Merchandise Financial Planning
Merchandise Financial Planning
This module provides business users with a step-by-step guide for Budget and Open to Buy set-up, aligning financial targets, such as sales, margin, inventories and receipts, among others, among different levels of the organization.
![Merchandise Financial](https://www.retailcloudplan.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/merchandise-financial.png)
Top – Down
The strategic guidelines are set from an aggregate standpoint, such as Channel and Department. For this, there is a process called Top – Down, which will guide teams responsible for creating more detailed plans, seeking to validate plans among different levels of the organization.
Middle Out
A second level of plan set-up, called Middle Out, is generated at more detailed level, such as Brand, Category and Subcategory. This level is dynamic, providing flexibility, in order to adapt to changes in the business. This will allow each Brand/Category manager to define levels on which to create financial plans.
Bottom Up
Strategic planning is complemented by machine learning models, which provide long-term demand forecast for each style-color on the plan, as part of a third level of plan set-up called Bottom Up, giving demand planners valuable information, which is transmitted to the Middle Out support to the financial plan.
Reconciliation
once all plans are published (both strategic and analytical plans), they are submitted for approval, allowing decision makers to keep a squared plan, which means that the sum of each style-color demand matches with different business-defined aggregations, in order to start a new season with an aligned plan at all levels of the organization.
benefits
2%
Increase sales
2%
Increase margin
25%
Reduce overstocks
40%
Reduce decision time