8 In-Season Management

The middle out and bottom up users can use the same steps they used during preseason to create their plans to review the plan and compare it to the season actuals during in-season. Both the middle out and bottom up users can review their targets, determine how those plans compare to actuals, and adjust their plans as necessary.

Middle Out: In-Season Management

Using the same tabs when creating their plan during preseason, middle out users can review their targets and the plans created by the bottom up users and determine how those plans compare to actuals.

In addition to updating the plan, middle out users can review the Open to Buy (OTB) and adjust it if necessary. 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.

Open to Buy Tab

The Open to Buy tab has one worksheet, the Open to Buy worksheet. For the middle out user, this worksheet is based at the department level.

Open to Buy Worksheet

The Open to Buy worksheet 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 R and Wp Reference OTB MU% measures. These measures show the user how much additional receipts can be purchased as well as what markup to purchase these at for the current approve receipt retail and markup 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 R Var Cp.

Use this worksheet 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 R plan to the Wp Net On Order R.

2. Compare the Cp Receipts MU % plan to the Wp Net On Order MU%. The difference is shown in the measure Wp Reference OTB MU%. If receipts have booked for non-elapsed periods, you can enter this Wp Receipt R and Wp Receipt MU% data into the Wp On Order Adj R and Wp On Order Adj MU% (respectively) to capture the Wp OTB measures. For example, this may occur if receipts book daily for the retailer, and OTB is done on a Tuesday. By utilizing the Wp On Order Adj measures, you can capture all receipts for comparing the Net On Order to the Cp receipt plan.

3. Examine the Wp OTB R and Wp OTB Reference MU % measures. These measures are the difference between the Cp Receipts R and the Wp Net On Order R.

4. Optional: Compare the Cp Receipts Cost and Wp Net On Order Cost measures. To make these measures visible in the worksheet, perform the following steps:

   1. Right-click the measure hierarchy tile.

   2. Click Select Display and Sort Attributes from the right-click menu.

   3. Select the Show/Hide tab.

   4. Move the Cp Receipt Cost and Wp Net On Order Cost measures from the Hidden Measures list to the Visible Measures list.

   5. Click OK.

Figure 8-1 Middle Out: Open to Buy Worksheet

The following table lists the measures available on this worksheet.

Table 8-1 Middle Out: Open to Buy Worksheet Measures

Measure	Description
Wp BOP Inv R	The planned beginning of period inventory. The period can be a week, month, or any other calendar period.
Wp Sales R	The planned sales retail value.
Wp Markdown R	The planned markdown value.
Wp Receipts R	The planned receipt value.
Wp Receipts MU %	The planned receipts markup, expressed as a percentage of retail value.
Cp Receipts R	The current plan receipts value.
Cp Receipts MU %	The current plan receipts markup rate.
Wp On Order R	The planned on order retail value. This is the retail amount of future orders that are considered part of future inventory.
Wp On Order MU %	The planned on order markup percentage. This is the markup of the future orders.
Wp On Order Adj R	The planned on order adjustment retail value. Use this measure to enter future orders that are not yet part of On Order R. This measure is used to perform what-if analysis on how bringing in additional purchases affects the Wp OTB R and Wp OTB MU%.
Wp On Order Adj MU %	The planned on order adjusted markup. This is the markup associated with the Wp On Order Adj R. Use this measure in conjunction with Wp On Order Adj R to perform what-if analysis on how bringing in additional purchases affects the Wp OTB R and Wp OTB MU%.
Wp Net On Order R	The planned net on order retail value. This is the difference between the On Order R and the On Order Adj R. This value is decremented from the Cp Receipt Plan to find the Wp OTB R.
Wp Net On Order MU %	The planned net on order markup percentage. This is the markup of the Wp Net On Order R.
Wp EOP Inv R	The planned end of period inventory. The period can be a week, month, or any other calendar period.
Cp EOP Inv R	The current plan end of period inventory. The period can be a week, month, or any other calendar period.
Wp EOP Inv R Var CP	The planned variance between the target end of period inventory and the current plan end of period inventory, expressed as a percentage of the current plan.
Wp OTB R	The planned open to buy retail value. This is the amount available for purchase in the given period. It is the difference between the Cp Receipt Plan R and the Net On Order R. 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 MU %	The planned open to buy markup percentage. This is the markup that the Wp OTB R needs to be placed at in order to maintain the current period's Cp Receipt Markup plan. Any additional purchases that are made should be at this markup or higher.

Bottom Up In-Season Management

Bottom up users can review their plans and determine how those plans compare to actuals using the same tabs they used when creating their plan during preseason. Bottom up users can also update any of their plans (department, class, and subclass) during in-season.

In addition to updating plans, bottom up users can review the Open to Buy and adjust it if necessary. This is the primary in-season task for the bottom up user. Open to Buy is the amount of money that is planned to be available during the in-season to purchase goods that have not yet been received or ordered.

Open to Buy Tab

The Open to Buy tab has one worksheet, the Open to Buy worksheet. For the bottom up user, this worksheet is based at the subclass level.

Open to Buy Worksheet

The Open to Buy worksheet 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 R and Wp Reference OTB MU% measures. These measures show the user how much additional receipts can be purchased as well as what markup to purchase these at for the current approve receipt retail and markup 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 R Var Cp.

Use this worksheet 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 R plan to the Wp Net On Order R.

2. Compare the Cp Receipts MU % plan to the Wp Net On Order MU%. The difference is shown in the measure Wp Reference OTB MU%. If receipts have booked for non-elapsed periods, you can enter this Wp Receipt R and Wp Receipt MU% data into the Wp On Order Adj R and Wp On Order Adj MU% (respectively) to capture the Wp OTB measures. For example, this may occur if receipts book daily for the retailer, and OTB is done on a Tuesday. By utilizing the Wp On Order Adj measures, you can capture all receipts for comparing the Net On Order to the Cp receipt plan.

3. Examine the Wp OTB R and Wp OTB Reference MU % measures. These measures are the difference between the Cp Receipts R and the Wp Net On Order R.

4. Optional: Compare the Cp Receipts Cost and Wp Net On Order Cost measures. To make these measures visible in the worksheet, perform the following steps:

   1. Right-click the measure hierarchy tile.

   2. Click Select Display and Sort Attributes from the right-click menu.

   3. Select the Show/Hide tab.

   4. Move the Cp Receipt Cost and Wp Net On Order Cost measures from the Hidden Measures list to the Visible Measures list.

   5. Click OK.

Figure 8-2 Bottom Up: Open to Buy Worksheet

The following table lists the measures available on this worksheet.

Table 8-2 Bottom Up: Open to Buy Worksheet Measures

Measure	Description
Wp BOP Inv R	The planned beginning of period inventory. The period can be a week, month, or any other calendar period.
Wp Sales R	The planned sales retail value.
Wp Markdown R	The planned markdown value.
Wp Receipts R	The planned receipt value.
Wp Receipts MU %	The planned receipts markup, expressed as a percentage of retail value.
Cp Receipts R	The current plan receipts value.
Cp Receipts MU %	The current plan receipts markup rate.
Wp On Order R	The planned on order retail value. This is the retail amount of future orders that are considered part of future inventory.
Wp On Order MU %	The planned on order markup percentage. This is the markup of the future orders.
Wp On Order Adj R	The planned on order adjustment retail value. Use this measure to enter future orders that are not yet part of On Order R. This measure is used to perform what-if analysis on how bringing in additional purchases affects the Wp OTB R and Wp OTB MU%.
Wp On Order Adj MU %	The planned on order adjusted markup. This is the markup associated with the Wp On Order Adj R. Use this measure in conjunction with Wp On Order Adj R to perform what-if analysis on how bringing in additional purchases affects the Wp OTB R and Wp OTB MU%.
Wp Net On Order R	The planned net on order retail value. This is the difference between the On Order R and the On Order Adj R. This value is decremented from the Cp Receipt Plan to find the Wp OTB R.
Wp Net On Order MU %	The planned net on order markup percentage. This is the markup of the Wp Net On Order R.
Wp EOP Inv R	The planned end of period inventory. The period can be a week, month, or any other calendar period.
Cp EOP Inv R	The current plan end of period inventory. The period can be a week, month, or any other calendar period.
Wp EOP Inv R Var CP	The planned variance between the target end of period inventory and the current plan end of period inventory, expressed as a percentage of the current plan.
Wp OTB R	The planned open to buy retail value. This is the amount available for purchase in the given period. It is the difference between the Cp Receipt Plan R and the Net On Order R. 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 MU %	The planned open to buy markup percentage. This is the markup that the Wp OTB R needs to be placed at in order to maintain the current period's Cp Receipt Markup plan. Any additional purchases that are made should be at this markup or higher.

After you have adjusted the Open to Buy by changing the Wp Receipts R and Wp Receipts MU% measures, submit it to middle out user as described in the Submit Plan for Approval Tab section.

If you want to commit your working plan (Wp) measures to the database, see Commit Wp Measures.