Introduction

Advanced Clustering is an enterprise-specific clustering solution that uses data mining to create store groupings at different product levels using a variety of inputs. These inputs include performance data (sales dollars, sales units, and gross profit), product attributes (brand, color, and size/fit), store attributes (climate, store format, size, and servicing distribution center), third-party data such as demographics (income, ethnicity, and population density), and customer segments.

The application's embedded science and automation helps you to identify unique patterns within your data that you can use to create the necessary customer-centric and targeted clusters. These can be used by the assortment planning, allocation and replenishment, pricing, and promotion processes.

It optimizes clusters in order to determine the minimum number of clusters that best describes the historical data used in the analysis and that best meets your business objectives, which you define during the design of your clusters.

You can use Advanced Clustering to execute localized or customer-centric assortments and for pricing. In addition, the application can help you when forecasting, for example, if you want to cluster stores based on similar seasonal patterns. You can also use the application for allocation, by clustering stores based on similar selling patterns.