The Business Overview view provides a quick way to understand how business has performed recently and how that compares to current and upcoming plans. It shows actual performance for the L4W, LW and alongside TW and the N4W plans.
This view helps users quickly identify trends, risks, and opportunities so they can adjust your strategy if needed.
How to use the report
A common way to start is by sorting by Gross Sales Retail Variance (ACT vs.LY). This helps users quickly see where the biggest changes are happening compared to the same time LY.
From there, users can drill down into details, including:
Division
Department
Class
Style
Color
Size
Location
Alternatively, users can move Location to the top of the groups to view the report from a location-first perspective.
This allows users to quickly see how each location performed and is planned across the time periods, giving a high-level view of store performance. From there, users can drill further into product details to understand what is driving results at each location.
Users can also change how the report is sorted depending on what they want to review.
To do this, simply click on the metric column. This allows users to quickly shift their focus as they analyze the report.
For example, they might sort by:
In Transit to Ship (Next 4 Weeks) to see which items have the largest recommended shipments
Next 4 Weeks Plan to understand where the highest planned demand is
Potential Lost Sales to identify where inventory may not meet demand
Because sorting can easily switch between metrics, the report is very dynamic and flexible, allowing users to adjust their view as they review different aspects of the business.
This allows users to understand where performance changes are coming from.
Key insights you can review
The report provides a broad view of business health, including:
Sales performance compared to last year
In-stock performance over the last four weeks
Gross weeks of supply based on the last four weeks of sales
Allowances and margin
Future sales plans for the next four weeks
Inventory in transit and recommended allocations
Potential lost sales based on current inventory position
Together, these metrics give users a clear pulse of the business today and what is planned next.
Comparing recent performance to future plans
The report also makes it easy to compare recent results with upcoming plans.
For example:
If a product had strong growth in the last four weeks, but the next four weeks are planned lower, users can quickly review whether that decision makes sense.
If needed, users can jump directly to Assortment Strategies using the deep link and adjust their allocation strategies (and rerun) so allocation recommendations reflect changes.
If Retrend is enabled, users can also see how the system is adjusting the plan.
The metric Re-Trend Adjustment Rate shows the difference between original plan units and the current plan units as a percentage.
Users can also compare:
Average weekly plan for the next four weeks
Average weekly sales from the last four weeks
Large differences can signal areas worth reviewing.
Built-in highlights and alerts
The out-of-the-box view includes conditional formatting to help highlight important insights stand out. Highlights include:
Gross Weeks of Supply < 4
Sales variance greater than ±20% vs last year
Recommended allocations for this week or the next four weeks
In-Stock % below 85%
Potential lost sales units greater than 0 when inventory may not meet demand
These visual indicators help users quickly spot issues that may require action.