Channel & Location planning can be complex - Clusters help to make the planning process easier. In order to distribute your line plans down to the Location level in Assortment Planning, Toolio utilizes Clusters. This article provides an overview of Automated Cluster Groups indexed below for easy reference:
What are Clusters?
Clusters are best thought of as groups of locations. For example, you may want to categorize a list of locations as your Tier 1 Stores, another list of locations as Tier 2 Stores, and group warehouses as a Warehouse specific location group. Now with the Automated Cluster Groups, the Machine Learning Algorithm does that for you automatically.
Cluster Groups allow you to do this easily in the Next Generation Assortment Plan by distributing your Assortment Plan Choice into multiple Clusters through Choice Offerings, which can then be spread to the locations beneath each Cluster. Please see more information about Offering Level planning here.
Cluster Planning in Toolio involves 3 distinct components. Before we dive in, let's get familiar with each component:
Component | Definition | Example |
Location | Inventory locations attributed to a single cluster | Store 1, Store 2, Store 3, Warehouse 1 |
Cluster | Group of locations | Tier 1 Stores, Tier 2 Stores, Outlet Stores |
Automated Cluster Groups | Group of clusters defined by Machine Learning Algorithms | Watches, Jewelry, Straps |
Configuration
Configuration covers 3-steps for each of the component defined in the above table.
Configuring Locations
For Automated Cluster Groups to be able to create clusters based on the ML algorithm, we need to define Channel and Channel Group for each location that will be included in the clusters.
An example for a Channel and Channel Group could be:
Channel: Wholesale
Channel Group: Wholesale A (Channel Group is a sub-level for Channel)
To edit Channel and Channel Group,
Use CMD+K and type "Locations" or
Navigate to Settings Menu
Go to Configuration > Organization Settings > Locations
Double click on the cell for a location and you'll be prompted with a dropdown of options.
Make a selection and then hit 'SAVE' button on top right.
Creating Clusters
Let's define what we want to call the group of locations that will be created by the algorithm.
An example for a cluster could be:
Grade A Stores
Grade B Stores
Grade C Stores
Web
Wholesale "Partner Name"
To add a Cluster
Use CMD+K and type "Clusters" or
Navigate to Settings Menu
Go to Configuration > Intelligence > Clusters
Click on "+ADD" button on the very end of the grid
You'll be prompted with an empty line to enter Cluster details
Enter a name for your Cluster
Add Channel and Channel Group for your Cluster by double clicking on the cell for a location- you'll be prompted with a dropdown of options.
When you are done entering the Cluster Details, hit 'SAVE' button on top right.
For the same Channel and Channel Group Clusters, you need to make sure that your clusters are in the correct priority order. You can edit the priority by dragging and dropping the cluster orders on the rows.
Creating and Viewing Automated Cluster Groups
Let's define what we want to call the group of locations that will be created by the algorithm.
An example for a cluster group could be:
Mens with Department and Class Partitions
Holiday 2024 with Division Partition with time-frame WK40-WK52 '23
Partitioning allows the user to define the level of granularity at which a cluster group will be created by the system and the system will extrapolate out the number of cluster group combinations based on the partitions selected.
To create an Automated Cluster Group
Use CMD+K and type "Automated Cluster Groups" or
Navigate to Settings Menu
Go to Configuration > Intelligence > Automated Cluster Groups
Click Add
You'll be prompted with a modal which includes the following sections:
Cluster Group Name
Partition Selector -Only single-select attributes are available for partitioning (Optional)
Time Frame - of the source data that the clustering algorithm will be based on
Filters (Optional)
Clusters - which clusters to be included in the algorithm
Demand Metric to use - you can pick Gross Sales vs Demant metrics to be used by the algorithm
Location Attributes - a second dimension for your clustering such as Square Ft, Region, Weather etc (Optional)
To view an Automated Cluster Group
Use CMD+K and type "Automated Cluster Groups" or
Navigate to Settings Menu
Go to Configuration > Intelligence > Automated Cluster Groups
Double click on an Automated Cluster Group row
The detail screen will be opened
You can use both the Visualize and Grid mode
Visualize mode includes the Partition selector and Chart
Grid mode includes the Partition selector, Details and Summary Grids
Editing a Location's Cluster on a Cluster Group
If you prefer, you can override a Location's Cluster on a Cluster Group. To do so, you can double click on the "Cluster - Adjusted" cell for a Location and select another Cluster from the list. When you change the Cluster, the summary and details grid calculations will be updated upon save. See the blue indicators for the to-be-edited values.
Creating a Snapshot
In order to use these created Automated Cluster Groups in Assortment Plan, you need to create a snapshot of the Cluster Group. This is a non-editable version of your created cluster group which is created per the parameters defined at the time of the snapshot is created.
This is needed in case for future, you may have additional locations that are added to your clusters but you want to keep your Automated Cluster Group as is for the current planning season.
To Configure
Use CMD+K and type "Automated Cluster Group" or
Navigate to Settings Menu
Go to Configuration > Intelligence > Automated Cluster Groups
Right click on the desired Automated Cluster Group, and then select Create Snapshot
Then system will create a snapshot for you which is non-editable. You should be seeing your Automated Cluster Group in the Assortment Plan now.
Cluster FAQs
How do I add new Channels or Channel Groups?
To add new Channels or Channel Groups, you will need to add new values directly beneath the 'Channels' or 'Channel Groups' option in Settings > Organization Settings > Options.