Arvato PSR

Why Spreadsheets are Outdated

For the purchase planning in retail many retail companies still plan their assortment and merchandising specifications using spreadsheets. As a planning and control tool for inventory and its distribution, this approach has a number of significant disadvantages in planning handling, such as the inadequate implementation of multidimensionality, insufficient links between important operative areas, lack of transparency or more difficult area yield and module planning.

The solution for complex assortment and merchandising requirements in a wide variety of corporate structures

Arvato Systems has developed for this purchase planning in retail a standard application that is based on company-specific conditions and processes. This is becoming increasingly important, especially in Fashion Retail Planning, since fast reactions to changing consumer behavior require a homogeneous system landscape. Here, the user can design and configure the Arvato Systems application PSR (Planning - Control - Reporting) himself, depending, among other things, on a specific company environment.

Full Adaptability

On the one hand, the application respects existing and established business processes and rules - due to the full flexibility in designing the planning process with PSR - and forms standard interfaces to affected systems. On the other hand, the software gives the user the possibility to easily implement and apply individual improvements to the planning process, which are not realizable with conventional planning in spreadsheets.

Flexible.

Involving All Areas

The assortment planning process considers all areas and planning steps involved - from sourcing/purchasing to allocation/distribution to individual customer touch points - stationary & online.

Overarching.

Dashboard

A dashboard clearly shows the current planning process and status for each level of responsibility involved. This transparency creates a higher level of acceptance among the areas and authorities involved.

Transparent.

Software-as-a-Service

Our cloud-based SaaS application enables permanent maintenance and customization and is mapped in a simple monthly cost model. This central planning availability means that planning processes can be viewed at all levels of responsibility at any time.

Uncomplicated.

Increased In-Season Monitoring

The trading scene is in constant motion, currently more than ever. Consumer behaviour can no longer be simply poured into pre-season planning. Customers are planning less and less for the long term and are buying more on demand. This requires increased control within the business periods. An OTB (open-to-buy) module within the In-Season planning supports retailers in identifying and minimizing inventory risks early on.

Up-to-date.

Your Benefits

Full transparency in the planning process

Automated allocation across all distribution channels

Rolling plan/actual comparison

Cloud-based SaaS application

Calculable ROI through fixed costs instead of capex

Speedy project implementation

Minimization of storage risks through stronger In-Season Control and OTB Module

The planning dimensions
The planning dimensions

Planning across all relevant instances, including central specifications top-down by, for example, management, central purchasing or e-commerce management
Plan values from decentralized units of responsibility (such as store management) can be supplemented in a complementary, bottom-up manner, thus rounding off the holistic planning process.
Users can also adjust the degree of granulation, for example, the
Merchandise and allocation planning, freely configurable.
Target total turnover
Main product groups
Product groups
Categories
Type/Style
Brand
Calculation or margin requirements and the resulting effects on earnings from these

These attributes are supplemented by freely dimensionable point of sales in their number and area divisions.
Clients can realize multidimensional planning or create different planning templates. This is useful, for example, for different planning processes of different distribution channels and, if necessary, different country variants.
Control through plan comparison

Control through plan comparison

Once plan values have been specified by the respective areas of responsibility, either in absolute figures or as percentages of previous periods, an automatic change of all linked values takes place immediately. Quantities of goods are therefore immediately distributed to locations and distribution channels according to a previously defined set of rules. Thus, at any time, across any planning hierarchy and the previously defined degree of granulation, planning is transparent and comprehensible.

Since purchasing planning is never static over planning periods, but rather "moving-targets", this is taken into account by a rolling plan/actual comparison. Depending on the availability and provision of KPIs, actual values can be imported periodically on a weekly, monthly or quarterly basis, for example, and visualized in comparison with the plan within the In-Season-Planning.

Deviations from long-term forecasts are often the result of factors such as changing consumer behaviour, short-term changes in trends, and even extraordinary influences such as weather, etc. In a further development of the PSR tool, AI will play an important role in planning and forecasting and will put planning targets in relation to such influences.

This rolling comparison enables the permanent control, identification and localisation of critical inventory levels. From this, the system can also make recommendations for countermeasures - be it replenishment planning, stock transfers or markdowns.

This in-season control is supported on the one hand by the OTB module (open-to-buy), which helps those responsible for planning to readjust stock quantities in the In-Season planning, and on the other hand by a red-flag report, which visualizes plan deviations clearly.

In this way, reductions in overstock risks can be achieved while at the same time highlighting margin and sales losses which completes the purchase planning in retail.
The Reporting
The Reporting

The PSR system is enhanced by several supervision options:
Configurable reports
Export capability of individual planning modules
Management dashboard for planning status overview of freely definable purchasing and sales focal points.