justenough rfi retail planning template

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Page 1: JustEnough RFI Retail Planning Template
Page 2: JustEnough RFI Retail Planning Template

The retail landscape is becoming increasingly complex as consumer demand rises and new selling channels continue to crop up. Today’s retailers must leverage the latest and greatest in technology to manage financial forecasts, plan effective assortments, allocate products to the optimal stores and channels, as well as replenish inventory with accuracy.

The Retail Planning Request for Information (RFI) Template can help. It gives you the information needed to objectively grade prospective vendors on the retail planning solutions they offer – and the positive and/or negative impact such applications may have on your business. There are several worksheets included in this workbook, each of which gives you detailed insight into best practices and desired functionality that solutions designed to improve your retail planning processes could offer your company.

Once you’ve completed this workbook, you will be better equipped to evaluate any prospective retail planning solution's breadth and depth of functionality, as well as its ability to meet your specific business goals. To avoid unexpected delays and unbudgeted costs in the future, it is critical to know this information before you license any solution. It’s just as important for you to know which capabilities will require demonstration during a vendor presentation. These demonstrations are critical to your ability to separate exaggerated vendor claims from those that can be proven.

Having insight into the capabilities that a retail planning solution gives you the ability to accurately evaluate each application that you’re considering. Ultimately, this knowledge will empower you to determine a solution’s ability to quickly and cost-effectively meet changing customer and business requirements. This is key to maintaining a competitive advantage, as well as generating a fast, strong return on investment and low total cost of ownership.

Read more below to learn about the type of information you will receive by using the worksheets in this workbook to evaluate prospective vendor solution offerings:

Company: This section allows you to capture detailed information about your prospective vendor and the type of support it is capable of offering.

Merchandise & Financial Planning: This section will give you insight into the functionality that a financial planning solution will provide your business. It will allow you to evaluate how much visibility you will have into forecasts at certain levels, such as product family or class. You’ll also know if you can accurately track your current spend-to-budget in order to make better inventory purchasing decisions.

Assortment Planning: In this section, you’ll get a better understanding of the functionality an assortment planning solution will offer. You can evaluate whether the solution takes consumer demand into consideration and how it ensures that the right mix of product is sent to the right stores and channels.

Allocation: In this section, you’ll be asked questions that will help you determine whether the allocation solution you’re evaluating is capable of automatically allocating products to stores and selling channels. This guide will help you understand if the solution takes into account current stock levels at each location, what’s been sold and if it can calculate the optimal amount of inventory to send and how much to reorder.

Advanced Planning & Replenishment: Review this section to get a better sense of the functionality a replenishment solution may bring to your business. You’ll be able to determine if the application can produce a forward-looking, time-phased ordering plan, as well as if it considers demand forecasts and current inventory levels. This guide can help you understand how the solution will help you create the most cost-effective ordering plan while keeping your target service levels in mind.

Solution Architecture: This tab will provide insight into the solution’s software and hardware requirements and whether the user interface is configurable and intuitive. It will also answer any questions you might have about security, configuration, reporting and documentation capabilities and how future upgrades are handled.

The Retail Planning RFI Template

Page 3: JustEnough RFI Retail Planning Template

The Retail Planning RFI Template - Company

Company Information Response

General Information

Company nameCompany address (corporate)Company telephoneCompany faxWeb siteYear company founded

Public or private Stock exchange and ticker symbol

Contact Information

Proposal contact nameTitleContact addressContact telephone Contact e-mail addressContact mobile phone

Services

Provided by vendor or third party?What types of services are performed?Are online/remote services available?Are onsite services available?

Describe your formal implementation methodology.

How are services quoted?What fee structures are offered?

Time & MaterialsFixed Price

What is your change control process?Are services guaranteed?

Maintenance

Standard maintenance policy (attach if necessary).Are patches included?How are patches distributed?For in the cloud solution maintenance:

How are upgrades scheduled?How are customers notified?What is the average system downtime?

Upgrades

How often are new releases available?Are upgrades included in support?

What is the average cost to complete an upgrade?

Support

Standard support policy (attach if necessary).Is price based upon sold price or current price?has price increases in last 5 years?Provided by vendor or third party?Where is the support location?Escalation policy (attach if necessary).How far back are releases supported?24/7 available?24/7 staffed or beeper?Is Web support available?

Patches available?Create new ticket?Check support ticket status?

Do you support computer hardware?Do you support third party software (e.g. database)?Do you support customer-modified applications?

Training

Is classroom training available?Is online training available via the Web?Do you offer customized or onsite training?What types of media/activities are employed in training?

Written materials?Audio/visual?Hands-on workshops?

Senior management team (names, titles, years with company)

Are you currently in any discussions about being acquired?

What certifications and training do services resources have?

What is the average length and cost of a standard implementation?

How long does it take the average customer to complete an upgrade (including re-application of system modifications)? From start to finish, what was the longest time taken by any customer to complete an upgrade?

What is the greatest cost ever incurred by a customer during an upgrade?How are custom configurations re-applied during upgrade?Must custom code always be re-applied during upgrade?

Describe the overall approach of your training program (attach additional information if required).

Page 4: JustEnough RFI Retail Planning Template

The Retail Planning RFI Template - Merchandise Financial Planning

Merchandise & Financial Planning

Financial Planning

Top down, bottom up planning.Drill down functionality.Ability to aggregate data in any dimension defined (Product, Channel and Time)Ability to make adjustments at any level of the hierarchy.Ability to apply alternative product hierarchies.Ability to plan multiple seasons e.g.. Spring, Fall, BasicPlan by any channel (to include retail, e-commerce, wholesale and outlet).

Visibility to LY, LLY, actual/forecast data for all plan elements at the plan level.Ability to plan in retail and or fiscal calendar at a week, month, quarter and season levelPre-season planning and in-season re-forecasting.Ability to plan new, non comp, comp storesPlan sales over time with the ability to address calendar shifts.International capabilities - support multi-currency planning.Export to Excel.Flexible/configurable views by user.Highlight exceptions within plans.Multiple measures and sophisticated / flexible formulae. Multi directional formulae lockingMultiple plan seed methods - Import from external system, Forecast, HistoryImport at least two years historyManage unit and financial forecasts.

Open-to buy-management.Ability to support Retail and Cost accounting methodsAbility to support multiple prices and roll up plans by price type.Support OTB management by door.

Lock plans at different levels.Ability to plan markdown and promotional sales at any level of the hierarchyAbility to plan IMU%, MMU%Ability to project through In Season forecasting and Open to BuyVisibility into on order and ability to adjust (as needed).Ability to plan multiple key metrics with the flexibility to define additional metrics on the fly

Flexible/configurable solution.

Ability to add notes

Standard templates with the ability to adapt to specific requirements."What if" planning. Ability to apply different parameters to see what the outcome would be.

Pro-rate high level changes to lower levels of the planLink plans.Ability to project through In Season forecasting and Open to Buy

Strong reporting functionality, including standard reports, flexible ad hoc reporting and exception reporting.

Ability to plan and revise a yearly or multiple year budgets, saving both the original and revised plans - including locking capabilities.

Ability to plan best practice retail sales, receipts, margin and inventory. Ability to convert $ plan to units.

Ability to plan initial receipts, reorder and transfers (in and out) and RTVs. Have visibility into history in these buckets at the same level of detail as the plan.

Ability to plan in season to revise sales, inventory and receipt flow to reflect current

Ability to plan across different levels of the time and product hierarchies for top-down and bottoms-up plans (e.g. top-down plan by month and store-level plan by season).

Adjust plans based on percentage increase or decrease (while not affecting the locked element of the plan).

Page 5: JustEnough RFI Retail Planning Template

The Retail Planning RFI Template - Merchandise Financial Planning

Ability to plan new stores using "like store" or "store profile" functionality.

Ability to create and save multiple views of the plan by userAbility to snapshot plans for waterfall reporting on plan performanceAbility to branch off plans and merge back appropriate changesStrict user control at any level of the plan for read and write accessMarkdown Planning

Model markdowns stock by entering MD%, Sales % Lift, Type of Markdown

Plan to a markdown budgetQuantify impact to profitability and stock levels at product and category level.

Review the incremental impact of planned markdowns vs. taking no action.

Compare markdown plans to markdown budgetsBuild multiple markdown scenariosAnalyze impact at product or hierarchal level.Apply markdowns to the forecast engineUpload price changes once approved into host price change system.

Ability to plan key metrics appropriate to each business and therefore vary plan metrics by channel (e.g. demand for e-commerce)Ability to plan inventory and receipts with visibility into historical and current on-order, on-hand, in-transit and store-to-store transfers, as well as returns to the DC.

Target markdown merchandise using JustEnough's dynamic filtering capability including but not limited to: Product attribute data, Location Hierarchal Data, Location Attribute Data, Sales and Inventory Data, Weeks on Hand, Projected Season Overhang Stock, Variance of average period sales vs. Forecast.

Leverage JustEnough's recommended MD% and price (elasticity of demand functionality) to achieve a sell-thru by a phase out date.

Address multiple types of markdowns such as: Promotions to drive traffic, Stock reduction due to high weeks of supply, Stock reduction due to excessive projected end of season stock.

Review the planned markdown results at the category level by time period and build those assumptions into OTB plans.

Page 6: JustEnough RFI Retail Planning Template

The Retail Planning RFI Template - Merchandise Financial Planning

R-Required, D-Desired, F-Future

S-Standard Configuration, M-Source Code

Mod, N-Not possible

If (M) is required, what is the cost?

Page 7: JustEnough RFI Retail Planning Template

The Retail Planning RFI Template - Merchandise Financial Planning

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The Retail Planning RFI Template - Merchandise Financial Planning

Comments

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The Retail Planning RFI Template - Merchandise Financial Planning

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The Retail Planning RFI Template - Assortment Planning

Assortment Planning

Assortment Option Plan

Ability to select from user permission controlled plans and plan groupings.Ability to select from user permission controlled merchandise groupings.

Increase or decrease options by keying a Style Turnover or average colors per style.

Create and save multiple views of the plan by userColor-coded fields

Assortment Selection

Choose from available style colors from host system.

Define and select from a calculated Good/Better/Best ranked ROS or best historical ROS.Increase or decrease a selected Good/Better/Best ROS with a % input.Adjust or key start and end dates for each style/color combinationInclude items in assortment with simple check boxAdd additional groupings to products by simply checking a box such as "New"Assort an item to channels by grade with simple checkbox.Manipulate item cost and retail price

Plan presentation levels by Style/Color/Store Grade

Compare total phased sales and inventory requirements to selected plan.Select the financial plan you wish to compare to.Color-coded fields

Leverage Store plans and Grading (see Store Grading) to create stratified average rates of sale (ROS)Leverage stratified ROS to create target option counts for each Store/Grade/Classification combination for the desired planning period.Adjust ranked average ROS and Store Penetration by Store/Grade/Classification Level to change option counts.

Group and summarize results by any hierarchal level or metric leveraging JE standard functionality.Multiple views in one screen: Breakdown by Store/Grade/Classification Level as well as summarized results in a split screen view.

Multiple views in one screen: Assortment selection, Product Information, Assortment Sales and Inventory Flow, Assortment to Financial Plan Comparison

View product images and descriptions as well as edit and maintain notes for each product.

Account for the projected sales and inventory of carryover styles that may not be a part of the current assortment.Group and summarize time phased Assortment Flow Section (Revenue, Purchases, Units, Dollars, Cost, Periods, Weeks, Months) by any product hierarchal level, time hierarchal level or metric.Group and summarize time phased Assortment to Financial Plan Comparison Section (Revenue, Purchases, Units, Dollars, Cost) by any product hierarchal level, time hierarchal level or metric.

Leverage planned (ROS, Store Counts, Start and End Dates, Presentation levels) to generate total phased sales and inventory requirements

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The Retail Planning RFI Template - Assortment Planning

Store Grading

Manually make changes to Grade results if desired.

Lock manual changes to grades.Apply grading changes to JustEnough's calculation engine.Color-coded fields

Leverage proven statistical methodology K-means clustering to grade and re-grade stores.Define desired dimensions for store grade calculations including but not limited to: Sales, Full price sales, Profit, COGS, Units, Markdown, Store Size, Store Demographic InformationTarget only the stores you wish to grade or re-grade based on their selection criteria and an classification changes that may have occurred since their last grading.Use JustEnough filters to easily define the items and stores you wish to include for the grading or re-grading.Automatically re-classify stores where their classification sets may have changes such as a change in store size.Choose which time period you wish to leverage to build the store grade: Historic timeframe, past x-days.Review results vs. previous grading against custom definable metrics such as but not limited to: Store format, Store Grade, Stores excluded from re-grade, Store Counts, ROS, Weeks of Cover, Space data, Estimated stock levels, Replenishment metrics

Edit classification sets and re-apply grading methodologies such as changing the number of grades desired from ABC to ABCD.

Page 12: JustEnough RFI Retail Planning Template

The Retail Planning RFI Template - Assortment Planning

R-Required, D-Desired, F-Future

S-Standard Configuration, M-Source Code

Mod, N-Not possible

If (M) is required, what is the cost?

Page 13: JustEnough RFI Retail Planning Template

The Retail Planning RFI Template - Assortment Planning

Page 14: JustEnough RFI Retail Planning Template

The Retail Planning RFI Template - Assortment Planning

Comments

Page 15: JustEnough RFI Retail Planning Template

The Retail Planning RFI Template - Assortment Planning

Page 16: JustEnough RFI Retail Planning Template

The Retail Planning RFI Template - Allocation

Allocation

General Requirements

System tracks history at full price, markdown and total.

Products are tracked and reported by allocation status, such as:

Un-allocated Partially allocated Completed/not approved Approved ReleasedAllocate into multiple physical DC locations for purposes of managing backstock.Associate stores with DC locations.Allow for “swing stores” (e.g., stores that may be serviced by more than one DC).Filter allocation selection by DC location.

Messaging fields interfaced to downstream systems.

Provide inter-store transfer recommendations.Store need expressed in both units and as a percent.

Maintain allocation metrics by allocation.Export allocation metrics to Excel.

Allocation Dashboard

Dashboard provides access to worklist of all merchandise available to allocate. Required / standard components on the worklist include: Control number from source (e.g., PO or ASN number) Style/color/size codes Style/color/size descriptions Style/color/size quantity available Selling price Parent hierarchy level (e.g., class) PO ship date PO expected receipt date DC location Allocation status (e.g., available, approved, etc.)

R-Required, D-Desired, F-Future

Allocate from a purchase order, advanced shipping notice (ASN), new DC receiving, or DC backstock. Real-time or near real-time update of host system purchase order, ASN and receiving data to allocation.Multiple options for allocations, such as need vs. plan, actual selling, assortment plan, etc. (see “Functionality: Allocation Methods” below)

Provides auto-allocation functionality, allowing for rules-based processing of allocation steps up to and including release from the allocation system. Allocate prepacks and bulk as part of the same allocation. System selects optimal combination to fill each store’s requirement.

Create “what-if?” / placeholder allocation versions for analysis (e.g., allocation not attached to a true worklist entry).Real-time and schedulable release of allocation system data to downstream Allow for interface of an assortment plan from an external source. Assortment plan would include quantities by store at the style/color or style/color/size levels by month or week.Easily “un-release” an allocation and adjust (assuming it has not already been processed through the downstream systems). User-defined messaging fields populated either manually or via interface from host system.

Generate an allocation from allocation quantities created in an external source (e.g., a pre-split purchase order).

Maintain allocation metrics by user ID (e.g., allocation methods used, frequency of adjustments, etc.).

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The Retail Planning RFI Template - Allocation

Prepack or bulk indicator Size method code with ability to drill into size detail Prepack code with ability to drill into pack detail

Primary sort of the worklist is by PO number.

Easy user filtering and sorting on any of the worklist components.Allocation of multiple entries from the worklist as a single allocation.

Dashboard suggests allocation priorities based on performance data.

Dashboard suggests allocation priorities based on user-defined priority code.

Images may be associated with products on the worklist.

Allocation Methods

Exactly, or Indexed to need over a user-specified time period (see Appendix A).

Fields to track inter-store transfers, populated either via the interface or user entry.Need must include the following inventory components: Allocations charged to the store by the user but not yet released Released allocations not yet in-transit In-transit

Current on-hand

Allocate exactly Allocate proportionally Subtract current on-hand from quantity Exclude if part of earlier allocation

Basic Stock Levels may be imported from an external source.

Unlimited number of client-defined components to the worklist (e.g., product attributes, previous receipt dates, PO comments, priority code, etc.).

Presentation of the dashboard is controlled by format definitions saved as global or personal views.

Upon selection of worklist entries for allocation, they are systematically locked and cannot be accessed by another user.Dashboard provides access to performance data (e.g., actual sales and inventory data) for merchandise on the worklist.

Dashboard suggests allocation priorities based on allocation status (e.g., received not allocated).

Dashboard provides access to data in product lifecycle management system (Tradestone).

Allocation methods can be assigned to POs and automatically executed upon an ASN or warehouse receipt that is associated with the PO. Need determinant within the allocation method that allows the user to allocate based on the assortment plan either:

Need determinant that allows allocation quantities to be based on need vs. the store plan at a user-specified merchandise hierarchy member.Need is calculated against any point in time (e.g., week or month) specified by the Definition of need horizon may be expressed either statically or dynamically (e.g., “July week 2” or “+ 3 weeks”).

Inter-store transfers

Need Determinant that allows allocation quantities to be based on values calculated “on the fly” - by applying a percent to the store plan and then defining what product(s) will provide the on-hand against which need will be calculated.Need Determinant that allows the user to refer to actual sales of any time/merchandise basis (including SKU and attribute). System then groups stores based on quantity-sold and rate-of-sale metrics with ability for users to specify allocation instructions by group or individual store. Instructions include a weeks-of-supply factor, fill “up to” quantity, pure allocation quantity and “exclude from allocation” parameters. Need Determinant that allows allocation quantities to be based on user-specified quantities by volume grade.Need Determinant that allows allocation quantities to be based on earlier allocations, including:

Need Determinant that allows allocation quantities to be based on “Basic Stock Levels” defined by the user. Allocation quantity thus equals Basic Stock value less current ownership.

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The Retail Planning RFI Template - Allocation

Option to easily manage the entire allocation manually.

Minimums and maximum constraints definable at the style, color and size levels.Constraint to ensure all stores receive the minimum if arithmetically possible. Constraint that enforces a “ship multiple” for bulk merchandise.

Style/color allocation quantities by store

Current ownership by size at the store level

User may review and modify size rations within the allocation system.

Basic Stock Levels may be generated by the system by setting them equal to initial allocation quantities for the product.Basic Stock Levels may be generated by the system based on user parameters to reference a number of weeks of actual sales and a weeks-of-supply value to apply to those sales.Option to apply monthly or weekly weighting to data used in Need Determinant calculations. Option for Need Determinant to be processed at the style, color or size level of the allocation. Option for allocation methods to be based on client-defined fields and calculations (e.g., a “rate-of-sale” either entered by the user or calculated from a combination of user-entered and system values).

Option to manage a portion of the allocation manually (e.g., new stores). This portion of the allocation may be locked to prevent update from further processing.

Multiple Need Determinants may be layered into an allocation method. The sequence in which they will be processed will be specified by the user. A parameter may be set to control the total amount of the allocation each layer may allocate, expressed either as an absolute or a percent.

When multiple Need Determinants are defined within an allocation method, a parameter may be defined to control whether a store receives quantity within one layer of the method, if it may receive additional quantities in subsequent layers and/or if a “winning quantity” is system-determined.

Constraint within the allocation method that enforces default minimums and maximums associated with store volume grades with user ability to override. Option to consider whether existing on-hand is considered as part of the parameter.

Constraint that allows user to specify stores or store groups to include/exclude from the allocation. Constraint that allows the user to specify an amount to be placed in back stock, expressed in units or as a percent. Back stock assignment will be recorded against one or more physical DC locations. Constraint to ensure allocation quantities do not result in stores exceeding capacity/density parameters. Constraint to ensure allocation quantities do not exceed store need. Constraint to ensure that the entire allocation quantity is forced out regardless of Need Determinants and other Constraints. Option to over-allocate against Constraints with system-notification when this Processing Rule within the allocation method that, if Need Determinant was processed at style level, colors are allocated to the stores in the proportion they comprised of the total allocation quantity for the style.When proportioning from style to color, option to exclude selected stores from selected colors.Processing Rules for size allocation. Rules optimize allocation at size level by producing best fit to:

Size ratios by store within any product classification, including style/color (possibly based on feed from an external source at any frequency)

Sequencing of size allocation optionally governed by user parameters (e.g., process “fringe” sizes before “core” sizes, process store group A before store group B).

If prepacks with different size runs are contained on the allocation, system selects optimal pack combinations to meet size demand by store. User may manually allocate sizes to selected stores or store groups and system allocates remainder of sizes.

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The Retail Planning RFI Template - Allocation

Parameter to specify how long merchandise will be held in Reservation Stores.Processing Rule that allows the allocation to be released without user review.

A “size fill” routine may be executed prior to Need Determinants processing, which will serve to correct imbalances at the size level based on the existing on-hand. Logic that automatically allocates merchandise to a given store’s Reservation Store when the intended store’s needed allocation is reduced by Constraints. This merchandise can only be allocated to the original store for which it was intended while it is in the Reservation Store.

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The Retail Planning RFI Template - Allocation

Comments

S-Standard Configuration, M-Source Code

Mod, N-Not possible

If (M) is required, what is the cost?

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The Retail Planning RFI Template - Allocation

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The Retail Planning RFI Template - Allocation

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The Retail Planning RFI Template - Allocation

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The 2011 WMS RFP Template: Functionality

Copyright 2003-2010 HighJump Software Inc. All Rights Reserved. Permission is solely granted to copy and modify this document provided HighJump Software is among the companies evaluated when the revised version is sent out.

Advanced Planning & Replenishment

Supply Planning

Lead-Time Management

Ability to calculate lead time and lead-time error by vendor by item.Ability to calculate lead time and lead-time error by vendor.

Ability to manage lead-time error.Ability to see data and graphically historical receipts.Ability to apply vendor-calculated lead times across multiple SKUs.

Vendor Scorecards

Ability to export report to provide to vendor (e.g., export to Excel or PDF).

Supply Chain ManagementAbility to manage multiple suppliers.

Ability to establish inventory transfers - sibling inventory sharing/re-deployment.

Demand Forecasting

Statistical Modeling

Ability to manually override sales/demand history,

Ability to manually re-run the forecast in real time.Ability to manually manage forecast parameters, such as smoothing factors.Ability to manually override the forecast.Ability to log notes for any overrides/audit tracking.

Ability to calculate lost sales/opportunities to be considered when forecasting.Ability to analyze historical demand and forecast graphically.Ability to configure demand forecasting views.Ability to convert demand forecasts into alternate units of measure.

Ability to export forecast to Excel.Group Forecasting

Ability to fair share top-down or group forecasts to lower levels.

Ability to reconcile top-down vs. bottoms-up forecasts.

Ability to manually run a group forecast.

Ability to analyze the group-level statistical forecast.

Ability to export forecasts to Excel.Ability analyze forecasts in graphical format.Ability to configure group forecasting views.

Supersession Management

Ability to capture seasonal patterns from a like item.Ability to copy a percentage of historical sales from one item to the other.Ability to time phase in the supersession.

Ability to create item and SKU-level supersession mappings.Promotion PlanningAbility to manage and track SKU-level promotions.Ability to apply promotions to one SKU or multiple SKUs at once.Ability to de-promotionalize demand based on historical-flagged promotions.

Ability to graphically see the promotional impact - historically and in the future.Ability to track multiple promotions against a single SKU.ProfilingAbility to automatically capture the demand pattern/profile for an item.

Ability to manually create a demand profile.Ability to apply profiles to a single item or group of items.

Ability to automatically adjust the forecast based on an applied forecast.

Ability to see the performance of a profile.

Inventory Planning and Optimization

Cycle-Stock Management (Order Quantity)

Ability to run cycle-stock "what if" analysis/scenarios.

Ability to manually override cycle stock.Safety Stock Management

Ability to set safety cycle-stock "what if" analysis/scenarios.

Ability to manually override safety stock.Ability to stratify service-level targets across ABC classifications.

ABC ClassificationsAbility to automatically and/or manually calculate ABC classifications.

Ability to manually override the ABC classification.

Ability to prioritize workflow based on ABC classifications.Ability to report on ABC classifications.Ability to stratify inventory policies by ABC classification.Ability to define the order of priority of setting ABC classifications.

Order Planning and Replenishment

Time-phase, Demand-driven Replenishment PlanAbility to manage and action replenishment orders by exception.

Ability to manage and review work, purchase, transfer or distribution orders.

Ability to export recommended line-item orders into Excel.Ability to configure replenishment views to optimize workflow.

Ability to drill down into a line-item order for further review.Ability to manually approve single or multiple line-item orders.Ability to recommend orders based on multiple tiers of supplier discounts.

Opportunity Buys

Multi-Supplier AnalysisAbility to load multiple suppliers/vendors into the system.

R-Required, D-Desired, F-Future

S-Standard Configuration, M-Source Code

Mod, N-Not possible

If (M) is required, what is the cost?

Ability to calculate lead time and lead-time error by vendor by receive location for each item.

Ability to calculate the average lead time and forecast lead time based on trending vendor performance.Ability to plan to the stated lead time, the average lead time or the forecasted lead time.

Ability to calculate lead time based on a defined number of historical receipts or based on a specific time horizonAbility to calculate vendor-yield error - deviation in quantity ordered vs. shipped by vendor.

Ability to report and track vendor performance - key metrics include lead time and yield performance.

Ability to consider vendor performance (e.g., lead-time error) when planning inventory.

Ability to set up a distribution network - parent-to-child relationships and sibling transfers.

Ability to automatically calculate and select from a number of forecasting models the best performing item by location forecast based on historical sales.

Model selection based on a back measure of model performance using the Mean Absolute Percent Error (MAPE) metric.

Ability to easily identify poor-performing forecasts (e.g., exception-based planning).Ability to automatically forecast trending, seasonal and low volume/sporadic patterns.

Ability to aggregate the SKU forecast to various groupings/attributes (e.g., product hierarchy) for top-down management.

Ability to aggregate demand to a predefined grouping or product hierarchy to reduce lower-level demand variability.level.

Ability to aggregate bottoms-up forecast to predefined groups or product hierarchy levels.

Ability to manage historical sales and forecasts at group levels (e.g., manual overrides to aggregated demand or forecasts).

Ability to manually fair share a top-down forecast across a filtered set of lower-level items/children.interference.Ability to create and manage multiple product hierarchies (i.e., multiple group forecasts).

Ability to compare multiple forecasts by level, e.g., statistical forecast, bottoms-up forecast, top-down forecast and manual forecast.Ability to track at all levels the performance of all forecasts in a color-coded dashboard.

Ability to convert and manage the forecast in alternate units of measure, e.g., cost and price.

Ability to manage and map product supersessions to facilitate new item introduction.Ability to copy historical sales from one item to the another (e.g., an old item with the replacement item).

Ability to consider the inventory implications of an old item when suggesting replenishment for the new one (e.g., don't suggest an order for the new items until the inventory for the old item is sufficiently depleted).relationship).

Ability to automatically adjust the forecast based on the average percentage lift associated with the promotion.

Ability to automatically capture the demand pattern/profile for a group of items (e.g., the seasonality of a particular brand).

Ability to manage and set the time horizon over which a profile is applied (e.g., life-cycle planning).forecast.Ability to manually set the forecast volume for which a profile should be mapped to across a single item or a group of items.

Ability to automatically adjust an applied profile as it updates based on performance and changes in demand.

Ability to cost-optimize cycle stock based on ordering quantities that balances carrying and transactional costs (e.g., EOQ modeling).Ability to time-optimize cycle stock by ordering based on a targeted days of supply/forecast.Ability to set and manage cycle-stock targets by SKU, product grouping, ABC classification, etc.

Ability to dynamically recalculate cycle stock as the following input change: products cost, annual carrying cost-percentage, line-item receiving/transactional costs, forecast, sales history, order minimums and multiples.

Ability to increase/decrease cycle-stock requirements based on seasonal trends.

Ability to optimize safety stock based on service-level targeting, which is dependent on the following inputs: forecast, forecast error, demand history, lead time, lead-time error and cycle stock.Ability to time-optimize safety stock by targeting a days of supply/forecast (e.g., weeks of supply).Ability to set and manage safety-stock targets by SKU, product grouping, ABC classification, etc.

Ability to dynamically re-calculate safety stock as the following input changes: product cost, forecast, sales history, service level, lead time, stocking minimums and multiples.Ability to increase/decrease safety-stock requirements based on seasonal

Ability to perform SKU-level service-level sensitivity analysis (e.g., evaluate the result of a service-level change on the safety-stock requirement).

Ability to set and manage up to six multiple ABC classifications (e.g., ABC classification based on historical sales and ABC classification based on forecast).Ability to set and manage ABC classifications for multiple units of measure - units, cost, revenue or margin.Ability to set and manage the pareto distribution of an ABC classification (e.g., A=80%, B=15%, C=5%).Ability to vary the number of ABC classification assignments up to six levels deep (e.g., A, B, C, D, and E).Ability to set and manage the ABC classification measure/basis (e.g., historical sales, forecast or forecast error).Ability to set ABC classifications by SKU across the entire company or within a subset of item (e.g., ABC classifications by department or by location).

Ability to vary the time horizon for which a measure/basis is evaluated in an ABC classification calculation (e.g., the next six-month forecast).

Ability to manage and action replenishment orders by planner code, by vendor, by stocking location or by any product attribute.Ability to retrieve all suggested replenishment orders over a predefined future time horizon.

Ability to approve line-item orders to be interfaced to an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system for PO build and dispatch.Ability to set rules for auto-replenishment (no review required to automatically approve line-item orders for PO build and dispatch).Ability to update recommended line-item orders based on order quantity or receipt date.Ability to recommend order quantities in compliance with line-item minimums and multiples (e.g., case pack quantities).Ability to recommend orders in compliance with order minimums and multiples (e.g., vendor purchase order minimums or container-load minimums).

Ability to stage approved line-item orders for secondary approval before uploading to an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system for PO build and dispatch (e.g., manager review of order cost).

Ability to apply several order-level constraints against a set of line-item orders (e.g., a PO dollar minimums and unit minimums).

Ability to manually analyze vendor/supplier opportunity buys by weighing the tradeoff of the increased quantity buy vs. the offered discount.Ability to highlight whether the opportunity buy is advantageous in a colored dashboard.Ability to change the recommended order quantity based on the opportunity buy analysis.

Ability to analyze an alternative replenishment plan based on another supplier or source.Ability to analyze an alternative replenishment plan based on lead time, cost, and/or minimum and multiple changes.Ability to update the suggested line-item order from the primary vendor to the secondary vendor.

Page 25: JustEnough RFI Retail Planning Template

The Retail Planning RFI Template - Solution Architecture

Solution Architecture Response Comments

Software Architecture

How many tiers are in the architecture?True for all products?If not, please list products that differ and how they differ.

How does each tier in the software architecture scale?Application serverDatabase server Web serverIntegration/Middleware serverPresentation serverOther

List operating system supported by tier:Application serverDatabase server Web serverIntegration/Middleware serverPresentation serverOtherClient

List databases supported:Do all applications run on same database?

Can multiple facilities share the same database?If not, please describe why.

Hardware Architecture Yes No N/A

Can multiple facilities run from one central location?

Does the system scale vertically?Does the system scale horizontally?

Fault toleranceMirrored disks supported?RAID 5 disks supported?Hot back-up system supported?Warm back-up system supported?Database journaled?UPS monitoring?Redundant power supply?Transaction protection via rollback supported?

User Interface Yes No N/A

Do menus vary depending on user ID?Can users print any screen?Users may have multiple sessions at the same time?Screen content may vary depending on user ID?

Can it configure which fields are displayed?Can it configure field headings/titles?Can it configure computed fields?Can it configure charts and graphs?Can it make fields display-only?

Pictures/graphical/multi-media data displayed to user?

Multiple language support?Is language support configurable by user?

Security Yes No N/A

Must users log in with a user ID and password?

Is the password age configurable?

Can a password minimum length be configured?Can password complexity be enforced?

Can idle users be required to log back in?Is the idle time configurable?

Can security be managed at a group level?

Audit trails:Is an audit trail maintained for exceptions?

Ability to assign roles to users?Ability to restrict roles to selected levels of access?Ability to provide access to remote users?

Configuration Yes No N/A

Is some functionality data-driven?

Does the system support user-configurable rules?

Are business-process workflows configurable?

Can data be accessed from other systems/sources?

Can COM objects be called?Can executables be called?Can DLLs be called?Can command (batch) files be called?

Can calculations be part of a workflow?

Do workflows support conditional flow control logic?Is branching supported?Is looping supported?

Are interfaces to printers supported?Are page printers (dot matrix and laser) supported?Are interfaces to other devices supported?

Can email be sent from a workflow?

Reports/Documents/Queries Yes No N/A

Reports:Is a third-party tool used for reporting?Can reports be viewed without printing?Are reports viewable in a Web browser?Can reports be printed on-demand from a workstation?

From a Web browser?From an RF terminal?

Do reports include charts and graphs?Queries:

Can queries be constructed against any system data?If not, please explain.

Can queries be exported to a text file?Can queries be exported to a spreadsheet?

Internationalization/Localization Yes No N/A

Are multiple currencies supported?

Do new translations require source-code modifications?

Host Interfaces Yes No N/A

Please list all standard interfaces provided.Interface protocols:

Support TCP/IP messaging?Support IBM MQ Series?Support FTP?Support XML messaging?Support ODBC?

Are queued transactions submitted in FIFO order?

Upgrades Yes No N/A

Are all modules natively compatible? If not, please elaborate.

If not, please indicate which applications run on which database.

Can server functions be combined onto a single machine?

Can the system be deployed in the cloud, as well as on-premise?

Has the cloud infrastructure been certified as reliable and secure (e.g., SaS70 certified)?Can capacity be automatically scaled up or down to accommodate changes in demand?Under the cloud deployment model, does the customer still maintain the ability to make changes to the system on its own?Are the costs of platform and hardware upgrades included in the subscription fees?Does the cloud deployment model include service-level agreements (SLAs)?

Provides event-driven navigation to take the user directly to related information?

Can it be configured to display information from other business systems such as ERP, OMS, etc.?

Is a password history maintained to prevent users from recycling passwords?

Is the number of remembered passwords configurable?

Can users be forced to change their passwords periodically?

Can the system prompt for a new password when the current password is nearing expiration?

Can users be locked out after a number of failed log-in attempts?

Can the number of failed attempts that trigger a lockout be configured?Can the amount of time that a user is locked out be configured?

Can the system be configured to require the user to re-enter the password before critical updates?

Do changes to data-driven functionality require source-code modifications?Do changes to the database schema require source-code modifications?Are source-code modifications required to associate existing functionality to different data elements?

Do changes to rule-driven functionality require source-code changes?Are source-code modifications required to develop new rules?Are source-code modifications required to support new-rule conditions?Are source-code modifications required to associate existing functionality to new rules?

Is some functionality activated or deactivated by application "switches," "flags" or "settings?"

Do changes to the functionality activated by a "switch" require source-code modifications?Are source-code modifications required to introduce new "switches," "flags" or "settings?"

Can database data be selected, inserted or deleted as part of the workflow?

Are source-code modifications required to change the way the data is selected, inserted or deleted?

Can user interactions (prompts) be inserted or deleted from a workflow?

Are source-code modifications required to create new interactions or modify existing ones?

Can third-party software components be invoked as part of a workflow?

Are source-code modifications required to reference new variables?Are source-code modifications required to create new calculations?

Are "child" workflows supported (workflows within workflows)?

Can a message from a device automatically trigger a workflow?

Are source-code modifications required to change the message content to and from a device?

Can queries be constructed against external data (from other systems such as ERP, OMS, etc.)?

Do workstation screens display in different languages, depending upon the user?Are dates and times displayed in the appropriate localized format?

Is decimalization displayed in the appropriate localized format?Are translation tools provided for translating screens from one language to another?

Is a third-party tool used for interfacing to host (ERP or OMS) business systems?

Do transactions automatically queue if connection fails?

Are queued transactions submitted automatically when connection is restored?

Are source-code modifications required to introduce new interface points or messages?Are source-code modifications required to change the content or format of a message?

Must some source-code changes be re-applied to the new version during the upgrade process?

If source-code modifications were made to data-driven functionality, will these modifications need to be re-applied?If source-code modifications were made to support database-schema changes, will these modifications need to be re-applied?If source-code modifications were required for changes to rule-driven functionality, will these modifications need to be re-applied?If source-code modifications were required to develop new rules, will these modifications need to be re-applied?If source-code modifications were required to support new rule conditions, will these modifications need to be re-applied?If source-code modifications were required to associate existing functionality to new rules, will these modifications need to be re-applied?If source-code modifications were required to make changes to the functionality activated by a "switch," will these modifications need to be re-applied?If source-code modifications were required to introduce new "switches," "flags" or "settings," will these modifications need to be re-applied?

Are configured workflows preserved during the upgrade process?

If source-code modifications were required to change the way that data is selected, inserted or deleted within a workflow, will these modifications need to be re-applied?If source-code modifications were required to create or modify user interactions, will these modifications need to be re-applied?If source-code modifications were required to reference new variables within a workflow, will these modifications need to be re-applied?If source-code modifications were required to create new calculations within a workflow, will these modifications need to be re-applied?If source-code modifications were required to change the message content to and from a device within a workflow, will these modifications need to be re-applied?

Are user-configured queries preserved during the upgrade process?