Split a single stock between stores and online.
Omnichannel has multiplied points of sale without multiplying stock. Performance is now won on allocation and in-season transfers.
The problem
The topics that keep coming up in retail.
The store network, e-commerce and marketplaces all draw on the same stock, but each is run by a different team, with its own targets and its own file. Trade-offs are made by phone, at the end of the week, on last week's figures.
Our job is to make that trade-off explicit and tooled: a shared allocation rule, thresholds agreed in advance, and a projection showing what each option costs before it is chosen.
- Initial allocation by cluster rather than by network average
- Replenishment triggered on actual cover rather than a fixed minimum
- Online and store trade-offs on a written rule, not a weekly human call
- Inter-store transfers simulated before they are launched
- Weekly forecasting by point of sale, realigned on actual sales
- Margin tracking by channel, including freight and returns
In practice
A network cover screen.
Weeks of cover are tracked by store group and by channel, with the transfer costed before it is launched.
Weeks of cover by cluster
Split of available stock
Illustration of cover steering. Fictional data.
Our contribution
What we put in place in retail.
Store clustering
Network segmentation based on actual purchase behaviour, reviewed each season.
Allocation & replenishment
A configurable allocation engine, testable on history before going live.
Weekly plan
Rolling forecast by point of sale and family, with alerts on drop-offs.
Margin by channel
P&L by channel including logistics, returns and acquisition cost.