Planning

  • Merchandise plans – Budgets by classification and period, including all profit elements such as:
  • sales, markdowns, purchases, markup, inventory and merchandise profit. Will create a unique template for your company or help you find software.
  • Strategies based on demographics, market analysis and business goals.
  • Assortment development – Plan and quantify new assortment opportunities, as well as new store assortment planning, quantification by fixture, ordering process and follow up.
  • Assortment plans – Bottom up quantification by style or SKU and by period, aligned and linked to the merchandise plan. Unit forecasting by classification, style or SKU to include lost sales. Store allocations, pack sizes, apparel sizing, purchase flow.
  • Competitve Reviews and SWOT analysis. 
  • Vendor relations including negotiations and pricing
  • In-season action plans including – Open-to-buy management to trends, markdown management, repeats and replenishment, marketing changes, profit improvement.
  • Hierarchy recommendations and set up to assist with the organization and analysis of product.

Projects Completed 
Replenishment product - May 2013 – February 2015
Helped a client to improve their process to manage their replenishment program in the stores. This included forecasting store sales, transferring overstocks between stores and creating a min/max automatic repeat process. We are pleased to report that the outcome was better asset management and higher sales plus happy customers.
 
Key item planning - March 2012 – April 2012
Developed a receipt flow and sales plan by table by size of store to maximize sales and stay in stock.
 
Inventory Management Consulting - March 2014 – November 2014
Worked with OKAY Electronics in Georgia, Europe to improve their inventory management practices, analysis and planning. Helped them to improve their reporting and analytics and to develop and implement merchandise planning. This has been a wonderful opportunity to work with an enthusiastic team in a country that is new to me. Georgia deserves it's "gorgeous" adjective.  This was an EBRD project.  
 
Epicor Planning Implementation - December 2014 – March 2015
Implemented Epicor Planning & developed comprehensive training manual for use at a Canadian Retailer.