3 Top Down: Preseason Planning

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.

The Top Down Target Setting workbook contains the following tabs:

• Getting Started Tab

• Target Setting Tab

• Review Plan Tab

• Publish Targets Tab

The top down role uses the Getting Started, Target Setting, and Publish Targets tabs to publish the strategic targets to the middle out user.

After the middle out user has published the MO targets, the top down user uses the Review Plan tab to review the MO targets. For more information about the Review Plan tab, see Chapter 7, "Top Down: Review Targets".

Top Down Target Setting Wizard

To open a Top Down Target Setting workbook:

1. Select New from the File menu, or click the New button in the toolbar.

2. On the Planning tab, select Top Down Target Setting and click OK.

   Figure 3-1 Creating a New Top Down Target Setting Workbook

   
   

3. The Calendar Selection step appears. Select the halves you want to examine and click Next.

   Figure 3-2 Top Down Target Setting Wizard: Calendar Selection

   
   

4. The Product Selection step appears. Select the company you want to examine and click Next.

   Figure 3-3 Top Down Target Setting Wizard: Product Selection

   
   

5. The Location Selection step appears. Select the channels you want to examine and click Next.

   Figure 3-4 Top Down Target Setting Wizard: Location Selection

   
   

The Top Down Target Setting workbook is built.

Getting Started Tab

The Getting Started tab contains one worksheet, Initialize Plan.

Initialize Plan Worksheet

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

Figure 3-5 Initialize Plan Worksheet

The following table lists the measures available on this worksheet.

Table 3-1 Initialize Plan Worksheet 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 worksheet, 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 preceding example, the Half1 FY2011 half has been selected to be seeded with Ly data. The Half2 FY2011 half has been selected to not be seeded.

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. You can also choose what locations and products to seed.

There are two ways you can seed. You can seed each dimension individually, or you can seed several dimensions at once by changing the hierarchy dimension shown in the worksheet.

Seeding One Dimension at a Time

As shown in Figure 3-5, only the 20 Menswear division of the Brick & Mortar channel has been selected to be seeded. This means that the other product divisions have not been selected to be seeded yet. To seed the next division in the Product hierarchy within the Brick & Mortar channel, perform the following steps:

1. Click within the hierarchy field that you want to change, as shown in Figure 3-6.

2. Click the Next or Previous arrow, as shown in Figure 3-6.

   Figure 3-6 Changing a Hierarchy Dimension with Page Arrows

   
   

3. The next dimension in the hierarchy appears. Note that the Seed Source measure is now set to Do Nothing.

4. Choose the seed source for one or more halves.

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

6. When you have selected all the data you want to seed, click Seed in the Planning Actions menu.

   Figure 3-7 Planning Actions Menu: Seed

   
   

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

   Figure 3-8 Seeding Success Message

   
   

After you have seeded, the worksheet is refreshed and the Last Seed Source and Last Seeded Date measures contain the type and date of the last seed, as shown in Figure 3-9.

Figure 3-9 Seeded Working Plan

Seeding Several Dimensions at Once

If you want to seed several locations and several products at once, you may want to change the dimension of the hierarchies shown in the worksheet.

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

To change the hierarchy dimension shown in the worksheet, perform the following steps:

1. Right-click the hierarchy tile of the hierarchy dimension you want to change.

   Figure 3-10 Hierarchy Tiles

   
   

2. The right-click context menu appears. Select the dimension of the hierarchy that you want to appear, as shown in Figure 3-11.

   If you want to view more than one dimension at a time in the worksheet, select multiple dimensions.

   Figure 3-11 Seeding Several Dimensions at Once

   
   

3. Deselect the dimensions that you do not want to appear.

   In Figure 3-12, Channel and Division were deselected and all[Location] and all[Product] were selected instead.

   Figure 3-12 Seeding All Locations and All Products

   
   

4. When the hierarchies are at the dimension you want, select the Seed Source for each half.

5. When you have selected all the data you want to seed, click Seed in the Planning Actions menu, as shown in Figure 3-13.

   Figure 3-13 Planning Actions Menu: Seed

   
   

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

   Figure 3-14 Seeding Success Message

   
   

After you have seeded, the worksheet is refreshed and the Last Seed Source and Last Seeded Date measures contain the type and date of the last seed.

Figure 3-15 Seeded Working Plan

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 worksheet, change the measure profile to Seed and Set BOS Inventory.

   Figure 3-16 Seed and Set BOS Inventory Measure Profile

   
   

2. The worksheet is refreshed with the Seed and Set BOS Inventory measures visible.

   Figure 3-17 Initialize Plan Worksheet with Seed and Set BOS Inventory Measure Profile

   
   

3. Change the calendar hierarchy rollup to year.

4. Enter data in the BOS Inv R and BOS Inv IMU% measures.

   Figure 3-18 Initialize Plan Worksheet with Seeded and Set BOS Inventory

   
   

5. Click Calculate.

After you have seeded the divisions and set the BOS, continue to the next tab: Target Setting Tab.

Target Setting Tab

The Target Setting tab contains one worksheet, Target Setting.

Target Setting Worksheet

After you have seeded the divisions, use the Target Setting worksheet to develop the sales and markdown targets for groups within those divisions.

Figure 3-19 Target Setting Worksheet

The following table lists the measures available on this worksheet.

Table 3-2 Target Setting Worksheet Measures

Measure	Description
Wp Fcst Pre-Season R	The preseason forecast.
Wp Sales var Fcst Pre-season 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 rate.
Wp Markdown R	The planned markdown value.
Wp Markdown R%	The planned markdown value expressed as a rate.
Ly Markdown R	Last year's markdown value.
Ly Markdown R%	Last year's markdown value expressed as a rate.
Wp CMU %	The planned cumulative markup percent. It is cumulated for the same period last year. It corresponds to the start week of the workbook until the current week.
Ly CMU %	The cumulative markup percent from last year.
Wp Gross Margin	The planned gross margin.
Wp Gross Margin %	The planned gross margin rate.
Ly Gross Margin	Last year's gross margin.
Ly Gross Margin %	Last year's gross margin rate.
Wp Cum Turn R	The planned cumulative inventory turns (retail). It is cumulated from the start week of the workbook.
Ly Cum Turn R	Last year's cumulative inventory turns (retail).
Wp Cum Avg Inv R	The planned average cumulative inventory turns (retail). It is cumulated from the start week of the workbook.
Ly Cum Avg Inv R	Last year's average cumulative inventory turns (retail).

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

1. Change the Calendar hierarchy 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 markdown by editing either the Markdown R or Markdown R% measure.

4. Enter the CMU targets at the month level. These are usually relative to the receipt markup they have for the same plan period.

   
   

   Note: The Wp CMU% measure is only editable in the Top Down Target Settings workbook. For the middle out and bottom up users, it is read-only.

   
   

5. Plan the gross margin by editing the Wp Gross Margin measure. Enter the target at the year level. This calculates the Wp Gross Margin % measures based off the Sales net Vat R measure.

   
   

   Note: Wp Gross Margin is only editable in the Top Down Target Settings workbook. For the middle out and bottom up users, it is read-only.

   
   

6. After you have entered sales and markdowns, the COGS measure is populated. To apply the CMU% to the COGS, enter CMU at the month level or higher. Click Calculate.

7. Optional: Adjust the gross margin by month.

8. Enter the Wp Cum Turn R 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.

   
   

9. Click Calculate to populate the Wp Cum Avg Inv R measure.

10. Optional: Use the measure profile Reference Measures to assist you to create a more detailed top down target.

    
    

    Note: The reference measures may not match the working plan (Wp) measures. Reference measures are read-only. Only Wp measures are editable. The Wp measures are the measures that can be published as top down targets. Wp Reference measures cannot be published.

    
    

    Figure 3-20 Targets Setting Worksheet, Reference Measures Profile

    
    

    The Reference Measures profile includes additional measures for receipts and inventory planning. The reference measures in the Reference Measures profile are read-only. The Wp measures, not the reference measures, are the ones that are published. These Wp measure are as follows:

    • Wp Sales R

    • Wp Sales var Ly R%

    • Wp Markdown R

    • Wp Markdown R%

    • Wp Receipts R

    • Wp Receipts MU %

    • Wp EOP Inv R

    
    

    Note: The best practice is to plan sales first and then markdowns. Next, plan receipts to support those sales. Finally, evaluate the margin measures.

    
    

11. Return to the default measure profile.

12. Analyze the Wp Gross Margin measure. If you want the working plan gross margin to be based on the Wp Reference CMU %, then edit the Wp Gross Margin measure to match the reference measure. (Wp Gross Margin, not the reference measure, is the one that is published).

13. Evaluate the targets you have created. If you are satisfied, publish them by selecting Publish Targets from the Planning Actions menu.

Publish Targets Tab

The following sections describe the worksheets available under the Publish Targets Tab:

• Published Measures Worksheet

• Publish Targets Worksheet

• All Measures Worksheet

Published Measures Worksheet

Use this worksheet to review the Wp measures before you publish them.

Figure 3-21 Published Measures Worksheet

If the workbook has never been published, the top down target (TD Tgt) measures have no values, as shown in Figure 3-21. After the workbook has been published, these are populated, as shown in Figure 3-22.

Figure 3-22 Published Measures Worksheet with Populated TD Tgt Measures

The following table lists the measures available on this worksheet.

Table 3-3 Published Measures Worksheet Measures

Measure	Description
Wp Sales R	The planned sales retail value.
Wp Markdown R	The planned markdown value.
Wp Markdown R%	The planned markdown value expressed as a rate.
Wp Gross Margin	The planned gross margin.
Wp Gross Margin %	The planned gross margin rate.
Wp Cum Turn R	The planned cumulative inventory turns (retail). It is cumulated from the start week of the workbook.
Wp Cum Avg Inv R	The planned average cumulative inventory turns (retail). It is cumulated from the start week of the workbook.
TD Tgt Sales R	The published top down target sales retail value.
TD Tgt Markdown R	The published top down target markdown value.
TD Tgt Markdown R%	The published top down target markdown value expressed as a rate.
TD Tgt Gross Margin	The published top down gross margin target.
TD Tgt Gross Margin %	The published top down gross margin rate.
TD Tgt Cum Turn R	The published top down cumulative inventory turns (retail). It is cumulated from the start week of the workbook.
TD Tgt Cum Avg Inv R	The published top down average cumulative inventory turns (retail) for the working plan. It is cumulated from the start week of the workbook.

After you have reviewed the targets, continue to the Publish Targets Worksheet.

Publish Targets Worksheet

Use the Publish Targets worksheet 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 3-23 Publish Targets Worksheet

To publish the targets, perform the following steps:

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

2. Optional: Enter useful information about the plan.

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

4. Select Publish Targets from the Planning Actions menu.

   Figure 3-24 Planning Actions: Publish Targets

   
   

The worksheet is refreshed and the Wp Publish Targets and Wp Publish Info measures are cleared. The TD Tgt measures in this worksheet are populated. These measures are described in detail in the following table:

Figure 3-25 Successfully Published Targets

The following table lists the measures available on this worksheet.

Table 3-4 Publish Targets Worksheet Measures

Measure	Description
Wp Publish Targets	Use this measure to choose the halves to publish targets for.
Wp Publish Info	Use this measure to enter additional information about the working plan.
TD Tgt Published By	Displays the user who published the top down targets.
TD Tgt Publish Date	Displays the date that the top down targets were published.
TD Tgt Publish Info	Displays additional information about the top down targets.

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 Classic Client.

To commit your Wp measures, perform the following steps:

1. In the workbook that you have published the targets, click a Commit option in the File menu.

   Figure 3-26 Commit a Workbook

   
   

All Measures Worksheet

The All Measures worksheet 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 worksheet is to allow you to create a view of workbook measures that you may not be able to view all at once in other worksheets.

Figure 3-27 All Measures Worksheet

The following table lists the measures available on this worksheet.

Table 3-5 All Measures Worksheet Measures

Measure	Description
Wp Sales R	The planned sales retail value.