Decide the range before you know how it sells.
How much to buy, of what, for which stores and when. These decisions are taken months before products go on sale, and they set the margin for the whole season. We equip the full chain, from the sales plan to order phasing.
The situation
The topics that keep coming up in merchandising.
Merchandising is where planning pays off fastest. A framing error shows up as markdown three months later, and cannot be recovered.
- Finance builds the sales plan in value, merchandising decides the buy in units, and the two never quite reconcile
- Open to buy is recalculated in a file after every meeting, with one version per person
- The assortment is built for an average store that does not exist
- Sizes are split along a historical curve nobody has reviewed in three years
- Retail prices are set with no view of the real margin after markdown
- The order calendar drifts, and deliveries arrive after the on-shelf date
In practice
A sales and margin plan screen.
Revenue, margin rate and projected stock by family, with actual sell-through set against the plan.
Sell-through by family — actual against plan
Revenue split by channel
Illustration of a sales and margin plan. Fictional data.
What we put in place
The modules we deliver in merchandising.
Sales and margin plan
Revenue, margin, markdown and stock projected by family, channel and market, reconciled with the finance budget.
Open to buy
Open, committed and remaining buying budget, recalculated as actual sales arrive, with an alert as soon as the trajectory slips.
Assortment and buying
Width and depth by store cluster, size curves reviewed each season, preparation and arbitration of buying sessions.
Pricing and markdown
Opening price, promotional mechanics and markdown calendar simulated for their margin impact before being decided.
Store layout
Layout plan by cluster, shelf capacity and display modules, tied to the quantities bought.
Order phasing
Order and delivery calendar aligned with on-sale dates, with tracking of supplier slippage.