Assortment Planning: Expert Perspectives and Insights

In this episode, assortment planning experts Heidi Csencsits, Marty Anderson, and Louann Villasor discuss the retail assortment planning process. The Parker Avery Group has seen tremendous interest in our clients for improving their assortment planning capabilities, not only bringing in new technology but also revamping business processes and organizational structures and roles to ensure these retailers are providing compelling assortments that drive both customer traffic and bottom line profit. Louann and Marty recently completed a major assortment planning system selection and implementation for a large home décor retailer, and the three experts provide their perspectives on the subject. The team discusses:

• Insights, unique requirements, and some “ah ha” moments experienced during the recent assortment planning implementation
• Why attribution and data quality are so critical for assortment planning
• Where assortment planning fits into the overall strategy, demand forecasting, planning, and buying processes
• Measures of successful assortment planning and store clustering methodologies
• The key tenet of simplicity as retailers desire to expand their assortment planning capabilities
• Where advanced assortment planning and clustering strategies should be headed to go beyond sales and margin