weeks

At a glance

Horsleys' managing director spent six to seven hours every week manually updating a stock forecasting spreadsheet that only he could maintain. We replaced it with a stock app that pulls everything together automatically from their ERP. The result: 350+ hours a year of senior time reclaimed, zero ongoing maintenance, and no risk of a mistyped figure driving an overstock.

Real feedback from Horsleys

Hear Nick on getting his week back from a spreadsheet only he could run.

“It's like a full-time member of the team that doesn't need paying.”

Nick Carnall

Managing Director · Horsleys

About

Supplying the world's airlines since 1988.

Horsleys International supplies airlines with cabin products — soap, air fresheners, paper products, and chemical products. As Nick puts it, anything you see on an aircraft that isn't for sale on the trolley is something they would probably supply.

They are unusual in being both wholesaler and manufacturer, running UK and European manufacturing sites for wipes and liquid filling alongside a 3,000-pallet warehouse.

Their customers are the airlines themselves — British Airways, Ryanair, easyJet, KLM, Swiss, Iberia, TUI, SAS and Jet2 among them — and their products are approved by Boeing and AMS.

1988

Founded

3,000

Pallet warehouse

12+

Airlines supplied

The challenge

A spreadsheet only one person could run.

Horsleys planned stock in a single large Excel workbook, fed by hand from several places at once. Current stock came out of Unleashed, their ERP. Sales figures were typed in from every invoice as it went out. Lead times and component lists for in-house products lived there too.

Unleashed could show what was in stock, what was on order, and what had been invoiced that month. What it could not do was tell them what they would need over the next three to six months, which is the question the whole business turns on.

That left six or seven hours a week of pure data entry — and in a business of four, it fell to Nick, because working out future demand meant knowing lead times, components, and where sales were heading. At the time he was the only person who held all of it.

It was fragile, too. One digit out could mean serious overstock or understock, and in a business where a large order can ship in days, the sheet could be out of date almost as soon as it was filled in. Two off-the-shelf tools had been demoed and neither could do the calculations.

Approach

Properly bespoke, not nearly bespoke.

We started narrow, proved it worked, and only then built the thing that replaced the spreadsheet outright.

One automation first

The engagement began with a small automation tying two of Horsleys' systems together. It worked well and it landed quickly, which is what made the case for going further — evidence rather than a pitch.

The stock app, live in 3 weeks

From there we built what Horsleys call their stock app: one source of truth that pulls from Unleashed automatically and presents stock levels, lead times, and requirements in a single dashboard, laid out the way they actually need to read it.

One source of truth

Everything arrives in one place on its own. No re-keying invoices, no stitching together exports from different systems.

Forecasting that works

Forecasts built from what happened last year, adjustable in a click, with different scenarios run three to six months out.

Built-in KPIs

Custom amendments since launch now surface KPIs for parts of the business that previously had no visibility at all.

Changes measured in hours

New customer scenarios and new products keep arriving, and the system has to move with them. Amendments have landed within the hour — and, in Nick's words, the fix always stays fixed.

A second stage, already underway

Working alongside the business surfaced inefficiencies neither of us had scoped at the start. A second phase automating more of the operation is now in progress.

Results

The week that went back to the business.

The data entry is gone, the risk of a mistyped figure with it, and the managing director's time is back where it does the most good.

Founder hours reclaimed

350+

Six to seven hours a week of senior time, previously spent moving numbers between a spreadsheet and an ERP.

Ongoing maintenance

None

The stock app pulls the data in by itself. No re-keying, no reconciliation, and no chance of a mistyped figure driving an overstock.

Frequently asked questions

How long did the Horsleys stock app take to build?: The stock app was live in three weeks. It pulls data from Unleashed (their ERP) automatically and presents stock levels, lead times, and requirements in a single dashboard laid out the way they actually need to read it. New amendments have landed within the hour when customer scenarios or new products arrive, and the fix always stays fixed.
What problem was the spreadsheet causing?: Stock forecasting ran on one enormous Excel workbook, fed by hand from several places at once. Current stock came out of Unleashed, sales figures were typed in from every invoice, and lead times and component lists lived in the sheet too. It took six or seven hours a week of pure data entry, and in a business of four people, it fell to the managing director because he was the only person who held all the knowledge needed. It was also fragile — one digit out could mean serious overstock or understock.
Why not use off-the-shelf software?: Two off-the-shelf tools had been demoed, and neither could do the calculations Horsleys needed. Unleashed (their ERP) could show what was in stock, what was on order, and what had been invoiced that month. What it could not do was tell them what they would need over the next three to six months, which is the question the whole business turns on. Custom software was the only option.
Who owns the software?: Horsleys owns the stock app outright. It's their IP, properly bespoke to their daily function. As Nick puts it, the problem with some companies that offer bespoke is you still don't really get a bespoke system — you just get something they've created. What's different here is you can properly bespoke it to your workflow. It fits like a glove.
What results has the platform delivered?: 350+ hours a year of senior time reclaimed — six to seven hours a week that was previously spent moving numbers between a spreadsheet and an ERP. The stock app pulls the data in by itself, so there's no re-keying, no reconciliation, and no chance of a mistyped figure driving an overstock. The managing director's time went back to the business, and a second phase automating more of the operation is now underway.

See if you qualify for a free custom prototype

Let's schedule a short call to discover your needs. If we see a mutual fit, we'll build a free prototype so you can see what we can do for you before committing to the complete project.