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New Assortment Plan: Function Reference

Updated over 2 weeks ago

This article outlines each Function in Toolio’s New Assortment Plan module—what it does, when it’s typically used, and what triggers it automatically.

Functions for Day to Day Operations

Forecast

Purpose:
Generates a sales projection (demand plan) for selected choices (products) at the line item level. Forecasting can be triggered manually (via right-click on a choice) or automatically when forecast-related fields are edited. The system uses recent sales data and Toolio’s AI to update forecasts, which can be tracked in the Task Manager. If the Metrics panel is open, data refreshes automatically upon completion.

Typical Use Cases:

  • Creating demand plans for core and seasonal choices

  • Re-running forecasts weekly to keep projections current

  • Comparing system-generated forecasts with user adjustment

Auto Triggered On:

  • On field changes:

    • ROS model

    • Adjusted ROS

    • Adjusted Total Gross Sales Units

    • Sales curve

    • Growth rate

    • Count multiplier

    • Markdown input

  • After 'Refresh Locations & ROS' Functions


Generate Receipts

Purpose:
Calculates and generates the ideal receipt quantities needed to meet forecasted demand, safety stock, and presentation targets. This ensures that inventory is delivered on time based on supplier lead times and ensures inventory levels align with plan requirements. It also accounts for supplier constraints, such as order minimums and multiples.

Typical Use Cases:

  • Planning purchase orders to meet expected demand

  • Balancing new receipts against current inventory

  • Grouping receipts to meet supplier constraints

Auto Triggered On:

  • When the "Ignore Receipts" field is changed


Generate Inventory

Purpose:
Projects inventory positions over a specific timeframe based on existing receipts and sales plans. This function helps visualize how inventory will evolve, allowing for better planning and adjustment.

Typical Use Cases:

  • Assessing future inventory levels after entering receipts

  • Ensuring inventory sufficiency to meet sales targets

Auto Triggered On:

  • After Forecast

  • After Retrend

  • After Generating Receipts

  • Scheduled job (daily)


Refresh Locations & ROS

Purpose:
Updates the number of locations (stores or clusters) associated with an assortment or choice, which can impact allocation and planning.

Auto Triggered On:

  • On new Choice creation

  • On choice's launch-end date update

  • On choice's cluster or cluster group update


Export Assortment Plan

Purpose:
Exports the current assortment plan data for external analysis or sharing. This is useful for reporting, collaboration, or backup.

Auto Triggered On:

  • None


Advanced Functions

Below are the functions that you likely won't be running on a day to day basis; however, are handy for when you want to diagnose issues or want to update data that has been stagnant.

Re-calculate Metrics

Purpose:
Triggers aggregation and recalculation of plan metrics in the planning grid. This is necessary after certain operations (like generating receipts or forecasts) to ensure that all metrics reflect the latest data.

Typical Use Cases:

  • After generating receipts or inventory

  • When there is a mismatch between planning and reporting views

  • To update metrics after choice metrics population

Auto Triggered On:

  • After metric changes on UI

  • After Generating Inventory

  • Scheduled job (daily)


Populate Act Metrics

Purpose:
Populates actual (historical) metrics for use in planning and comparison.

Auto Triggered On:

  • On new Choice creation

  • On field changes:

    • Cluster group

    • Launch-end date

    • Assigned actual choice


Calculate Distinct Metrics

Purpose:
Calculates unique or distinct values for certain metrics, for reporting or exception analysis.

Auto Triggered On:

  • On new Choice creation

  • On Choice edit

  • After Generating Inventory


Update Choice Status

Purpose:
Updates the status of a choice (e.g., active, discontinued) within the assortment plan.

Auto Triggered On:

  • On new Choice creation

  • On Choice edit

  • After the following jobs:

    • Update number of locations

    • Forecast

    • ROS calculation

    • Generate receipts

    • Generate inventory

    • Distinct choice counts

    • Re-calculate metrics


Creating a Scheduled Jobs

Toolio can also schedule certain jobs so that they are run upon a schedule, for example daily.

To enable Scheduled Jobs, users should reach out to their Customer Success Manager (CSM).

1. Available Tasks

Users can choose from the following tasks to be scheduled:

  • Forecast (queue-scheduled-forecast-offering)

  • Generate Inventory (queue-scheduled-generate-inventory)

2. Available Frequencies

Scheduled jobs can be configured to run at the following frequencies:

  • Daily: The job will execute once every day at the specified time.

  • Weekly: The job will execute on a specific day of the week at the specified time.

1.3. Scheduling Details

For weekly scheduled jobs, users will need to specify:

  • Day of the Week: The specific day the job should run.

  • Time & Timezone: The exact time and timezone in which the job should be executed. This setup will be handled by the Toolio team.

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