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Oracle® Retail Merchandise Financial Planning Cost User Guide for the RPAS Fusion Client
Release 14.1
E55568-01
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7 In-Season Management

All users—top down, middle out, and bottom up—can use the Manage/Update Merchandise Financial Plan activity during in-season to review the plan and compare it to the season actuals. Top down and middle out users review their targets and the plans created by the lower level users and determine how those plans compare to actuals. Bottom up users can not only review their plan to actuals, but also adjust their plan with the Update Department Plans task.

One of the key steps of in-season management is reviewing the Open to Buy (OTB). OTB is the amount of money that is planned to be available during the in-season to purchase goods that have no yet been received or ordered. The bottom up user can decide in-season how to spend this money to reach the strategic targets.

Each role has its own task within the Manage/Update Merchandise Financial Plan activity. The activities of each role are described in this chapter.

Top Down Role: Review Company Results to Plan

The top down user can use the Review Company Results to Plan task to review their targets and the plans created by the lower level users and determine how those plans compare to actuals.

To build the Review Company Results to Plan workbook, perform the following steps.

  1. Click the Create New Workbook icon in the Review Company Results to Plan task.

    Figure 7-1 Top Down: Create New Workbook Icon


  2. The workbook wizard opens at the Product Selection step. Select the company that you want to plan and move it to the Selected Items box. Click Next.

    Figure 7-2 Workbook Wizard: Product Selection


  3. The Location Selection step of the workbook wizard appears. Select the channel you want to plan and move it to the Selected Items box. Click Next.

    Figure 7-3 Workbook Wizard: Location Selection


  4. The Calendar Selection step of the workbook wizard appears. Select the halves you want to plan and move them to the Selected Items box. Click Finish.

    Figure 7-4 Workbook Wizard: Calendar Selection


    The workbook is built, and the Compare Company Results to Original Plan view opens.

Compare Company Results to Plan

The Compare Company Results to Plan step has two views: All Measures and Review Plan. All Measures contains all the measures contained in the workbook. For details on the All Measures view, see All Measures.

Review Plan

The Review Plan view allows you to compare your plan to the current plan, original plan, last year actuals, or MO targets. Use the four measure profiles in this view to perform these tasks:

  • Default

  • TD Target to Last Year

  • TD Target to MO Targets

  • TD Target to Original Plan

Figure 7-5 Top Down: Review Plan View, Default Measure Profile


Middle Out Role: Review Department Results to Plan

The middle out user can use the Review Department Results to Plan task to review their targets and the plans created by the bottom up users and determine how those plans compare to actuals.

To build the Review Department Results to Plan workbook, perform the following steps.

  1. Click the Create New Workbook icon in the Review Department Results to Plan task.

    Figure 7-6 Middle Out: Create New Workbook Icon


  2. The workbook wizard opens at the Product Selection step. Select the divisions that you want to plan and move them to the Selected Items box. Click Next.

    Figure 7-7 Workbook Wizard: Product Selection


  3. The Location Selection step of the workbook wizard appears. Select the channels you want to plan and move them to the Selected Items box. Click Next.

    Figure 7-8 Workbook Wizard: Location Selection


  4. The Calendar Selection step of the workbook wizard appears. Select the halves you want to plan and move them to the Selected Items box. Click Finish.

    Figure 7-9 Workbook Wizard: Calendar Selection


The workbook is built, and the All Measures view of the Compare Department Results to Plan step opens.

Compare Department Results to Plan

The Compare Department Results to Plan step has two views: All Measures and Review Plan/Reconcile Targets. All Measures contains all the measures contained in the workbook. For details on the All Measures view, see All Measures.

Review Plan/Reconcile Targets

The Review Plan /Reconcile Targets view allows you to compare your plan to the current or original plan and reconcile your targets to the top down targets. Use the four measure profiles in this view to perform these tasks:

  • Current Plan Overview

  • Default

  • Original Plan Overview

  • Reconcile to TD Target

Figure 7-10 Middle Out: Review Plan/Reconcile Targets View, Targets Compared to Current Plan Measure Profile


After you have reviewed the plan, continue to the Review Open to Buy step.

Review Open to Buy

The Review OTB step has one view: Open to Buy.

Open to Buy View

The Open to Buy view enables you to understand the variance between the current planned receipt cost to the on order cost and any on order adjustment cost. This variance is shown in the Wp OTB C and Wp Reference OTB AUC measures. These measures show the user how much additional receipts can be purchased as well as what AUC to purchase these at for the current approve receipt retail and profit plan. Users should understand if their planned receipts keep them on overall Cp EOP inventory plan. To understand the variance between the Cp EOP inventory plan and the Wp EOP inventory plan, users can reference the measure Wp EOP Inv var Cp C%.

Use this view to validate what OTB you have available and then start adjusting your plan. Then, confirm that your updates can be obtained given the OTB constraints you may have.

Use the following best practices to adjust OTB.

  1. To understand the difference between the current approved receipts and their net on order, compare the Cp Receipts C plan to the Wp Net On Order C.

  2. Examine the Wp OTB C and Wp OTB Reference AUC measures. These measures are the difference between the Cp Receipts C and the Wp Net On Order C.

Figure 7-11 Open to Buy View, Default View


The following table lists the measures available on this view.

Table 7-1 Open to Buy View Measures

Measure Description

Wp BOP Inv C

The planned beginning of period inventory cost. The period can be a week, month, or any other calendar period.

Wp Sales C

The planned sales cost value.

Wp Receipts C

The planned receipt cost value.

Cp Receipts C

The current plan receipt cost value.

Wp On Order C

The planned on order cost value. This is the cost amount of future orders that are considered part of future inventory.

Wp On Order AUC

The planned on order average unit cost.

Wp On Order Adj C

The planned on order adjustment cost value. Use this measure to enter future orders that are not yet part of On Order C. This measure is used to perform what-if analysis on how bringing in additional purchases affects the Wp OTB C and Wp OTB AUC.

Wp On Order Adj AUC

The planned on order average unit cost. This is the average unit cost associated with the Wp On Order Adj C. Use this measure in conjunction with Wp On Order Adj C to perform what-if analysis on how bringing in additional purchases affects the Wp OTB C and Wp OTB AUC.

Wp Net On Order C

The planned net on order cost value. This is the difference between the On Order C and the On Order Adj C. This value is decremented from the Cp Receipt Plan to find the Wp OTB C.

Wp Net On Order AUC

The planned net on order average unit cost. This is the average unit cost of the Wp Net On Order C.

Wp EOP Inv C

The planned end of period inventory cost. The period can be a week, month, or any other calendar period.

Cp EOP Inv C

The current plan end of period inventory cost. The period can be a week, month, or any other calendar period.

Wp EOP Inv var CP C %

The planned variance between the target end of period inventory cost and the current plan end of period inventory, expressed as a percentage of the current plan.

Wp OTB C

The planned open to buy cost value. This is the amount available for purchase in the given period. It is the difference between the Cp Receipt Plan C and the Net On Order C. This value can be positive or negative. If positive, there are additional purchases that can be made. If negative, you should reduce future on order.

Wp OTB Reference AUC

The planned open to buy average unit cost. This is the average unit cost that the Wp OTB C needs to be placed at in order to maintain the current period's Cp Receipt AUC plan. Any additional purchases that are made should be at this AUC or higher.


Bottom Up Role: Review Class-SubClass Results to Plan

The bottom up user can use the Review Class-SubClass Results to Plan task to review their plans and determine how those plans compare to actuals.


Note:

If you want to make adjustments to your plan, you should make them in the Update Department Plans task. The Review Class-SubClass Results to Plan task is for reviewing only.

To build the Review Class-SubClass Results to Plan workbook, perform the following steps.

  1. Click the Create New Workbook icon in the Develop and Publish Department Targets task.

    Figure 7-12 Bottom Up: Create New Workbook Icon


  2. The workbook wizard opens at the Product Selection step. Select the departments that you want to plan and move them to the Selected Items box. Click Next.

    Figure 7-13 Workbook Wizard: Product Selection


  3. The Location Selection step of the workbook wizard appears. Select the channels you want to plan and move them to the Selected Items box. Click Next.

    Figure 7-14 Workbook Wizard: Location Selection


  4. The Calendar Selection step of the workbook wizard appears. Select the halves you want to plan and move them to the Selected Items box. Click Finish.

    Figure 7-15 Workbook Wizard: Calendar Selection


The workbook is built, and the All Measures view of the Compare Department Results to Plan step opens.

Compare Class-SubClass Results to Plan Results to Plan

The Compare Class-SubClass Results to Plan step has two views: All Measures and Review Plan/Reconcile Targets. All Measures contains all the measures contained in the workbook. For details on the All Measures view, see All Measures.

Review Plan/Reconcile to Targets

The Review Plan /Reconcile to Targets view allows you to compare your plan to the current or original plan and reconcile your targets to the middle out targets. Use the four measure profiles in this view to perform these tasks:

  • Current Plan Review

  • Default

  • Original Plan Review

  • Reconcile to MO Targets

Figure 7-16 Bottom Up: Review Plan/Reconcile Targets View, Targets Compared to Current Plan Measure Profile


After you have reviewed the plan, continue to the Bottom Up: Update Department Plans task.

Bottom Up: Update Department Plans

Bottom up users have the ability to update the department plans in-season. If you realize that your plan needs to be adjusted in-season, you can make those adjustments in the Update Department Plans task and resubmit your plan to the middle out user.

The Update Department Plans task has six steps:

These steps are shown in Figure 7-17.

Figure 7-17 Bottom Up: Update Department Plans Tasks


To build the Review Department Plans workbook, perform the following steps.

  1. Click the Create New Workbook icon in the Update Department Plans task, as shown in Figure 7-17.

  2. The workbook wizard opens at the Product Selection step. Select the departments that you want to plan and move them to the Selected Items box. Click Next.

    Figure 7-18 Workbook Wizard: Product Selection


  3. The Location Selection step of the workbook wizard appears. Select the channels you want to plan and move them to the Selected Items box. Click Next.

    Figure 7-19 Workbook Wizard: Location Selection


  4. The Calendar Selection step of the workbook wizard appears. Select the halves you want to plan and move them to the Selected Items box. Click Finish.

    Figure 7-20 Workbook Wizard: Calendar Selection


The workbook is built, and the Open to Buy view is visible.

Review Open to Buy

The Open to Buy step enables you to understand the variance between the current planned receipts and their markup to the on order and any on order adjustments. This variance is shown in the Wp OTB C and Wp Reference OTB AUC measures. These measures show the user how much additional receipts can be purchased as well as what AUC to purchase these at for the current approve receipt retail and profit plan. Users should understand if their planned receipts keep them on overall Cp EOP inventory plan. To understand the variance between the Cp EOP inventory plan and the Wp EOP inventory plan, users can reference the measure Wp EOP Inv var Cp C %.

Use this view to validate what OTB you have available and then start adjusting your plan. Then, confirm that your updates can be obtained given the OTB constraints you may have.

Use the following best practices to adjust OTB.

  1. To understand the difference between the current approved receipts and their net on order, compare the Cp Receipts C plan to the Wp Net On Order C.

  2. Examine the Wp OTB C and Wp OTB Reference AUC measures. These measures are the difference between the Cp Receipts C and the Wp Net On Order C.

Figure 7-21 Open to Buy View


The following table lists the measures available on this view.

Table 7-2 Open to Buy View Measures

Measure Description

Wp BOP Inv C

The planned beginning of period inventory cost. The period can be a week, month, or any other calendar period.

Wp Sales C

The planned sales cost value.

Wp Receipts C

The planned receipt cost value.

Cp Receipts C

The current plan receipt cost value.

Wp On Order C

The planned on order cost value. This is the cost amount of future orders that are considered part of future inventory.

Wp On Order AUC

The planned on order average unit cost.

Wp On Order Adj C

The planned on order adjustment cost value. Use this measure to enter future orders that are not yet part of On Order C. This measure is used to perform what-if analysis on how bringing in additional purchases affects the Wp OTB C and Wp OTB AUC.

Wp On Order Adj AUC

The planned on order average unit cost. This is the average unit cost associated with the Wp On Order Adj C. Use this measure in conjunction with Wp On Order Adj C to perform what-if analysis on how bringing in additional purchases affects the Wp OTB C and Wp OTB AUC.

Wp Net On Order C

The planned net on order cost value. This is the difference between the On Order C and the On Order Adj C. This value is decremented from the Cp Receipt Plan to find the Wp OTB C.

Wp Net On Order AUC

The planned net on order average unit cost. This is the average unit cost of the Wp Net On Order C.

Wp EOP Inv C

The planned end of period inventory cost. The period can be a week, month, or any other calendar period.

Cp EOP Inv C

The current plan end of period inventory cost. The period can be a week, month, or any other calendar period.

Wp EOP Inv var CP C %

The planned variance between the target end of period inventory cost and the current plan end of period inventory, expressed as a percentage of the current plan.

Wp OTB C

The planned open to buy cost value. This is the amount available for purchase in the given period. It is the difference between the Cp Receipt Plan C and the Net On Order C. This value can be positive or negative. If positive, there are additional purchases that can be made. If negative, you should reduce future on order.

Wp OTB Reference AUC

The planned open to buy average unit cost. This is the average unit cost that the Wp OTB C needs to be placed at in order to maintain the current period's Cp Receipt AUC plan. Any additional purchases that are made should be at this AUC or higher.


After you have adjusted the OTB, continue to the next step: Update Sales and Profit Plan.

Update Sales and Profit Plan

Use the Update Sales and Profit Plan step to adjust the sales and profit targets for classes and subclasses within a department. The view used in the Develop Sales and Profit Targets step is the Plan Sales/Profit view.

This view contains several metrics that you can reference when setting your plan. You can use the Ly measures as guidelines for entering data in the corresponding Wp measures.

Figure 7-22 Plan Sales / Profit View


In this view, you typically want to perform the following steps to adjust the sales and profit plan that reflects what you plan to achieve in the period you are planning.

  1. Adjust the desired sales plan by week. You can enter amounts for each week. Or, if you know the aggregrate amount for a month, quarter, half, or year, you could enter that amount at that level and then let it spread down to the weeks.

  2. Focus on profits by validating the changes you need to make.

  3. If needed, you can validate the unit plan by entering data in the average unit cost (AUC) or unit (U) measures.

After you have adjusted the sales and profit plan, continue to the next step: Update Receipts and Inventory Plan.

Update Receipts and Inventory Plan

After you have adjusted the sales and profit plan, adjust a receipts and inventory plan that can support the sales and profit plan. The purpose of this step is to ensure that you have a receipt and inventory plan that supports the sales that you are projecting.

Like the Plan Sales/Profit view, the Plan Receipts / Inventory view contains several Ly metrics that you can reference when setting your targets. There are also additional measures for adjusting your inventory targets. Note that the adjustments you made to the Wp Sales R measure in the Plan Sales and Profit view are visible in this view if you have calculated.

Use the following best practices to plan the receipts and inventory.

  1. Ensure that you have set the beginning of season (BOS) inventory in the Getting Started - Seed Plan step. The BOS measures must be set before planning the receipts and inventory. To set the BOS measures, see the Setting Beginning of Season Inventory.

  2. Plan the receipt flow and then evaluate the average inventory and turn.

  3. Adjust the Wp Stock to Sales C measure accordingly. These adjustments affect the receipts for both the current month and prior month. However, the total plan period receipts do not increase or decrease; they only shift from month to month.

Figure 7-23 Plan Receipts / Inventory View


After you have determined that the value and unit plans that you have created are achievable, continue to the Review Updated Open to Buy step.

Review Updated Open to Buy

Use the Open to Buy view to review your adjusted plan.

The primary in-season task for the bottom up user is to review the OTB and adjust receipts if necessary. You can do this only if you have open to buy available.

In the Review OTB step, you may have adjusted the OTB. Use this view to confirm that your updates can be obtained given the OTB constraints you may have.

Figure 7-24 Open to Buy View


Review Updated Department Plan

Use the Review Updated Department Plan step to review your adjusted plan. This step has two views: All Measures and Review Plan/Reconcile Targets. The Review Plan/Reconcile Targets view has four measure profiles you can use to review the plan:

  • Default

  • Current Plan Review

  • Original Plan Review

  • Reconcile to MO Targets

Figure 7-25 Review Plan / Reconcile Targets View, Default Measure Profile


Review/Reconcile to Item Plan

Use these views to compare your revised plan to the Op and Cp item plans.


Note:

This step is optional. It is used only if you are also using Oracle Retail Item Planning.

1. Review Item Plan CP Plan

Use this view to compare your plan to the Current Plan item plan. Use one of the three available measure profiles:

  • Default

  • Review CP Unit Plan

  • Review Value Plan

Figure 7-26 Review/Reconcile to Item Plan - Review Item Plan Cp Plan View


2. Review Item Plan OP Plan

Use this view to compare your plan to the Original Plan item plan. Use one of the three available measure profiles:

  • Default

  • Review OP Unit Plan

  • Review Value Plan

Figure 7-27 Review Item Plan Op Plan View, Default Measure Profile


Bottom Up: Submit Updated Current Plan

When you are ready to submit your revised plan to the middle out user for approval, use the Submit Updated Current Plan task.

  1. In the taskflow, click the Open icon in the Submit Updated Current Plan task.


    Note:

    You can either open a workbook or create a new workbook. If you have committed the workbook used in the previous task, you can build a new one and see the data you need. If you did not commit that one, you must open it to complete this process.

    Figure 7-28 Bottom Up: Create New Workbook Icon


  2. The Open Workbook dialog box opens. Select the workbook you want to submit and click Open Workbook.

    Figure 7-29 Open Workbook Dialog Box


  3. The workbook opens at the Submit Plan view.

    Figure 7-30 Submit Updated Current Plan - Approval View


  4. Make the following selections:

    • Wp Submit: Choose what you want to submit your working plan to. Options are Submit Op Only, Submit Cp Only, or Submit Op and Cp.

    • Wp Submit Info: Enter information about the working plan. This step is optional.

  5. Click the Submit button at the top right of the view, as shown in Figure 7-30.

  6. A success message appears. Click OK to close it.

    Figure 7-31 Success Message - Plan Submitted


    As a result of running the Submit custom menu, the Wp Submit and Wp Submit Info measures are cleared and the Wp Approval Pending check boxes are checked. The Wa Submit By, Wa Submit Date, and Wa Submit Info measures are populated with the new submit information. In addition, your working plan is copied into a Waiting for Approval (Wa) plan.

    Figure 7-32 Submit Updated Current Plan - Submitted Current Plan


  7. To make the Wa plan available to the middle out user for approval, commit the workbook by clicking Commit in the toolbar or selecting the Commit option in the File menu.

After the middle out user approves or rejects the Wa plan, you can see the approval or rejection information by accessing this view from the Review Plan Approval Status step.

Middle Out: Update Current Plan Approval

After the bottom up user submits a revised plan, the middle out user can review the plan and decide whether to approve or reject it in the Update Current Plan Approval task.

To see the bottom up user's plan, either build a new workbook or open an existing one from the Update Current Plan Approval task, as shown in Figure 7-33.

Figure 7-33 Update Current Plan Approval


If you open an existing workbook, you must refresh it to see the bottom up user's plan. To refresh a workbook, click the Refresh icon in the toolbar or select the Refresh option in the Edit menu.

Figure 7-34 Refresh


Review Plan Approval Status

The first step in the Update Current Plan Approval task is the Review Plan Approval Status view. This view shows you which bottom up user submitted the plan, what they submitted it to, when it was submitted, and any notes that user may have added.

Figure 7-35 Review Plan Approval Status - Approve Plan View


You can approve or reject the plan at the view, but it is recommended that you first view the plan at the next step.

Table 7-3 View Measures

Measure Description

Wp Submit Detail

This measure shows what the bottom up user submitted the working plan as. Options are Op Only Submitted, Cp Only Submitted, and Op and Cp Submitted.

Wa Submit By

This measure displays the username of the bottom up user who submitted the plan.

Wa Submit Date

The date that the plan was submitted.

Wp Submit Info

This measure displays any notes that the bottom up user entered.

Op Approve Enabled

When selected, the bottom up user can submit a plan to the Op and the middle out user can approval a plan to the Op.

Wp Approval

Working Plan Approval. Use this measure to approve or reject the plan.

Wp Approval Info

Use this measure to provide information about why you accepted or rejected the plan.

Last Approval Action

The last approval action that you took.

Op Approved/Rejected By

This measure displays the username of the person who approved or rejected the original plan.

Op Approved/Rejected Date

The date the original plan was approved or rejected.

Op Approve/Reject Info

This measure displays any notes that the middle out user entered about approving or rejecting the original plan.

Cp Approve/Rejected By

This measure displays the username of the person who approved or rejected the current plan.

Cp Approve Reject Date

The date the current plan was approved or rejected.

Cp Approve/Reject Info

This measure displays any notes that the middle out user entered about approving or rejecting the current plan.


Review Submitted Department Plan

After the bottom up user has resubmitted the plan, you can review the details of the plan at the Review Submitted Department Plan view. At this step you should review the original plan summary and overview and the current plan summary and overview, comparing the Wa plan and to your MO targets that you set. Decide whether the Wa plan achieves the gross margin goals.

This step includes one view: Review Submitted Plan. This view has four measure profiles that you can use to review the plan:

  • Default

  • Review Submitted Plan Units

  • Review Submitted Plan to Current Plan

  • Review Submitted Plan to Current Plan

Figure 7-36 Review Submitted Plan View, Default Measure Profile


After you have finished reviewing the Wa plan, continue to the last step of the task, Approve/Reject Updated Plans.

Approve/Reject Updated Plans

After you have reviewed the updated Wa plan, approve or reject it at this step.

The view in this step is Approve Plan, the same one that is shown in the first step, Review Plan Approval Status.

Figure 7-37 Approve/Reject Plan - Approve Plan View


  1. In the Wp Approval measure, select one of the two options: Approve Plan or Reject Plan.

  2. In the Wp Approval Info measure, enter any useful information about the plan or your approval decision. This step is optional.

  3. Click the Approve/Reject button as shown in Figure 7-37.

  4. A success message appears. Click OK to close it.

    Figure 7-38 Success Message - Approve/Reject


The view refreshes and the approval or rejection information is populated in the measures, as shown in Figure 7-39.

Figure 7-39 Approve/Reject Plan - Approve Plan View



Note:

You must commit the workbook for other users to see the action.

All Measures

The All Measures view contains all the measures contained in the workbook; however, only the Wp Sales R measure is visible in the default measure profile. The purpose of this workbook is to allow you to create a view of workbook measures that you may not be able to view all at once in other views.

Figure 7-40 All Measures View


To see the other measures in this view, perform the following steps:

  1. Click the Measure dimension tile. The All Measures - Measure window appears.

  2. Move the measures you want to see in the view from the Hidden Measures box to the Visible Measures box.

  3. When finished, click OK.

For more information about hidden and visible measures, see the Oracle Retail Predictive Application Server User Guide for the Fusion Client.