7 Create Merch Plan Task

The Merch Plan role is usually associated with the merchandise planner in the merchandise planning organization. During the pre-season, the Merch Plan user receives department targets from the Merch Target user. The Merch Plan user references those targets when creating the department, class, and subclass targets.

When the Merch Plan users open MFP in the RPAS Fusion Client, they are presented with the pre-season activity called Create Merch Plan and a task with the same name. This task belongs only to the Merch Plan user. It includes the following steps:

• Create Plan

• Review and Reconcile

• Review and Submit Plan

• In-Season Review and Re-Project Plan

• In-Season Submit Plan

After the Merch Plan users develop the department plan, they submit their plan to the Merch Target user for approval using the Review and Submit Plan task. This task has two steps:

• Review Plan

• Submit and Copy Approved Plan

These tasks and steps are shown in Figure 7-1.

Figure 7-1 Create Merch Plan View: Pre-Season Tasks and Steps

The Merch Plan user must complete the first three steps in the Create Merch Plan task in order to create the department plans and submit them for approval to the Merch Target user. To do this, the Merch Plan user must first build the workbook.

Building the Workbook

To build the Merch Plan role workbook, complete the following steps.

1. Click the Create New Workbook icon in the Create Merch Plan task.

   Figure 7-2 Create New Workbook Icon

   
   

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

   Figure 7-3 Workbook Wizard: Calendar Selection

   
   

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

   Figure 7-4 Workbook Wizard: Location Selection

   
   

4. The Product Selection step of the workbook wizard is displayed. Select the department you want to plan and move it to the Selected Items box. Click Finish.

   Figure 7-5 Workbook Wizard: Product Selection

   
   

   The Merch Plan role workbook is built, and the Initialize view opens.

Create Plan

This section provides details about plan creation.

Seed Plan

The first action that the Merch Plan users complete when creating a new plan is to seed the plan with the Initialize view. This view is found under the first tab within the Create Targets Step, Seed Plan.

Figure 7-6 Create Plan - Seed Plan: Initialize Plan View

Table 7-1 Merch 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 Forecast (Fcst) data. Alternatively, choose the Blank option if you do not want to seed the working plan.
Seed Info	Includes a few pertinent facts about the last time that the Seed custom menu was executed: last seed source concatenated with last seeded date and the last user to seed. If blank, then the given intersection has never been seeded.

With this view, you can choose to seed your plan with Last Year (Ly) or Forecast (Fcst) 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 or forecast (plus last year's performance).

In the preceding example, both Half1 and Half2 have been selected to be seeded for the Brick & Mortar channel for the 500 Women's Casuals Traditional department.

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 task, as shown in Figure 7-6. 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 7-6, 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, complete the following steps:

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

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

   Figure 7-7 Changing a Dimension Level with Page Arrows

   
   

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

4. Select the half that you want to seed with Last Year or Forecast 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 7-8 Seed Button

   
   

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

   Figure 7-9 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, complete the following steps:

1. Click the dimension tile of the dimension level you want to change.

   Figure 7-10 Location Dimension Tile

   
   

2. The dimension window is displayed. 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 7-11, Channel was deselected and all [Location] was selected instead.

   Figure 7-11 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 7-12, both the Location and Product dimensions are at All and the halves Half1 FY2020 and Half2 FY2020 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.

   Figure 7-12 Seeding Several Levels at Once

   
   

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

   Figure 7-13 Seeding Success Message

   
   

After you have seeded the divisions, continue to the next tab: Sales/Markdowns.

Sales and Markdowns

After you have seeded, develop the sales and markdown plan for those departments. The second tab within the Create Plan step, Sales and Markdowns, has one default view: Sales and Markdowns.

Figure 7-14 Sales and Markdowns View

If the Wholesale Franchise or Local Currency options are provisioned, then there are additional views to support planning Sales and Markdowns specifically catered to those options:

• W/F - Sales and Markdowns

  Figure 7-15 W/F - Sales and Markdowns View

  
  

• Local - Sales and Markdowns

  Figure 7-16 Local - Sales and Markdowns View

  
  

Receipts and Inventory

The third tab within the Create Plan step, Receipts and Inventory, has one view: Receipts and Inventory.

Figure 7-17 Receipts and Inventory View

Gross Margin

After you have seeded, review the sales and markdown targets for those departments. The last tab within the Create Targets step, Gross Margin, has one default view: Gross Margin.

Figure 7-18 Gross Margin View

If the Wholesale Franchise or Local Currency options are provisioned, then there are additional views to support planning Gross Margin specifically catered to those options:

• W/F - Gross Margin

  Figure 7-19 W/F Gross Margin View

  
  

• Local - Gross Margin

  Figure 7-20 Local - Gross Margin View

  
  

Sales and Markdown Plan - Sales by Type

After you have seeded the groups and reviewed the Merch Target department targets, you can develop the sales and markdown plan for the subclasses within those departments using the Sales and Markdowns view.

Use the following best practices to plan the sales and markdowns.

1. Using the default measure profile, which is Sales and Markdowns, review and compare the total sales to the forecast.

2. Change the measure profile to Sales by Type.

   Figure 7-21 Plan Sales and Markdowns View, Sales by Type Measure Profile

   
   

3. In the Sales by Type measure profile, plan your sales by type. The sales types are Total Sales, Regular + Promo Sales, and Clearance Sales.

   
   

   Note: Since sales and markdowns are both planned at the type level, you must first complete the sales by type planning before you can plan the markdowns by type.

   
   

   Start by planning the regular sales. Then, using your marketing calendar as a guide, align the promotional sales to the calendar. Refer to the calendar again for the exit weeks for the products, and plan the clearance sales for those weeks.

   The planned figures for these sales types populates the Wp Sales R measure.

4. Return to the Sales and Markdowns measure profile.

   Figure 7-22 Sales and Markdowns View

   
   

5. With the total Wp Sales R populated, you can adjust the total to your target while still maintaining the relationships between the different sales types.

6. Change the measure profile to Markdown by Type.

7. In the Markdown by Type profile, edit the Wp Markdown Reg Promo R% to adjust the Wp Markdown Reg Promo Rate.

   Figure 7-23 Sales and Markdowns View, Markdown by Type Measure Profile

   
   

8. After you have adjusted the sales and markdown plan, continue to the next tab, Inventory and Receipt Plan.

   If the Wholesale Franchise or the Local Currency options are provisioned, then additional views support planning sales and markdowns specifically catered to those options.

   • W/F - Sales and Markdowns

   • Local - Sales and Markdowns

Inventory and Receipt Plan

After you have developed the sales and markdown plan, develop a receipts and inventory plan that can support the sales and markdown 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 and Markdowns 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 Markdowns view are visible in this view if you have calculated.

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

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

2. Review the Wp CMU % measure. Cumulative markup rate (CMU %) is a blend of the beginning of period (BOP) inventory retail and cost with the future receipt retail and receipt cost. The Wp CMU % directly affects the cost of goods sold (COGS), which then affects the gross margin.

3. Adjust the Wp Stock to Sales R 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 7-24 Receipts and Inventory View

   
   

Review and Adjust Gross Margin Plan

Use the Gross Margin view to evaluate the gross margin created from your sales and markdown plan and receipts and inventory plan. Determine whether the planned gross margin meets your gross margin goal. If it does not, return to the Develop Sales and Markdown Plan and Develop Inventory and Receipt Plan steps to adjust your receipt markups and receipt flow. When you return to the Sales and Markdowns view, adjust the markdown plans, but do not change the sales. Continue this process until you are satisfied with the gross margin.

Figure 7-25 Gross Margin View

If the Wholesale Franchise or the Local Currency options are provisioned, then additional views support planning Gross Margin specifically catered to those options.

• W/F - Gross Margin

• Local - Gross Margin

Now that you have developed your gross margin plans, continue to Review and Reconcile.

Review and Reconcile: Review with Targets

After you have seeded, you need to review the department targets that the Merch Target user has created for you. The purpose of reviewing the targets is to understand the goal that your plan should meet.

The Review with Target view contains the Merch Target (Tgt) measures as well as planning (Wp) measures. Use this view to compare the Tgt measures to the corresponding Wp measures. By comparing the Merch Target to the planning metrics, you can better understand what your plan needs to achieve.

Figure 7-26 Review with Target View

Retrieving Updated Department Targets

If the Merch Target user updates the department targets after you have created your subclass plans, you will need to retrieve those new targets. You can retrieve them in one of two ways. You can build a new workbook that uses the updated department targets from the domain. Or, if you want to bring the new targets into one of your existing tasks, you can refresh the task.

Refresh the Workbook

When refreshing a workbook, you can run a refresh rule group that has been configured to retrieve data from the master database.

To refresh a workbook, click Refresh in the toolbar. Or, choose the Refresh option from the Edit menu. Since only one rule group exists for this workbook template, there are no options to choose from. The one refresh rule group runs, and measures configured in that rule group are updated.

Figure 7-27 Refreshing a Workbook

For more information about the refresh option, see the Oracle Retail Predictive Application Server User Guide for the Fusion Client. For information about creating refresh rule groups, see the Oracle Retail Predictive Application Server Configuration Tools User Guide.After you have reviewed and compared the Merch Targets targets to last year's metrics, continue to the next step: Develop Sales and Markdown Plan.

Reconcile to Department Targets

After you have created your plan, use the default measure profile located on the Review with Target worksheet view to reconcile the Merch Plan to Department Targets.

Figure 7-28 Review with Target View

After you are satisfied that the plan you have created meets the Merch targets, you can submit your plan to the Merch Target user.

Review and Reconcile: Review with Location Plan

Use these two measure profiles to compare your plan. This view is used to reconcile with the location plan, if such a plan is available.

• Wp/LPCp

• Wp/LPOp

Figure 7-29 Review with Location Plan and LpCp Measure Profile

Figure 7-30 Review Location Plan and /LpOp Measure Profile

Review and Submit Plan

When you are ready to submit your working plan to the Merch Target user for approval, continue to Review and Submit task.

1. In the taskflow, click the Open icon in the Review and Submit 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 7-31 Open Workbook Icon for Review and Submit Plan Task

   
   

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

   Figure 7-32 Open Workbook Dialog Box

   
   

3. The workbook opens at the Submit Plan view.

Submit and Approve Plan

When you are ready to submit your working plan to the Merch Target user for approval, use the Submit Plan view.

Note: When the Op Approve Enabled measure is selected, you can submit a plan for the Op version. This measure is set by an administrator in the Enable OP Approval administration task. The administrator can select or deselect this option at any time. If the administrator deselects it during the in-season, you will not be able to submit a plan for the Op. The administrator may choose to do this after the planning process has been finalized in order to lock down the Op. If this occurs, you will be unable to submit a plan for the Op and the Merch Target user will be unable to approve a plan for the Op.

Figure 7-33 Submit and Approve Plan View

1. Submit the working plan by using the Wp Submit measure.

2. Optional: Enter information about the working plan in the Wp Submit Notes measure.

3. Click the Submit button at the top right of the view.

4. A success message is displayed. Click OK to close it.

   Figure 7-34 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. In addition, your working plan is copied into a Waiting for Approval (Wa) plan.

   After the Merch Targets user approves or rejects the Wa plan, you can see the approval or rejection information by accessing the Review Plan Approval Status view in the Original Plan Submit step.

Figure 7-35 Submit and Copy Approved Plan View

Next Steps

After you have submitted your plan to the Merch Targets user, the Merch Targets user approves or rejects your submitted plan.

If the plan is approved, you must run the custom menu, Copy Approved Plan, in order to move the approved Wa to the Cp/Op versions.

If the plan is rejected, adjust your plan using the steps described in this chapter and submit it again. Since you have already created a working plan, there is no need to seed the task again unless you want to start again with Ly (Last Year) data.