When it comes to staying agile in fashion retail, having the right product in the right place at the right time isn’t just a goal - it’s a must. We sat down with Jana Sonnenschein, Stock & Sales/Merchandise Planning at Just Brands, to talk about how they use data-driven tools like Chainbalance to master replenishment, optimize on-shelf availability, and stay ahead of consumer demand.
Jana, let’s start with the basics. What does “On-Shelf Availability” mean in your day-to-day business and why is it such a critical KPI for Just Brands?
Jana: On-shelf availability (OSA) is about having the right products available in the right quantity at the right time. For us, that means ensuring 100% availability in our NOS range and managing bestsellers for seasonal products effectively. Our customers should always find what they’re looking for, whether in NOS or trend-driven items.
OSA is absolutely business-critical. If items are missing from the shelves, we risk losing sales and potentially even customers. Plus, constant high availability builds trust in our brand and enhances efficiency across the supply chain. It shows that our processes, from disposition to shelf replenishment, work well, and for that, Chainbalance is the central lever. Our brand image and competitive ability are strengthened. Especially, missing stock of bestsellers and for promotions shows incompetence or bad planning and creates a bad image with partners. Lastly, our motto is: make fast articles even faster! For our retail partners, effective best seller management and high availability of NOS and seasonal products can significantly boost inventory turnover rates and productivity.
What are the biggest challenges you face when trying to get the right stock to the right store during the season?
Jana: There are quite a few! One major challenge is forecasting seasonal demand —it’s especially tricky with weather-dependent or trend-driven products. That can lead to overstock or stockouts.
Other pain points include:
- Demand-based planning of NOS stocks - replenishment depends on availability
- Regional differences in demand — Not every POS sells seasonal products at the same pace. The summer season lasts longer in the south, while the north has already started selling the autumn collection.
- Delays in EDI data — if we don’t have real-time insights, reorders are slower.
- Logistics capacity during peak season — warehouses and transport systems hit their limits, which can lead to stock-outs
- Delays are often caused by retailers’ own distribution centers, where it can take up to two weeks for items to reach the shop floor.
- Limited reorder budgets at partner stores — they also work with other suppliers, which ties up capital.
- Space and staffing issues — even if stock is there, it may not get displayed in time. Our brand promoter and visual merchandiser regularly visit stores to support retailers and ensure visibility.
You mentioned Chainbalance. How exactly does it help you manage these challenges in practice?
Jana: Chainbalance has been a game changer for us and the central component to elevate our Replenishment to a new, data-based level. Around 97% of our EDI-connected customers in Germany are now supplied with NOS items via Chainbalance. We only check and approve the orders — the error rate is now close to zero.
- Chainbalance offers several key advantages and improvements:
- Errors are eliminated in advance, allowing “pure” order creation at the start of the week. Previously, data validation was very labor-intensive — now CB handles it.
- We can flexibly adjust to different delivery times at retailers to avoid lost sales (e.g., delays due to distribution centers).
- Recommendations for potentials: Reorder frequency can be customized – multiple reorders per week are possible.
- Replenishment assortment is easily adjustable based on weather/trends/holidays.
- Fast reactions to promotions are possible.
Since FS2025, we’ve also been using Chainbalance more intensively for seasonal replenishment — and retailers love it. We will soon onboard more customers. One significant improvement is the auto-generated weekly order proposals. What used to take us half a day for 10 customers now takes 10 minutes per customer. A workload reduction of 42%! All in all, we are three times faster with Chainbalance, meaning we can process 3 times as many customers. And it’s not just us — the retailers benefit too, using the tool themselves. It allows for an efficient, precise, and fact-based replenishment on both sides.
PME Legend is known and praised for its strong NOS replenishment, and last year, you even ranked first in a TW survey regarding this. How close are you to your stores in real time? And how do you use this information in your replenishment decisions?
Jana: We’re very close to the retail partners and one of our core values is providing our retail partners with reliable, demand-driven NOS supply.
Thanks to EDI interfaces, we have near-daily insights into sales and inventory at the store level. Where EDI isn’t possible, we gather regular reports and stay in touch through our sales teams and brand promoters.
This data feeds directly into Chainbalance. Weekly EDI updates are analyzed and used to trigger automatic NOS replenishment or, in the case of seasonal items, tailored order proposals with each retailer. We have a close connection to our retailers, our brand promoters are in-store daily and collect feedback. We constantly fine-tune stock levels, assortments, and product groups based on what’s happening in stores in Chainbalance.
It’s not just about having the right tools - it’s about combining tech with deep market knowledge and close relationships. This is our strength and makes our Replenishment so successful.
Let’s say a product suddenly takes off. How quickly can you react? What is required to make that work?
Jana: We can respond very quickly to unexpectedly high sales, within one to two days. That’s thanks to:
- Daily sales data,
- Smart replenishment logic that automatically generates proposals,
- And tight communication with the sales team and retailers.
But to make this work, we need:
- Real-time transparent data: Reliable and daily sales data is essential.
- Flexible logistics: Quick reactions require agile warehouses, transport partners, and internal processes.
- Sufficient DC stock: Even the best system is useless without enough stock.
- And, most importantly, trust from our partners. We gradually earned our partners’ trust to gain control over inventory and replenishment.
Retailers have learned to rely on us for Smart Replenishment, and that trust allows us to act fast and keep the shelves full.
Final thoughts — what makes your replenishment model so effective?
Jana: Flexibility isn’t a coincidence; it’s the result of structured processes, smart solutions, and great collaboration. When a product takes off, we can now respond faster and more precisely than ever before. That speed and accuracy make a massive difference at the point of sale.