Overview
Location Lists enhance the Assortment Planning (AP) workflow by allowing users to work with subsets of stores without creating new Assortment Cluster Groups (ACGs).
Instead of duplicating clusters for special use cases such as Hot Stores, Cold Stores, or Luxury Locations etc, Location Lists can be applied as an additional filtering layer on top of existing ACGs. This approach makes planning more flexible while keeping cluster structures simple and maintainable.
Location Lists are managed through Location Lists setup, surfaced in the Manage Exclusions screen, and fully integrated into Line Planning and downstream calculations.
Why Location Lists?
The Problem
Today, planners must create new ACGs whenever they want to plan for a subset of stores differently. This approach causes:
Duplication of clusters for similar store groups
Increased setup and maintenance effort
Rigid planning structures that are hard to adapt
Location Lists solve this by allowing planners to reuse existing clusters and simply filter them using predefined store groupings.
Key Concept
Think of a Location List as an optional filter layered on top of an ACG:
ACG defines the main store/web clustering
Location List narrows that group
Only stores that exist in both are included
If no Location List is selected, planning continues exactly as it does today.
Functional Overview
1. Location Lists Enabled for Assortment Planning
Location Lists used in Assortment Planning are powered by existing Location Lists.
A new option is added to Location Lists:
“Use in Modules: Assortment Plan"
When enabled:
That Location List becomes available as a selectable option in Assortment Planning
The same list can still be used in Allocation, ensuring reuse and consistency
This allows planners to centrally manage store subsets without redefining clusters.
2. Selecting a Location List in Line Planning
In Line Planning:
Users can select a Location List as an attribute alongside the ACG
Examples include:
Hot Stores
Cold Stores
Luxury Fashion
Any custom location-based list
The selected Location List filters the stores within the chosen ACG.
Multiple Location Lists can be selected.
3. Intersection Logic
Location Lists always work through intersection:
Only locations that exist in both the ACG and the Location List are included
Locations in the Location List but outside the ACG are automatically ignored
Applying a Location List is optional
If not selected, the system behaves exactly as before
This ensures safe, predictable results without breaking existing plans.
4. Managing Locations Through Manage Exclusions
Once a Location List is applied:
Store-level changes are managed through the Manage Exclusions screen
Any additions or removals in the underlying Location List are reflected automatically
This creates a single source of truth for managing store inclusion.
5. Impact on Planning Calculations
When a Location List is applied to an ACG, the system updates all dependent calculations accordingly.
Number of Effective Locations are recalculated based on the filtered location set then all functions use this effective location list for calculations.