Why we are out of stock (sometimes)

Horace is going through a growth spurt - like the teenage ones, minus the spots - and we’re still trying to get used to the rhythm change. While some things are still very easy to manage (inboxes full of satisfied customers), others, such as inventory management, not so much.

These past weeks you’ve probably noticed that some of our items are out of stock. You’ve been sending us DMs, Facebook messages and emails at [email protected] to vent. We understand. These are products you shouldn’t have to wait for. You should be able to buy them anytime you feel like it.

We do our best to offer high quality products and help you choose them (thanks again for trusting us with that!). The idea is therefore not to make these products unavailable. When we start running out of stock, even if it doesn’t last, we get as frustrated as you do, because Horace was built to make things easy and straightforward. Running out of stock is anything but, and we’re sincerely sorry it’s happening.

Instead of simply apologizing, we’d like to explain how we ended up in this situation, and more importantly, how we’re going to avoid it happening again.

In a nutshell, we were faced with unexpectedly high demand. In other words, great news (!), and the perfect opportunity for us to learn the organisational skills necessary to ensure such stock shortages remain a rare occurrence.

Collaborate better with our partner brands

We work with small brands which tend to have limited inventory. Increasing the quantity of one item we order from 20 to 400 understandably requires quite an adjustment on their side. Very often they can’t manage such large orders immediately and we’re left waiting. For example, this has been the case for the Baxter of California deodorant. From now on will we make sure to better collaborate with them by planning our needs further in advance.

Buy more storage space

Plain and simple. Instead of sticking to a continuous flow model, we will buy more of the items you like most. Doing so will enable us to avoid contingencies, and thus guarantee better availability of the products we sell. As for our own products, we have already planned ahead, even if we’re still surprised by how successful the launch was, and how quickly everything sold out.

Upgrade for better inventory planning and management

The very positive last few months will allow us to invest in better software to be more efficient when it comes to the planning of our sales, and hence our inventory management and monitoring. So long Excel spreadsheets, say hello to dedicated planning and management software.

Plan ahead for peak periods

Naturally, we are aware that some periods are busier than others: product launches and Christmas. After a year and a half, two holiday seasons and a successful launch, we are much better at managing such peak periods. No more 10-day shortages after our next product launch, or a week before Christmas. We will be prepared.

That being said, there will still be some product shortages. But they won’t last as long, and won’t happen as often.

We’re a fledgling organisation. Horace hasn’t even reached its second anniversary yet. We recently launched new products, and each new day provides us with an opportunity to learn and grow by talking to our customers. Our growth isn’t linear; unfortunately life can’t be so easy. There will probably still be a few inventory issues down the road. Less of them though, and not as lengthy either, we promise.

As regards the out-of-stock items (which you are so fond of), everything is back to normal as far as Horace products are concerned. We should get a restock from our other brands in upcoming days. Except the Baxter of California deodorant and toner. We unfortunately can’t say when both items will be back up for sale.

In the meantime, we hope you will stick with us and keep on supporting Horace. Horace means nothing without you, because Horace was made for you.