MAP

[Former Member]

Hi guys,

What is the purpose of merchendise and assortment planning(MAP)?

What are the relevent customizations done by SD guy?

Thanks alot

chaitanya

[former_member183879 · Accepted solution]

If u update your email id, i can also send u a PDF on merchandising.

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

admchaitu@yahoo.com

thanx.

[former_member183879]

You get the link here

http://help.sap.com/saphelp_erp2004/helpdata/en/12/084110470311d1894a0000e8323352/frameset.htm

The basic functions in SD supporting MAP is also given in the link in teh subnode "Sales" w hich is self explanatory.

Reward points if it helps.

[Former Member]

Merchandise and Assortment Planning Locate the document in its SAP Library structure

Purpose

Merchandise and Assortment Planning (MAP) is composed of the following components:

· Strategic Planning

In a strategic plan - also referred to as a business plan - a retail company defines strategic retailing targets. The business plan is created on the highest level for the whole company but also for individual distribution channels or higher levels in the merchandise hierarchy. Some of the stock and sales data planned on the higher levels may sometimes be transferred to the store and merchandise plans. As the store plan and the merchandise plan are often created more or less independently of one another, it must be possible to compare both plans to ensure that the most important key figures are contained within a particular tolerance range. You can define threshold values to recognize and rectify changes that go beyond the limits of the tolerance range.

SAP provides you with an example scenario of strategic planning. You can copy and adapt this example scenario. Alternatively, you can create any other scenarios you may want.

· Merchandise Planning

Like location planning, merchandise planning is used to create a more detailed structure for higher-level strategic guidelines. Operative processes such as reporting or allocaton are hardly used in merchandise planning. The merchandise category hierarchy is used in the planning process but the merchandise itself is not looked at in detail. Therefore merchandise planning does not extend to product level. Other important planning levels are the distribution chain, the season, the purchasing group and, to some extent, the price margins.

SAP provides you with an example scenario of merchandise planning. You can copy and adapt this example scenario. Alternatively, you can create any other scenarios you may want.

· Assortment Planning

The aim of assortment planning is to create assortments and define which products are listed for which stores and the quantity of these that should be allotted to individual stores. Within an article hierarchy you can plan several levels, for example, product (style), color (variant) or the price band.

SAP provides you with an example scenario of assortment planning. You can copy and adapt this example scenario. Alternatively, you can create any other scenarios you may want.

· Slow Seller Management

The aim of slow seller management is to ensure that at the end of the selling period for merchandise - particularly for fashion and high fashion merchandise - only a small amount of stock remains. This means that markdowns can be reduced to a minimum. Slow seller management is composed of markdown planning and controlling. In markdown planning the markdown budget is defined on different levels. For markdown planning you must define scaled price reductions in the form of a set of rules (markdown profile). This markdown profile provides products with a target sales curve. It is then possible to perform markdown simulation (when will the product be sold, what quantity of it and at what price?). In markdown controlling, slow seller analysis is performed to monitor merchandise sales and ensure that planned sales rates and gross margins are actually met. If sales of a product for a particular period you are looking at are lower than those in the sales pattern in the markdown profile, markdown controlling creates an appropriate markdown proposal on the basis of the previously-defined set of rules.

· Location Planning

The location plan (store plan) is the concrete structure of the strategic plan that takes into account different factors within the store hierarchy: Regional marketing, competition, demographic changes and preferences, as well as particular events. Planning costs and income for retail is performed in line with the strategic plan. These key figures are planned to store level or to store/division or store/department level (for example, ladies' wear or men's wear), but not to any further level of detail.

SAP provides you with an example scenario of location planning. You can copy and adapt this example scenario. Alternatively, you can create any other scenarios you may want.

· Release Workbench

The Release Workbench allows you to monitor planning data and master data created during planning and transfer of this data to operative applications

SAP® RETAIL MERCHANDISE AND ASSORTMENT PLANNING