System and method for performing assortment planning

• US 8,285,584 B2
• Filed: 12/09/2004
• Issued: 10/09/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Fotteler, Christine, Kopecz, Klaus, Busch, Hergen
• Primary Examiner(s): Campen, Kelly
• Assistant Examiner(s): PRESTON, JOHN O
• Application Number:
  US11/008,085
• Publication Number:
  US 20050197872A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,861 Days
• Field of Search: 705/27, 705/35, 705/22, 705/7.12, 705/28, 705/7.35, 705/7.34, 705/1.1, 235/380
• US Class Current: 705/7.35
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0631 Resource planning, allocation, distributing or scheduling for enterprises or organisations

Abstract

A system, method and program product are provided for defining an assortment for use in an operative execution system. The method includes assigning a plurality of articles to the assortment for one or more article validity periods, assigning a plurality of stores to the assortment for one or more store validity periods, and releasing the assortment to the operative execution system. Once released to the operative execution system, the articles and the stores are automatically added to and dropped from the assortment based on the validity periods.

Claims

1. One or more non-transitory machine-readable media for defining an assortment plan in a computerized assortment planning system using an automated process, the machine-readable media comprising program code stored therein executable by one or more machines to perform the automated process, the automated process comprising:

assigning a first article to the assortment plan, the assortment plan being configured to match products to stores based on a store type, a store capacity, a store space on, product data, and timing data, the first article being assigned to the assortment plan for a first article validity period;

assigning a second article to the assortment plan, the second article being assigned to the assortment plan for a second article validity period;

assigning a first store to the assortment plan, the first store being assigned to the assortment plan for a first store validity period;

assigning a second store to the assortment plan, the second store being assigned to the assortment plan for a second store validity period;

adding the first article to the assortment plan based on the first article validity period;

adding the second article to the assortment plan based on the second article validity period;

determining that the first article will be in a first delivery based on the assortment plan;

determining that the second article will be in a second delivery based on the assortment plan;

determining an automatic replenishment procedure based on the assortment plan;

storing a determination of the assortment plan;

determining a requirement quantity for the first article based on both actual sales data and projected sales data associated with the first article as well as one or more supply parameters of the automatic replenishment procedure, wherein the projected sales data is based on a markdown profile associated with a sales period of the first article, the sales period being divided into a plurality of predetermined markdown time periods, the markdown profile including a plurality of proposed markdowns, wherein each proposed markdown in the plurality of markdowns is associated with one of the predetermined markdown time periods during the sales period, wherein each proposed markdown is based on a difference between a target sales quota and an actual sales quota at the predetermined markdown time period with which the proposed markdown is associated, and wherein the markdown profile is established prior to the sales period of the first article and the markdowns are automatically applied over the course of the sales period based on comparison of actual sakes with target sales for each predetermined markdown time period;

reconciling the determined requirement quantity against available budget and store capacity; and

crating a purchase order for the first article based on the reconciling step.

2. The one or more non-transitory machine-readable media of claim 1, wherein the assortment plan comprises assortment dimensions.

3. The one or more non-transitory machine-readable media oaf claim 2, wherein the assortment dimensions comprise a demographic data and a retail concept data, the assortment dimensions further comprise at least one of a retail site capacity, a retail site price level, a location data, and sales data for a group of merchandise.

4. The one or more non-transitory machine-readable media of claim 3, wherein the first store validity period and the second store validity period are the same.

5. The one or more non-transitory machine-readable media of claim 3, wherein the first store validity period and the second store validity period are different.

6. The one or more non-transitory machine-readable media of claim 1, wherein the assortment plan comprises assortment dimensions, the assortment dimensions comprising a level type and a capacity type.

7. An assortment planning system for determining an assortment plan, comprising:

a central processing unit (CPU); and

a storage device coupled to the CPU and having information stored therein for configuring the CPU to;

assigning a first article to the assortment plan, the assortment plan being configured to match products to stores based on a store type, a store capacity, a store space utilization, product data, and timing data, the first article being assigned to the assortment plan for a first article validity period;

assigning a second article to the assortment plan, the second article being assigned to the assortment plan for a second article validity period;

assigning a first store to the assortment plan, the first store being assigned to the assortment plan for a first store validity period;

assigning a second store to the assortment plan, the second store being assigned to the assortment plan for a second store validity period;

adding the first article to the assortment plan based on the first article validity period;

adding the second article to the assortment plan based on the second article validity period;

determining that the first article be in a first delivery based on the assortment plan;

determining that the second article will be in a second delivery based on the assortment plan;

determining an automatic replenishment procedure based on the assortment plan;

storing a determination of the assortment plan;

determining a requirement quantity for the first article based on both actual sales data and projected sales data associated with the first article as well as one or more supply parameters of the automatic replenishment procedure, wherein determining the requirement quantity for the first article based on both actual sales data and projected sales data comprises comparing an actual sales rate of the first item with a protected sales rate and determining the requirement quantity based on the comparison, wherein the projected sales data is based on a markdown profile associated with a sales period of the first article, the sales period being divided into a plurality of predetermined markdown time periods, the markdown profile including a plurality of proposed markdowns, wherein each proposed markdown in the plurality of markdowns is associated with one of the predetermined markdown time periods during the sales period, wherein each proposed markdown is based on a difference between a target sales quota and an actual sales quota at the predetermined markdown time period with which the proposed markdown is associated, and wherein the markdown profile is established prior to the sales period of the first article and the markdowns are automatically applied over the course of the sales period based on comparison of actual sales with target sales for each predetermined markdown time period;

reconciling the determined requirement quantity against available budget and store capacity; and

generating a purchase order for the first article based on the reconciling step.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the assortment plan comprises assortment dimensions.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the assortment dimensions comprise a demographic data and a retail concept data the assortment dimensions further comprise at least one of a retail site capacity, a retail site price level, a location data, and sales data for a group of merchandise.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the first store validity period and the second store validity period are the same.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the first store validity period and the second store validity period are different.

12. The system of claim 7, wherein the assortment plan comprises assortment dimensions, the assortment dimensions comprising a level type and a capacity type.

13. The system of claim 7, wherein determining the requirement quantity based on the comparison of the actual sales rate with the projected sales rate comprises reducing the requirement quantity when the actual sales rate is lower than the projected sales rate and increasing the requirement quantity when the actual sales rate is higher than the projected sales rate.

14. A program product for defining an assortment plan in an assortment planning system, the program product comprising one or more non-transitory machine-readable media having machine-readable program code stored thereon for causing, when executed, one or more machines to perform the following method steps:

assigning a plurality of articles to the assortment plan, the assortment plan being configured to match products to stores based on a store type, a store capacity, a store space utilization, product data, and timing data, each of the articles being assigned to the assortment one or more article validity periods;

assigning a first article to the assortment plan, the first article being assigned to the assortment plan for a first article validity period;

assigning a second article to the assortment plan, the second article being assigned to the assortment plan for a second article validity period;

assigning a first store to the assortment plan, the first store being as assigned to the assortment plan for a first store validity period;

assigning a second store to the assortment plan, the second store being assigned to the assortment plan for a second store validity period;

adding the first article to the assortment plan based on the first article validity period;

adding the second article to the assortment plan based on the second article validity period;

determining that the first article will be in a first delivery based on the assortment plan;

determining that the second article will be in a second delivery based on the assortment plan;

determining an automatic replenishment procedure based on the assortment plan;

storing a determination of the assortment plan;

determining a requirement quantity for the first article based on both actual soles data and projected sales data associated with the first article as well as one or more supply parameters of the automatic replenishment procedure, wherein the projected sales data comprises a markdown profile associated with a sales period of the first article, the sales period being divided into a plurality of predetermined markdown time periods, the markdown profile including a plurality of proposed markdowns, wherein each proposed markdown in the plurality of markdowns is associated with one of the predetermined markdown time periods during the sales period, wherein each proposed markdown is based on a difference between a target sales quota and an actual sales quota at the predetermined markdown time period with which the proposed markdown is associated, and wherein the markdown profile is established prior to the sales period of the first article and the markdowns are automatically applied over the course of the sales period based on comparison of actual sales with target sales for each predetermined markdown time period;

reconciling the determined requirement quantity against available budget and store capacity; and

generating purchase order for the first article based on the reconciling step.

15. The program product of claim 14, wherein the assortment plan comprises assortment dimensions.

16. The program product of claim 15, wherein the assortment dimensions comprise a demographic data and a retail concept data, the assortment dimensions Further comprise at least one of a retail site rapacity, a retail site price level, a location data, and sales data for a group of merchandise.

17. The program product of claim 16, wherein the first store validity period and the second store validity period are the same.

18. The program product of claim 16, wherein the first store validity period and the second store validity period are different.

19. The program product of claim 14, wherein the assortment plan comprises assortment dimensions, the assortment dimensions comprising a level type and a capacity type.