Weekly sales, stock and intake, under control

Weeks of cover and open-to-buy, in real time

Buying decisions are really cash decisions, and open-to-buy is how retail controls them. Sofco's WSSI and open-to-buy management gives buyers a live view of weeks of cover, stock and intake against budget, so commitments are made against the trading position rather than a forecast produced weeks ago.

When sell-through shifts, intake and cash adjust with it, so buyers can pull back before over-commitment forces markdown or release budget where there is upside. The discipline is built into the planning tool, not dependent on someone noticing in time.

Range, allocation and store-level planning

Availability and margin are won and lost at store level, where customer behaviour varies by location and format. Sofco's range and allocation planning supports store grading and clustering so the right product goes to the right stores in the right depth, rather than a one-size allocation that overstocks some and starves others.

Allocation logic respects store capacity, lead times and case packs, so what is planned is what can actually be put on the shelf. The outcome is better availability with less displaced stock.

In-season reforecasting

A seasonal plan that is set in February and never revisited is a liability by September. Sofco's in-season reforecasting lets you re-plan against actual sell-through, adjusting intake and markdown decisions while the season is still live and the actions can still affect the outcome.

Reforecasts roll up into WSSI and open-to-buy automatically, so the financial view stays current. Buyers plan from the latest position, not the original plan, which is what protects margin through the back end of a season.

Merchandise financial planning that ties to the supply plan

Retail planning only works when the financial plan and the supply plan are joined. Sofco's merchandise financial planning connects the WSSI view of the season to the demand and supply plans that drive replenishment and intake, so every team is working from one set of numbers.

That integration removes the finger-pointing between buying, merchandising and supply, because each can see how their decisions affect the other. The plan that protects availability and the plan that protects margin become the same plan.

From plan to shelf, on one set of numbers

Retail planning too often breaks at the handoffs, between the financial plan, the range plan, the allocation plan and the replenishment plan. Sofco closes those handoffs by holding the same data across WSSI, range, allocation and replenishment, so a change in one is reflected in the others without rework.

That integrity is what gives leadership confidence in the plan. The number at the top of the WSSI and the stock on the shelf at the bottom trace back to the same source, which is what makes the plan defensible to the board, to finance and to the stores expected to execute it.

It also shortens the planning cycle. With less time spent reconciling versions, buyers and planners spend more time on the decisions that actually move the season, which is where the value of a planning platform is supposed to show up.

Designed for retail's pace

Retail moves faster than almost any sector, and a planning tool that cannot keep up becomes a liability within a season. Sofco's WSSI and retail planning are designed for that pace, with in-season reforecasting and live intake management that let buyers act on the latest sell-through.

That speed of response is what protects margin through a season's volatility. The buyer who can revise a commitment mid-season, pulling intake where a line is fading or releasing budget where it is accelerating, outperforms one locked into a plan made months before.

Underneath that responsiveness sits a single, reliable set of numbers, so agility never comes at the cost of control. It is the combination fast retail planning needs: quick enough to act, controlled enough to trust.