Lightspeed Improves Supply Chain Agility and Cash Flow with Intuiflow

Founded in 1990, Lightspeed is a leading provider of classroom audio technology—helping educators create better listening and learning environments for students around the world.

Their mission is simple: to ensure every child can hear every word. But as the company grew, the challenge wasn’t just about amplifying sound in classrooms—it was about amplifying performance within their own supply chain.

The Challenge: Balancing Service, Cash Flow, and Complexity

Lightspeed’s commitment to reliability in schools demanded equally reliable supply. Yet maintaining that balance—high service levels with efficient inventory—became increasingly difficult as the company scaled.

They faced a familiar but critical dilemma:

• How to maintain high customer service while aligning materials to true market demand
• How to plan effectively when forecasts were inaccurate and constantly changing
• How to replace spreadsheet-based MRP tools that required manual updates and endless adjustments
• How to gain visibility across their inbound pipeline and supplier base

The result was a planning process that drained time, tied up cash in the wrong inventory, and created uncertainty across the organization.

Lightspeed knew that to keep classrooms connected, it first had to bring connection and clarity to its own supply chain.

The Solution: A Demand-Driven Supply Chain with Intuiflow for NetSuite

Lightspeed turned to Demand Driven MRP (DDMRP) principles and implemented Intuiflow—the demand-driven planning platform from Demand Driven Technologies—integrated with NetSuite.

The shift from spreadsheet-driven forecasting to real-demand planning gave the team clear, visible signals to guide material acquisition and production.

Instead of reacting to forecast errors, planners could now respond to what customers were actually ordering, in real time.

Resilient Buffers for Real-World Variability

Intuiflow’s dynamic buffering logic automatically adjusts to changing demand patterns, ensuring materials are available when needed—without excessive stock.

For Lightspeed, that meant:

• Frequent, smaller orders of long-lead-time items—keeping inventory fresh and cash flow healthy
• Maintaining MOQs while still improving responsiveness
• A steady inbound materials pipeline, ensuring product availability without excess

With a continuous flow of replenishment instead of large, sporadic purchases, on-hand balances dropped while service levels improved.

The Results: Clearer Signals, Faster Flow

After implementing Intuiflow, Lightspeed achieved a more effective, synchronized supply chain from end to end.

• Improved visibility across planning, sourcing, and fulfillment
• Better handling of long-lead-time materials through early, demand-driven action
• Faster response to product trends and new introductions
• Lower inventory balances and smoother cash flow—all while sustaining service

By aligning its materials flow with actual classroom demand, Lightspeed not only optimized its internal processes but strengthened its ability to deliver on its mission: making every student’s learning environment clearer and more engaging.

Future-Proof Your Supply Chain with Intuiflow

Lightspeed’s transformation demonstrates how Intuiflow helps growth-minded manufacturers and distributors replace reactive, forecast-driven planning with proactive, demand-driven flow.

Intuiflow connects materials planning, scheduling, and execution in one unified platform—so planners manage by priorities, not spreadsheets. With AI-optimized buffers, live dashboards, and NetSuite-native integration, the solution delivers clarity, speed, and control.

Intuiflow: One Platform. Four Core Solutions

• Materials Planning: Keep inventory aligned to real demand, avoiding shortages and overstocks.

• Scheduling & Execution: Sequence work by true priorities, not arbitrary due dates.

• Sales & Operations Planning: Link strategic goals to daily realities through shared visibility.

• Demand Planning: Adapt plans dynamically as market conditions shift.

Intuiflow is Smarter by Design

With Autopilot, Intuiflow’s AI continuously tunes buffers to maintain service while minimizing inventory. Embedded Power BI analytics provide visibility from supplier to shipment, and its NetSuite integration ensures accuracy and rapid deployment.

Lightspeed proved that even in a dynamic, fast-changing environment, supply chains can be both lean and reliable.

👉 Book an Intuiflow demo here to see how it can help your organization unlock the same results.