Merchandise Planning
Maximise every sale opportunity with stock in the right place at the right time.
Futuras intelligent Merchandise Planning solution helps optimise inventory, improve sales forecasting, and ensure stock is allocated efficiently across stores and online channels.
With our budgeting, forecasting, and replenishment tools, businesses can achieve greater financial control, reduce excess stock and maximise sales potential.
Comprehensive Budgeting and Open-to-Buy Planning
Effective budgeting ensures that stock holdings align with demand while maintaining financial control. Our Open-to-Buy (OTB) planning provides financial oversight, helping retailers:
- Set and adjust stock budgets based on real-time sales performance.
- Prevent overstocking and stock shortages.
- Allocate purchasing budgets effectively across categories, stores, and sales channels.
With top-down and bottom-up planning, retailers can set high-level targets while also making adjustments at the store level.
Weekly stock and sales reports ensure timely insights, allowing retailers to adapt purchases and respond dynamically to market trends.
Demand Forecasting and Inventory Optimisation
Accurate demand forecasting helps retailers anticipate stock needs while considering seasonal shifts and sales trends. Futura uses historical sales data to:
- Predict future stock requirements.
- Prevent both overstocking and stockouts by ensuring the right stock cover during peak demand periods.
- Suggest inter-branch stock transfers before unnecessary replenishment or purchase orders are raised.
By optimising inventory levels, retailers can reduce costs, increase efficiency, and improve product availability, enhancing both sales and customer satisfaction.
Stock Allocation and Replenishment
Ensuring stock is allocated correctly across stores and online channels is key to maximising sales. Futura’s allocation and replenishment system enables retailers to:
- Assign stock based on demand forecasts and sales history.
- Dynamically replenish stock to maximise sales opportunities without over-ordering.
- Optimise inter-branch transfers to move excess stock to where it is selling best.
- Use ‘what-if’ analysis to evaluate stock allocation scenarios and avoid over-ordering less popular items or fringe sizes.
Maximise inventory efficiency, reduce excess stock, and improve overall stock availability.
Flexible Merchandise Planning for Every Product Category
Retailers manage a wide range of products, from seasonal trends to core inventory staples. Our merchandise planning system allows businesses to:
- Categorise stock efficiently using a multi-dimensional product hierarchy (brand, department, season, etc.).
- Apply tailored planning strategies for seasonal vs. core product lines.
- Track and adjust stock performance across different categories in real time.
By adapting stock levels to different product needs, retailers can optimise inventory without compromising variety or availability.
The greatest example of the system’s merchandising strength is its live replenishment, ... a huge advantage in maximising fast selling lines
Tim Hollidge, FD, Oliver Bonas
Core merchandising features of the Futura retail system
- Stock Allocation – Assign & replenish stock based on demand & sales history
- Demand Forecasting – Predict stock needs using sales history
- Continuously calculated Target and Minimum stock levels
- Automated Replenishments
- Real-Time Reports for better decision-making
- Budget Planning – Set & adjust stock budgets with real-time insights.
- Multi-Dimensional Product Hierarchy – Organise & plan stock efficiently
- Inter-Branch Transfers – Move excess stock where it sells best before reordering.
Our clients include
Take control of your merchandise planning today and ensure your business is always stocked for success.
Scale and grow your business with our built-for-retail solutions. Reliable and flexible, Futura products can accommodate complex business processes off-the-shelf, offering valuable features as standard.
