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The season plan, open-to-buy and assortment, on one forecast

OODARIS forecasts demand by style, store and week. It keeps the season plan and the budget left to buy current as actuals land. It proposes which styles go to which store clusters. By default, your planners and merch finance approve each change before it is written back.

Proposed by
6 Plan agents
Approved by
A woman with long brown hair in a gray blazer, smiling, by an office window
MayaMerchandise planner

The Plan decisions

OODARIS proposes the answer to each of these.

Meet the agents for this stage

Composite roles drawn from live retail engagements

Before the season, then every week

Demand forecasting

Today
The same forecast is rebuilt in several spreadsheets before the Monday meeting, and what moved it is hard to show.
With OODARIS
OODARIS updates the demand curve for each style, store and week, and shows what moved it: store and online sales, the marketing calendar, weather or a local event. The plan, buy and allocation agents work from the forecast once it is approved.
A man with short dark curly hair and black-framed glasses, in a black shirt, in an open-plan office
MateoMerchandise planner, demand forecasting

Chelsea boot, black: weekly demand, CL-03 Suburban

Review

Raised for weeks 6 to 8, lowered for weeks 9 and 10.

Week 1Week 2Week 3Week 4Week 5Week 6Week 7Week 8Week 9Week 10Week 11Week 12
SoldSoldSoldSoldSoldForecast raisedForecast raisedForecast raisedForecast loweredForecast loweredForecast unchangedForecast unchanged

What moved it

  1. Colder weather forecast for weeks 6 and 7Up
  2. A local event near the cluster's busiest doors in week 8Up
  3. Traffic down across the cluster, week over weekDown
Waiting for merchandise planningIllustrative product view
Approved by
Merchandise planning
Written back
The approved forecast, which the plan, buy and allocation agents use
Agents
Plan a pilot for demand forecasting

Before the season, then every week

Merchandise financial planning

Today
The plan lives in spreadsheets and closes at month-end, so a margin miss is explained weeks after it happened.
With OODARIS
The plan re-projects as actuals land. A variance arrives with its cause by store cluster and the decision that would close it.
A woman with long brown hair in a gray blazer, smiling, by an office window
MayaMerchandise planner

Margin to plan by cluster, week to date

Variance found
ClusterGM$ WTDvs plan
CL-01 Flagship$412,806+2.4pp
CL-02 Urban$688,414+1.1pp
CL-03 Suburban$505,112−6.8pp

Causes of the CL-03 gap, ranked

  1. Markdown depth ran deeper than the ladder plan61%
  2. Traffic down across the cluster, week over week24%
  3. Size curve break on core styles15%
87% confidence from 14 sourcesIllustrative product view
Approved by
Merchandise planning, with merch finance
Written back
The plan of record that open-to-buy is built from
Agents
Guide
Plan a pilot for merchandise financial planning

Through the buy

Open-to-buy

Today
When a cost changes, OTB is rebuilt by hand, and buyers commit receipts against last week's numbers.
With OODARIS
A cost change, such as a new tariff on the autumn buy, rebuilds OTB and the margin impact by department before the next purchase order goes out.
A man with curly hair, a beard and round glasses, in a patterned shirt, against a pale wall
DanielBuyer

Autumn buy: OTB rebuild after a new tariff

Review
  1. New tariff applied to autumn receiptsDone
  2. OTB re-projected by department and channelDone
  3. Margin impact restated against the planDone
  4. Open purchase orders held for approvalWaiting
Waiting for merch financeIllustrative product view
Approved by
Merch finance, with the buying lead
Written back
OTB by department and channel, the budget buyers commit against
Agents
Guide
Plan a pilot for open-to-buy

Range build

Assortment

Today
Last season's winners are clear. Which options belong in which stores next season gets argued out in the line review.
With OODARIS
Each option is ranked by local demand, space, margin and exit risk for every store cluster before the range is committed.
A woman with short curly hair in a striped jacket and a pendant necklace, in a glass-walled office
AishaAssortment planner

Next season range, by store cluster

Review
OptionCL-01CL-02CL-03Exit risk
Leather loafer, blackIn the rangeIn the rangeIn the rangeLow
Leather loafer, tanIn the rangeIn the rangeNot rangedLow
Chelsea boot, blackIn the rangeNot rangedIn the rangeMedium
Court sneaker, whiteIn the rangeIn the rangeIn the rangeLow
Slide sandal, naturalNot rangedIn the rangeNot rangedHigh
Ranked by local demand, space, margin and exit riskIllustrative product view
Approved by
The assortment planner, with the buyer
Written back
The approved range by cluster, which allocation plans from
Agents
Guide
Plan a pilot for assortment

Bring last month's margin miss.

In a demo, we walk it from the overnight check to its cause and the approved fix. A pilot runs one Plan decision on your data, with 8–12 weeks to a first live cycle.

Book a demoPlan a pilot

What happens next

  1. A reply within 24 hours

    A person on the OODARIS team reads your note and writes back to set up a first call.

  2. The first call

    We map the decision's data, handoffs and approvals, and show how OODARIS would work through it.

  3. A pilot, if it fits

    8–12 weeks to a first live cycle, run on your data with your approvals.