Challenge
Manual Inventory Modeling Put Sales Opportunities at Risk
For Co-founder Hanna McPhee, building Nanu meant balancing design excellence — the timeless beauty of handcrafted, tactile products — with the operational reality of running a complex global supply chain. Behind each of the brand’s analog timepieces was a modern production network spanning 15 factories. Nanu’s bestselling Arc Alarm Clock alone contains more than 200 individual parts.
Running that network as a two-person team required the precision of a large hardware company without the benefits of its infrastructure. Freight, customs, and shifting supplier costs added even more complexity — each change impacting landed cost and cash flow. To manage it all, Hanna relied on spreadsheets. They served as her command center — tracking supplier timelines, purchase orders, and forecasts across multiple sales channels.
As demand grew, those models became more fragile than functional. Updating forecasts by hand was time-consuming and error-prone, and a single misplaced formula could throw off months of planning. Each new sales event, reorder, or retail partnership required another late night of cross-checking data between Shopify, wholesale platforms, and her 3PL reports.
What once felt manageable quickly became a daily source of stress as stockouts were becoming more common. Often caused by gaps in Nanu’s manual inventory modeling or supplier delays, each shortage meant missed sales opportunities, a costly risk for a young, fast-growing brand.
The challenge went beyond logistics. Forecasting dictated how much cash to tie up in production — and for a bootstrapped hardware brand, that balance between cash flow and inventory could be the difference between stability and strain.
The breaking point came as demand began to outpace Nanu’s systems. Nanu’s quality-first reputation left no room for missteps, and Hanna knew that one wrong call could jeopardize both inventory and trust.
To continue growing without sacrificing quality or sanity, she began searching for a better way to forecast demand, coordinate suppliers, and plan with confidence. Through a conversation with one of her angel investors, Hanna was introduced to Moselle — a platform that promised the automation, accuracy, and adaptability she needed.
“We’re a two-person team building products as complex as those from a 500-person hardware company. Managing hundreds of parts across 15 factories in spreadsheets got unsustainable really fast.”
Solution
Automating a Multi-Factory Supply Chain in Days, Without Sacrificing Craftsmanship
When Hanna first connected with the Moselle team, she was struck by how seamlessly the platform aligned with her needs. It promised not just automation, but adaptability — the ability to flex to Nanu’s unique processes instead of forcing a one-size-fits-all workflow. For a founder managing hundreds of components across dozens of suppliers, that distinction mattered.
“Onboarding took a day or two, and within two weeks, I’d completely let go of my spreadsheets,” Hanna says.
With the foundation in place, Moselle began transforming how Nanu plans, forecasts, and grows, turning manual operations into a fully connected, data-driven system.
Real-Time Automation and Integration
Moselle quickly synced with Nanu’s commerce stack, connecting Shopify, Fair, and Etsy with their 3PL system, Extensiv. This immediately created a single, reliable source of truth — eliminating the manual cross-checking that had dominated Hanna’s evenings.
Where spreadsheets once required endless data reconciliation, Moselle now automatically pulls sales and fulfillment updates into one dashboard, making it simple to see exactly what is selling, where, and when. That real-time visibility gives Hanna a live view of performance across her entire supply chain.
By removing the need to manually update hundreds of cells, the platform also reduces the anxiety that came with it. Hanna can finally trust that her projections are accurate and her capital is being deployed wisely.
Scenario Modeling and Demand Planning
Moselle’s bottom-up forecasting model enables Hanna to simulate multiple demand scenarios — low, medium, and high — based on real data instead of guesswork. If a wholesale order spikes or a retail feature drives sudden traffic, she can instantly model how that shift will affect future stock and production cycles.
The automation goes deeper than forecasting.
Moselle generates purchase orders directly from inventory models, aligning sub-supplier timelines and reducing the margin for human error.
When Nanu’s Arc Alarm Clock was featured in The New York Times’ Wirecutter, orders spiked overnight — but instead of scrambling, Hanna watched Moselle handle the surge automatically. “Moselle completely shifted our production plan, and kept us on track,” she explains.
Data-Driven Growth
Instead of chasing data, Hanna can use it — running quick demand scenarios, modeling supplier timelines, and placing confident purchase orders in hours rather than days. The time she saves now fuels the work that drives growth: building partnerships, launching new campaigns, and expanding sales.
As Nanu grows its global supply chain, Moselle’s flexibility also helps Hanna stay ahead of shifting freight and customs costs — giving her visibility into true landed costs and the confidence to plan for tariffs as the team scales internationally.
Most importantly, Moselle gave Hanna the freedom to prioritize Nanu’s quality standards — even when the stakes were highest. When a supplier batch failed inspection just ahead of the holiday season, she rejected it rather than rush a flawed product to market.
She felt confident in this decision because Moselle had already modeled her future demand and cash flow. Hanna quickly reallocated purchase orders, adjusted supplier timelines, and kept production aligned with demand forecasts. In fact, since adopting Moselle, Nanu has not once gone out of stock due to inventory modeling. Instead of absorbing costly returns or risking customer dissatisfaction, Nanu entered the holiday season with confidence, preserving both revenue and reputation.
“The fact that Moselle tracks the accuracy of our forecasts — what we thought we’d do versus what we actually did — is one of the biggest game changers.”
Results
Two Weeks to Full Automation — With Smarter Forecasts and Predictable Growth
Moselle transformed Nanu’s planning process from manual and reactive to automated and reliable — giving the team full visibility into demand, production, and cash flow.
- 10+ hours saved every week with Moselle
- 2-week transition to fully automated planning
- 0 stockouts since implementation
With a strong foundation in place, cash flow is predictable, supplier relationships run smoothly, and Hanna makes strategic decisions with confidence. Looking ahead, the team has a new product on the horizon, with plans to double the business. By using Moselle to model demand and coordinate production, Hanna ensures every launch meets Nanu’s craftsmanship standards.
“We’re on track to double our business next year with a new product launch, and I’m not worried about scaling — Moselle will handle it.”
See how smarter planning can power sustainable growth. Get started with Moselle.