4 Data Flow

This chapter describes the flow of data among Assortment Planning with other applications.

Overview of the AP Data Flow

Figure 4-1 shows the integration of AP with other applications and the flow of data between the applications.

Figure 4-1 AP Integration with Other Applications

Integration Interface Data Flow Description

These descriptions explain the some of the data flows in Figure 4-1. For information about the data flows among Fashion Planning Bundle applications, see Chapter 5.

From a Merchandising Application to Assortment Planning

Data for the following hierarchies is imported into AP from a merchandising application:

• Product (PROD) hierarchy

• Location (LOC) hierarchy

• Calendar (CLND) hierarchy

• Sales, incremental updates

The merchandising application provides the foundational data and sales history for the last six months as well as the incremental updates, which are the latest updates for the week.

From a Data Warehouse Application to Assortment Planning

The following data is imported into AP from a data warehouse application:

• Floor set calendar

• Historic sales (cost, retail, unit)

• Inventory (cost, retail, unit)

• Markdowns

• Receipts (units)

From Assortment Planning to Allocation

Retailers, especially in the fashion industry, need to determine the correct assortment of products to be made available for sale in stores. AP enables retailers to determine the appropriate mix of products that will maximize their organizational goals. This is typically done well in advance of when the merchandise is available in stores. The export of this data from AP to Allocation, particularly when bolstered with information from other applications in the Fashion Planning Bundle, can greatly enhance the overall performance of the Allocation application.

The following Assortment Planning measures can be used by your Allocation process/solution:

• Sales and Receipt plan from the Buying Plan step

• Initial Allocation from the Size/Pre-Pack Allocation step