Lumina
Software comparison

Lumina vs NetStock: which inventory planning tool fits a scaling brand?

Both forecast demand and automate replenishment. The difference is who they're built for. Here's a line-by-line breakdown, and a clear answer to which you should pick.

Updated September 2026By Oana Bradulet, Founder, Lumina
The bottom line

Lumina is built for scaling consumer brands. NetStock is built for ERP-led mid-market businesses. Pick the one that matches your shape.

NetStock is a credible, mature platform for mid-market manufacturers, distributors, and retailers already running an ERP like NetSuite, SAP Business One, or Acumatica, with a dedicated planning team. If you're a scaling consumer brand selling on Shopify and Amazon, NetStock will look bigger on paper and fit worse in practice, because the implementation, integrations, and assumed workflow weren't designed for your stack. It's also enterprise software in shape and in price: a fixed planning workflow you adapt yourself to, on an annual, quote-based commitment with services on top. Lumina was built for your stack, and built to be nimble: connect Shopify, Amazon, Unleashed, Xero, and your 3PLs, and have forecasting built around your range, automated POs, and cashflow visibility live in weeks. Modular, flexible, and configured around how you already work.

"NetStock sold the dream and we never used it."
— Supply Chain Lead, UK drinks brand

When to pick which

Pick Lumina if

You're a scaling consumer brand outgrowing spreadsheets, fast.

  • Revenue between £1M and £30M, growing materially year on year.
  • You sell across Shopify, Amazon, retail, and sometimes wholesale, not a single channel.
  • You don't run a mid-market ERP, or you run a lighter IMS like Cin7, Unleashed, or Brightpearl.
  • You need reliable forecasting, automated replenishment, and cashflow visibility, without a months-long implementation.
  • You want a planning tool that adapts to your stack, not one that assumes you'll restructure ops to fit it.
Pick NetStock if

You're a manufacturer, distributor, or retailer with a mature ERP and a planning team.

  • A mid-market business with deep B2B operations and complex multi-warehouse logistics.
  • You're already running NetSuite, SAP Business One, Acumatica, MS Dynamics, or Sage X3.
  • You have at least one dedicated demand planner and an ops team to run the system.
  • You're comfortable with an implementation project delivered through professional services.
  • Forecasting and replenishment are your core problem and you're not buying for cashflow, supplier ops, or omnichannel revenue.

Lumina vs NetStock: feature comparison

FeatureLumina
Recommended
NetStock
Built for
Who the product is genuinely designed around
Scaling DTC, omnichannel, and FMCG brands, £1–30M
Mid-market manufacturers, distributors, and retailers with mature ERPs
Requires an ERP underneath
No. Works with or without one
Yes. NetSuite, SAP B1, Acumatica, MS Dynamics, Sage
Flexibility
Configurable fields, views, and workflows; adapts as you add channels and markets
Fixed, ERP-led planning workflow; you adapt your operation to it
Time to live
Guided onboarding, live in weeks
Up to around 90 days, by NetStock's own guidance, with implementation services
Demand forecasting
Bespoke methods per product, built on your channel data; transparent and adjustable
Statistical forecasting on ERP data, with automatic model selection per item
Automated replenishment & POs
Lead-time and MOQ aware, supplier-linked
Mature PO automation tied to ERP master data
Cash flow & supplier payments
Built in: supplier ledger and cash impact view
Lives in the ERP, not in NetStock itself
Native Shopify + Amazon integrations
Direct connectors, omnichannel native
Possible via the ERP layer; not a primary fit
Range planning & merchandising workflows
Built in for fashion and consumer SKUs
Distribution-style assortment; weaker for fashion and beauty
Exception reporting (stockouts, late POs, supplier risk)
Always current, configurable per workflow
Strong, but ERP-data-bound
Modular pricing
Transparent plans from £295/month plus a one-off setup fee; modules and connectors added as you scale
Quote-based; priced on inventory value and modules, billed annually
Public pricing
Yes. Published on the pricing page
Quote-only; varies by organisation size
Implementation services required
Guided onboarding with a one-off setup fee; no external consultancy
Yes. Typically through partner consultancies
Best customer profile
Demand planner or ops lead at a £1–30M consumer brand
Demand planning team at a mid-market, ERP-run manufacturer or distributor
Yes Partial No

Forecasting: built on your channel data vs statistical models on ERP data

NetStock's forecasting is statistical, running on the structured data inside an ERP, with automatic model selection per item. That's a strength when your master data is clean and your business is stable, distribution-heavy, and not especially seasonal. It's a weaker fit when you're a consumer brand with promo cycles, omnichannel demand, and product launches that don't follow the historical curve. Lumina forecasts from the data you have today: Shopify orders, Amazon velocity, retail sell-through, returns, and your promo calendar. It picks the method that fits each product, layers in your promotions, launches, and growth plans, and shows you why the number is what it is. For scaling brands, that's the difference between a forecast you trust and a forecast you override in the spreadsheet anyway.

Lumina forecasting wins
  • Forecasts from Shopify, Amazon, and retail data directly, with no ERP in between
  • Handles new SKUs, promotions, and seasonality with your knowledge layered in
  • Rolls up to channel, region, and SKU views without rework
Where NetStock can edge ahead
  • Distribution and B2B SKUs with deep, stable history
  • Master data that already lives cleanly in NetSuite or SAP
  • Planning teams that run forecasting as a dedicated discipline

Replenishment & supplier ops: connected planning vs ERP-bound POs

Both platforms automate purchase orders. The question is what the PO knows about. NetStock's PO logic lives inside the ERP, which means it sees lead times and MOQs but not always supplier payment terms or cash position. Brands frequently end up running supplier payments and cashflow back in spreadsheets, the very thing they bought a planning tool to escape. Lumina's replenishment ties the PO to the supplier ledger and the cashflow view. You can see what's on order, what it costs, when it lands, and what your runway looks like, in one place. For brands where cash is a real constraint (most scaling brands), that single connection changes how planning meetings run.

Implementation: weeks of guided setup vs a services-led project

This is the single biggest practical difference. NetStock implementations are typically run with implementation services and, by NetStock's own guidance, take up to around 90 days, because the platform expects clean ERP master data, defined planning policies, and a planning team to operate the system end to end. That's appropriate for an ERP-run distributor; it's a non-starter for a 30-person consumer brand whose ops lead is also handling shipping queries on Tuesday. Lumina is designed to go live in weeks. Connect Shopify, Amazon, your IMS or ERP-lite, and your accounting system. We import your historical data, build your first forecasts, and walk you through the first PO run. Most customers are running their first planning meeting from Lumina within weeks of signing.

Lumina onboarding
  • A few weeks from kickoff to first live PO run
  • No external consultancy required
  • Modular: start with forecasting, layer in replenishment and cashflow when ready
NetStock onboarding
  • Up to around 90 days including ERP master-data prep
  • Implementation through partner consultancies
  • Designed around a dedicated planning team operating the platform

Pricing: transparent and modular vs enterprise and quote-based

NetStock doesn't publish pricing. Quotes are sized to the inventory value you manage and the modules you select, billed annually, and implementation services usually sit on top. Budget for it the way you'd budget for enterprise software: an annual commitment, agreed on a call, with a services line underneath. Lumina's pricing is published and modular. Plans start at £295/month plus a one-off setup fee (Starter), with Core at £495/month for growing teams and a custom Scale tier for complex operations. Every plan includes a 14-day free trial with your own data. You add modules (POs and shipments, cost, supplier payments, production planning) as you need them, and onboarding is a one-off setup fee rather than an open-ended services engagement. For finance teams approving the spend, the predictability matters.

Customer fit: a scaling consumer brand is a different shape from a distributor

This is the part most comparison pages skip. A 50-person DTC brand with three Shopify stores, an Amazon seller account, a few retail accounts, and outsourced manufacturing is fundamentally a different shape from a 500-person distributor with five warehouses, two thousand B2B accounts, and Acumatica running the spine of the business. NetStock fits the second shape extremely well. Lumina is built for the first: the data sources you have, the integrations you need, the timeline you can afford, and the workflows your ops team runs. If you recognise yourself in the second profile, NetStock is a credible pick. If you recognise yourself in the first, the fit just isn't there.

Frequently asked questions

See what Lumina could look like for you

Book a 30-minute call. We'll get to grips with your requirements, show you what Lumina could look like for your business, and tell you whether it's a fit, or whether you should keep looking at NetStock or another tool.