- Home
- /
- Solutions
- /
- AI Integrated Business Planning
- /
- Merchandising Planning
Plan Smarter: Align Demand, Merchandising & Assortment with Real-Time Data
Elevate Decision-Making with Data-Driven Insights
Our Demand Intelligence Solution
Stealth® AI – PLAN
The PLAN module empowers fashion brands with tools for Demand Planning, Merchandise & Financial Planning, and Assortment Planning, enabling informed, real-time decisions by analyzing consumer demand, market trends, and inventory needs.
Key steps of Merchandising Planning
Merchandising Planning is a core discipline in the fashion industry that connects product strategy, financial planning, and execution. It ensures the right product mix, in the right quantities, at the right time, across all channels.
-
Historical & Market Analysis -
Strategic and Financial Target Definition -
Sales Forecasting & Demand -
Budget and Open-To-Buy Planning -
Assortment Planning -
SKU and Size Curve Planning -
Distribution Planning -
In-Season Performance Management -
Markdown and Exit Strategy -
Post-Season Review and Optimization
Merchandising planning starts with analyzing past sales performance, inventory behavior, and margins, combined with an understanding of market trends and consumer demand. This provides a clear view of what drives results and where improvements are needed.
Based on these insights, brands define sales, margin, and inventory targets aligned with overall business strategy. Clear objectives guide all subsequent merchandising decisions.
Sales forecasting estimates future demand by season, category, channel, and market, using historical data and predictive insights. It establishes the demand baseline for planning.
Open-To-Buy planning defines how much inventory can be purchased and when, balancing forecasted sales, existing stock, and financial constraints to maintain flexibility and control.
Assortment planning translates strategy into a structured product mix, defining the number of styles, depth, and price architecture to meet customer demand and profitability goals.
At SKU level, quantities and size distributions are optimized based on demand patterns, reducing size imbalances and improving availability across markets and channels.
Distribution planning allocates inventory across stores and channels according to performance profiles, ensuring the right product reaches the right location at the right time.
Markdown planning manages price reductions and clearance activities to accelerate sell-through while protecting margins and minimizing excess inventory.
After the season, results are reviewed against plans to capture insights and continuously improve future merchandising decisions.
Historical & Market Analysis
Merchandising planning starts with analyzing past sales performance, inventory behavior, and margins, combined with an understanding of market trends and consumer demand. This provides a clear view of what drives results and where improvements are needed.
Strategic and Financial Target Definition
Based on these insights, brands define sales, margin, and inventory targets aligned with overall business strategy. Clear objectives guide all subsequent merchandising decisions.
Sales Forecasting & Demand
Sales forecasting estimates future demand by season, category, channel, and market, using historical data and predictive insights. It establishes the demand baseline for planning.
Budget and Open-To-Buy Planning
Open-To-Buy planning defines how much inventory can be purchased and when, balancing forecasted sales, existing stock, and financial constraints to maintain flexibility and control.
Assortment Planning
Assortment planning translates strategy into a structured product mix, defining the number of styles, depth, and price architecture to meet customer demand and profitability goals.
SKU and Size Curve Planning
At SKU level, quantities and size distributions are optimized based on demand patterns, reducing size imbalances and improving availability across markets and channels.
Distribution Planning
Distribution planning allocates inventory across stores and channels according to performance profiles, ensuring the right product reaches the right location at the right time.
In-Season Performance Management
Markdown and Exit Strategy
Markdown planning manages price reductions and clearance activities to accelerate sell-through while protecting margins and minimizing excess inventory.
Post-Season Review and Optimization
After the season, results are reviewed against plans to capture insights and continuously improve future merchandising decisions.
Merchandising Planning in Fashion & Luxury: Best Practices
Leading fashion companies rely on a data-driven and integrated merchandising planning approach,
combining historical analysis, forecasting, and real-time performance insights.
Aligning financial targets, assortment strategy, and supply chain execution
enables consistency across channels and markets.
Technology supports this process by enabling visibility, scenario planning, and faster decision-making.
Data-Driven Decision Making
Leverage real-time data and predictive analytics to reduce uncertainty.
Integrated Planning
Align merchandising, buying, supply chain, and retail teams on a single plan.
Channel-Specific Strategies
Plan assortments and inventory differently for stores, e-commerce, and wholesale.
In-Season Agility
Continuously monitor performance and adjust fast.
Localization
Adapt size curves, pricing, and assortment to regional consumer behavior.
Technology Enablement
Use advanced planning platforms to support complexity and scale.
Essential Components for Successful Merchandising Planning
Our AI solution supports fashion companies across the entire merchandising planning process, offering a comprehensive set of capabilities designed to address each critical component:
Supports merchandising planning with accurate, data-driven demand forecasts that improve product mix decisions, inventory efficiency, and financial performance.
Granular planning enables decision-making at SKUs and store level. By calculating Open-To-Buy quantities based on current and projected inventory positions, merchandisers can generate precise buying plans for each SKU-location combination, improving availability while reducing excess stock.
An integrated approach connects Merchandise Financial Planning, Assortment Planning, and Buy Planning within a single, automated workflow. This end-to-end integration reduces manual effort, increases consistency, and allows merchandising teams to focus on business-critical assortment decisions rather than operational complexity.
A pricing strategy balances profitability and competitiveness by continuously monitoring internal cost structures, competitor pricing, and customer responses. By leveraging software-driven analytics and real-time market data, retailers can dynamically adjust prices to reflect shifts in demand and market conditions, thereby protecting margins while maximizing revenue opportunities.
Why Merchandise Planning matters?
MAKE SMARTER DECISIONS, FASTER
Leverage real-time insights to align demand, inventory, and assortment, ensuring your decisions are always data-driven and timely
BOOST FORECAST ACCURACY
Minimize forecasting errors and plan new product launches with confidence, relying on advanced AI-driven predictions
REDUCE UNSOLD INVENTORY
Optimize stock levels with intelligent demand forecasting, cutting excess inventory and reducing waste across your retail network
MAXIMIZE PROFIT POTENTIAL
Allocate inventory strategically to achieve the best margins while managing risk, so every investment drives tangible returns
STREAMLINE FINANCIAL & MERCHANDISE PLANNING
Manage sales, costs, inventory, and margin targets in a unified, intuitive platform that keeps your organization fully aligned
ANALYZE EFFICIENCY AND PERFORMANCE
Evaluate store and product-level performance, identify improvement opportunities, and make informed, data-backed decisions to grow your business
