3 Preseason: Top Down Role

The top down role is usually associated with senior management in the merchandise planning organization. The overall goal of the top down user is to develop company-level strategic targets that set the financial guidance for the planning organization. To do this, the top down user creates strategic targets that meet this goal and provides them to the planning manager (middle out role), who provides department targets to the merchandise planner (bottom up role).

Top down users typically begin planning two to three years before the planning period. This is known as Preseason Planning. During this time, top down users create the Merchandise Financial Plan for the season or for the entire year.

When top down users open MFP in the RPAS Fusion Client, they are presented with the preseason activity called Create Merchandise Financial Plan. The first task within this activity is Develop and Publish Company Targets. This task belongs solely to the top down user. It has four steps:

• Getting Started - Seed Plan

• Develop Targets

• Review Targets

• Publish Strategic Targets

These tasks and steps are shown in Figure 3-1.

Figure 3-1 Top Down Role View: Preseason Task and Steps

Note: The top down user can see the tasks of the middle out and bottom up roles, but the top down user cannot open or create workbooks within those tasks. This is denoted by the grayed out icons on the right of the taskflow.

The top down user must complete these four steps to publish the strategic targets to the middle out user. To do this, the top down user must first build the workbook.

Building the Workbook

To build the top down role workbook, perform the following steps.

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

   Figure 3-2 Create New Workbook Icon

   
   

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

   Figure 3-3 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 3-4 Workbook Wizard: Location Selection

   
   

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

   Figure 3-5 Workbook Wizard: Calendar Selection

   
   

The Top Down Role workbook is built, and the Initialize Plan view opens.

Getting Started - Seed Plan

The first step that top down users perform after they build the workbook is to seed the plan with the Initialize view.

Figure 3-6 Top Down Initialize View: Seed Plan

Table 3-1 Top Down Initialize Plan Measures

Measure	Description
Seed Source	The seed source used to seed the working plan. Use this option to seed or not seed the working plan. You can seed with Last Year's (Ly) or Adjusted Last Year's (Adj Ly) data. Or, you can choose the Do Nothing option if you do not want to seed the working plan.
Last Seed Source	The last seed source that was performed in this workbook. One of three options is shown: Seed from Last Year Seed from Adjusted Last Year Do Nothing
Last Seeded Date	The last time the working plan was seeded.

With this view, you can choose to seed your plan with Last Year (Ly) or Adjusted Last Year (Adj Ly) data to create a demand curve on which to spread the new plan's initial targets. Or, you can instead choose to not seed the plan, which allows you to create a plan that is not influenced by last year's performance.

In the example above, both Half1 and Half2 have been selected to be seeded for the Brick & Mortar channel for the 20 Menswear division.

Seeding the Plan

When seeding the plan, you can choose which information is seeded. For instance, you can seed just one half or all halves in the workbook, as shown in Figure 3-6. You can also choose what locations and products to seed.

There are two ways you can seed. You can seed each level individually, or you can seed several levels at once by changing the dimension level shown in the view.

Seeding One Level at a Time

As shown in Figure 3-6, only the Brick & Mortar channel and the 20 Menswear division have been selected to be seeded with Ly data. This means that the other product divisions have not been selected to be seeded yet. To seed the next division in the Product dimension within the Brick & Mortar channel, perform the following steps:

1. Click within the dimension field that you want to change, as shown in Figure 3-7.

2. Click the Next or Previous arrow, as shown in Figure 3-7.

   Figure 3-7 Changing a Dimension Level with Page Arrows

   
   

3. The page refreshes and the next division in the Product dimension appears in the page edge. Note that the Seed Source measure is no longer populated.

4. Select the half that you want to seed with Ly or Adj Ly data.

5. Click the Next arrow to view and seed the next division.

6. When you have selected all the data you want to seed, click Seed in the top, right corner.

   Figure 3-8 Seed Button

   
   

7. A confirmation message appears, stating that the data has been successfully seeded. Click OK.

   Figure 3-9 Seeding Success Message

   
   

After you have seeded, the view refreshes and the Last Seed Source and Last Seed Date measures contain the source and date of the last seed.

Seeding Several Levels at Once

If you want to seed several locations and several products at once, you may want to change the level of the dimensions shown in the page edge.

The default setting of the Initialize Plan view is set to show the Calendar dimension at the half level, the Location dimension at the channel level, and the Product dimension at the division level.

To change the dimension level shown in the page edge or grid, perform the following steps:

1. Click the dimension tile of the dimension level you would like to change.

   Figure 3-10 Location Dimension Tile

   
   

2. The dimension window appears. Select the level of the dimension that you want to appear in the page edge. If you want to view more than one level at a time in the page edge or grid, select multiple levels. In Figure 3-11, Channel was deselected and all [Location] was selected instead.

   Figure 3-11 Location Dimension Window

   
   

3. Click OK when finished.

4. Repeat steps 1 through 3 for other dimensions if desired.

5. After the dimensions are at the level you want, select the halves that you want to seed.

   In Figure 3-12, both the Location and Product dimensions are at All, and the halves Half1 FY2009 and Half2 FY2009 have been set to seed from last year.

6. When you have selected all the data you want to seed, click Seed in the top, right corner, as shown in Figure 3-12.

   Figure 3-12 Seeding Several Levels at Once

   
   

7. The view refreshes and the Last Seeded Source and Last Seed Date measures measures contain the source and date of the last seed. A confirmation message appears, stating that the data has been successfully seeded. Click OK.

   Figure 3-13 Seeding Success Message

   
   

Setting Beginning of Season Inventory

After you have seeded, set the Beginning of Season (BOS) inventory. By entering the BOS inventory that you project for the season, you can set the BOS markup for that inventory, which allows the BOS cost to be calculated.

To set the BOS, perform the following steps:

1. In the Initialize Plan view, click the Measure Profile icon.

2. In the Measure Profile menu, click Select and then click the Seed and Set BOS Inventory measure profile.

   Figure 3-14 Seed and Set BOS Inventory Measure Profile

   
   

3. The view is refreshed with the Seed and Set BOS Inventory measures visible.

   Figure 3-15 Initialize Plan View with Seed and Set BOS Inventory Measure Profile

   
   

4. Change the calendar dimension to year.

5. Enter data in the BOS Inv C measure.

   Figure 3-16 Initialize Plan View with Seeded and Set BOS Inventory

   
   

6. Click Calculate.

After you have seeded the divisions and set the BOS, continue to the next step: Develop Targets.

Develop Targets

After you have seeded the divisions, develop the sales and gross profit targets for groups within those divisions.

Figure 3-17 Target Setting View

The following table lists the measures available on this view.

Table 3-2 Target Setting View Measures

Measure	Description
Wp Fcst Pre-Season R	The preseason forecast.
Wp Sales var Fcst Pre-Ssn R%	The planned preseason sales variance forecast.
Wp Sales R	The planned sales retail value.
Ly Sales R	Last year's sales retail value.
Wp Sales var Ly R%	The planned sales retail variance to last year, expressed as a percentage.
Wp Gross Profit	The planned gross profit value.
Wp Gross Profit %	The planned gross profit value expressed as a percentage of total sales.
Ly Gross Profit	Last year's gross profit value.
Ly Gross Profit %	Last year's gross profit value expressed as a percentage of total sales.
Wp Gross Profit var Ly %	The planned gross profit variance to last year, expressed as a rate.
Wp Sales C	The planned sales cost value.
Ly Sales C	Last year's sales cost value.
Wp Sales var Ly C %	The planned sales cost variance to last year expressed as a percentage.
Wp Cum Turn C	The planned cumulative inventory turns (cost). It is cumulated from the start week of the workbook.
Ly Cum Turn C	Last year's cumulative inventory turns (cost). It is cumulated from the same week last year, corresponding to the first week in the workbook.
Wp Cum Avg Inv C	The planned average cumulative inventory turns (cost). It is cumulated from the start week of the workbook.
Ly Cum Avg Inv C	Last year's average cumulative inventory turns (cost).

To create the top down targets, perform the following steps:

1. Change the Calendar dimension so that year is displayed.

2. Enter the Wp Sales R that you are projecting. Use the Wp Fcst Pre-season R measure as a guide.

3. Plan the gross profit by editing either the Wp Gross Profit or Wp Gross Profit % measure.

4. Plan the cost by editing the Wp Sales C measure.

5. Enter the Wp Cum Turn C at the half level.

   
   

   Note: The turn at the year is calculated by using the average inventory from the second half as the year average inventory. The turn for the year is calculated from the average inventory at the year level.

   
   

6. Click Calculate to populate the Wp Cum Avg Inv C measure.

7. Optional: Use the Sales Contribution Analysis measure profile to assist you to create a more detailed top down target.

After you have created targets, review those targets in the next step: Review Targets.

Review Targets

This step contains one view: Review Plan. In the Review Targets view, review the targets you created in the Develop Targets step.

If you need to alter the targets shown in this view, return to the Develop Targets step to edit them there.

Note: If you have not published top down targets yet, the TD Tgt measures have no values.

Figure 3-18 Review Plan View

If you are satisfied with the plan you have created, proceed to the final top down role step: Publish Strategic Targets.

Publish Strategic Targets

Use the Publish Strategic Targets step when you are ready to publish the targets you created. Publishing a target copies the target information to the TD Tgt (Top Down Target) measures in your workbook, and then it commits them to the database. After you have published, the targets are passed down to the middle out user.

Figure 3-19 Publish Strategic Targets

Publish Targets

Publishing a target copies your top down Wp measure information to the TD Tgt (Top Down Target) measures in your workbook, and then it commits those target measures to the database so that middle out users can retrieve those targets.

The TD Tgt measures are shown in the Review Plan view found in the Review Targets step. These measures initially have zero values. After the targets are published in this step, those measures are populated with the target information.

To publish the targets, perform the following steps.

1. Select the halves in the Wp Publish Targets measure that you want to publish.

2. If needed, enter relevant information in the Wp Publish Info measure. This is optional.

3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for other locations and products if necessary.

4. Click Publish Targets. This button is located in the top, right corner, as highlighted in Figure 3-19.

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

   Figure 3-20 Success Message - Publish Targets

   
   

6. The view refreshes and clears the Wp Publish Targets and Wp Publish Info measures. The TD Tgt measures in this view are populated. These measures are described in detail in the table below.

   Figure 3-21 Successfully Published Targets

   
   

   Table 3-3 Publish Target View Measures

   Measure	Description
   Wp Publish Targets	Working Plan Publish Targets. Use this measure to select the targets you want to publish.
   Wp Publish Info	Working Plan Publish Information. Use this measure to enter relevant target information. This measure is optional.
   TD Tgt Published By	Top Down Target Published By. After a target is published, this measure displays the username of the person who published the targets.
   TD Tgt Publish Date	Top Down Target Publish Date. After a target is published, this measure displays the date that the target was published.
   TD Tgt Publish Info	Top Down Target Publish Info. After a target is published, this measure displays the information that was entered in the Wp Publish Info measure.

   
   

Commit Wp Measures

If you want to commit your working plan (Wp) measures to the database, you need to perform a separate commit in addition to publishing your targets. For more information about committing, see the Oracle Retail Predictive Application Server User Guide for the Fusion Client.

To commit your Wp measures, perform the following steps:

1. In the workbook that you have published the targets, click Commit in the toolbar. Or, from the File menu, select the Commit option.

   Figure 3-22 Commit a Workbook

   
   

Next Steps

After you have published your targets and committed your workbook, the middle out user can use your group targets to create their department targets. To learn about the middle out user's role, see the Preseason: Middle Out Role chapter.

If you need to revise your targets at any time during the preseason, you can follow the same procedures described in this chapter. Since you have already created a working plan, there is no need to seed the workbook again, unless you want to start again with Ly (Last Year) or Adj Ly (Adjusted Last Year) data.