From traditional inventory practices to advanced data analytics: How Twistshake achieves planning success

Twistshake was founded in 2015 with the mission of innovating the baby products market. Mikael Wiborgh, CFO at Twistshake, reflects on their journey: “We started with a simple idea to solve the problem of messy baby bottles, and has since grown into a successful global business. Today we live by our business idea to make parents' lives easier and we generate over 330 million SEK in revenue and offer a diverse range of nearly 50 products.”

Twistshake’s business model encompasses a direct-to-consumer e-commerce platform focused on Europe combined with wholesale distribution to retailers, e-tailers, and distributors globally, as well as marketplaces like Amazon and Cdiscount. Their goal is to combine innovative design with functionality, providing high-quality products for parents and their children.

Goals and needs

As Twistshake experienced rapid growth, managing inventory became increasingly challenging. Mikael explains, “Our fast growth led to difficulties with overstocking some products while understocking others. Our main focus now is on managing working capital more effectively and keeping our objective of profitable growth above all.”

Previously, Twistshake relied on Excel spreadsheets for inventory planning. Mikael recalls, “We used a complex Excel model that pulled data from multiple sources, which was at times doing the job but always restrained us from forecasting and modeling our assortment on a deeper and more detailed level. It was a struggle to keep everything accurate and up-to-date without spending unreasonable amounts of time ensuring correctness.”

Deploying Madden Analytics

In 2023, Twistshake turned to Madden Analytics for a more advanced solution. Mikael describes why they chose Madden: “We selected Madden Analytics because it offered a sophisticated, data-driven approach to inventory planning that our Excel-based methods couldn’t provide. Madden’s platform promised better forecasting capabilities and a more systematic approach to managing our inventory.”

“The integration with Madden Analytics and Business Central has been seamless and effective,” Mikael notes. “The support from Madden’s team during our go-live phase was exceptional and incredibly helpful.”

Reducing overstock with efficient planning

Since implementing Madden Analytics, it has been especially helpful in making detailed planning more efficient. “We use Madden Analytics for detailed SKU-level planning and to ensure our financial forecasts and budgets translate into a bottom-up sales plan ties our assortment to our financial plans - making sure that we buy what we plan to sell, and vice versa,” Mikael explains. “The visualization in Madden is a dream and enables a quick and easy overview of any actions that need to be taken.”

Madden Analytics has had a significant impact on Twistshake’s planning processes. Mikael notes, “One of the biggest changes has been the reduction in excess inventory. We now spend less time figuring out how to accurately forecast per SKU and can spend our time discussing commercial actions to make more precise and informed decisions. Our stock value to net sales ratio has improved significantly compared to last summer.”

Mikael further highlights that the shift from Excel to Madden Analytics has made Twistshake less sensitive to errors. “Switching to Madden has allowed us to move away from error-prone Excel spreadsheets and adopt a more structured and analytical approach to inventory planning,” he says.

Looking ahead

Looking forward, Twistshake is excited about the potential of Madden Analytics to support their future goals. “We’re enthusiastic about what Madden can help us achieve moving forward. We’re interested in exploring new features and further improving our forecasting abilities,” Mikael reveals.

Madden Analytics has proven to be a valuable partner for Twistshake, providing the tools needed for effective inventory planning. Mikael sums up their experience with Madden Analytics: “Madden Analytics has given us the insights and tools we needed to manage our inventory more effectively and achieve better results.”

About Twistshake
Twistshake was founded in 2015 with the mission to make parents' lives easier by initially creating high-quality, innovative baby products that blend functionality with modern design. From a small startup solving the problem of messy baby bottles, Twistshake has grown into a leading brand in the baby products market, offering a diverse range of products through direct-to-consumer, wholesale, and online marketplaces. With a focus on safety, design, and customer satisfaction, Twistshake continues to expand its product line and reach across Europe.