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Visual assortment planning

vrLineplan is an interactive visual assortment planning solution which provides the ability to visualise ranges across different store grades, allowing the buyers and planners to view the range by delivery week, colour, price or any other key attribute of the products. It provides an interactive tool that allows the buyer and merchandiser to visualise and balance the range by store grade, instantly seeing the outcome on screen and whilst instantly updating the underlying numeric data.

The aim of assortment planning is to tempt shoppers to buy more. Good assortment planning does this through the creation of balanced, well-structured product ranges that are built for, and distributed to, the different store grades. When executed correctly compelling and balanced product assortments in-store, tempt the consumer to purchase multiple items on impulse, because they've been shown a complete visual story.



For the fashion retail industry, pure numeric assortment planning systems simply aren't capable of consistently achieving this, as they don't provide a balance between the numeric and aesthetic attributes of the developing range. The result is a totally disconnected and inefficient process that typically leads to miscommunication, overstocking of the wrong items, poorly co-ordinated ranges, excessive markdowns and lost sales opportunities simply because the shopper isn't consistently presented with a compelling product range and because the buying, merchandising and retailing teams cannot 'visualise' how the product range will actually be executed in-store.

vrLineplan provides the ability to visualise ranges across different store grades, allowing the buyers/planners to see the range by delivery week, colour, price or any other key attribute of the products. It provides an interactive tool that allows the buyer and merchandiser to visualise and balance the range by store grade, instantly seeing the outcome on screen and automatically updating the underlying numeric data. The software's ability to 'slice and dice' visual data enables the buyer and merchandiser to work together and interactively look at the range from multiple dimensions, allowing them to analyse different scenarios and adjust the balance of the range to ensure that what the consumer sees in-store is a complete visual story.
vrLineplan Business Benefits

vrLineplan deliver a range of benefits which are based on the following facts:
  • Selling to the shopper is what's important
  • Shoppers buy visually
  • Planning by numbers alone misses this crucial point
  • Planning and the range review process need to be entwined
Improved collaborative teamwork

The ability to plan ranges visually pulls the buyer and merchandiser together. Being able to see the whole sample room visually, and collaboratively make decisions about the width and depth of the assortment, truly makes the most of the buyer's and merchandiser's skills of flair and commerciality. Unlike working with spread sheets and samples, vrLineplan brings everything together on one screen making 'joined up' decision making faster, easier and collaborative. Quite simply vrLineplan integrates the 'art and science' of the planning process.

Delivering balanced ranges

All too often delivering the right balance across all the store grades becomes a last minute task of what to fit and where. With vrLineplan's visual approach to planning, assortments are built with the shopper in mind. A picture truly does paint a thousand words and, with vrLineplan's simple approach of "dragging and dropping" product images to build assortments by store grade, creating balanced ranges is a joy, rather than a last minute task.

Delight shoppers

Clothes are bought visually and vrLineplan's visual approach to planning gives buyers and merchandisers the ability to plan compelling, coordinated ranges. By using pictures to plan, it is clear what looks right and wrong within seconds. Building ranges that work, and look great, is much quicker and easier with pictures than it is with spreadsheets. With vrMockshop on hand, it is simply a matter of dragging and dropping pictures to plan the best shop floor layout that will make it easy for the shopper to share the vision.

Optimal space utilisation

All too often the width of the assortment is lost in-store through poor presentation due to space constraints. With vrLineplan and vrMockshop, the space dimension can be properly considered and managed. The retail proposition can be quickly visualised and 'space tested' in the virtual store. Because of the visual dimension in vrLineplan and vrMockshop, the width and depth of the assortment can be tested to make sure that, even in stores with less available linear space, the ranges can be properly presented.

Multiple plans eliminate blind alleys

vrLineplan's ability to build multiple plans, and see each and everyone of them visually at a glance, provides the ultimate in flexibility. As individual lines are developed, the assortments automatically update and the B&M team can see in an instant, the hero lines, the eye catchers and the perfect accessories. Unlike planning with pure numbers and the often unavailable or outdated samples, vrLineplan keeps the focus on what the shopper is going to see. The ability to have multiple plans provides the team with the flexibility to keep their options open and to choose the assortment that is most closely aligned to current trends.

Bringing together line and assortment planning processes

As a visual planning tool, vrLineplan brings together the traditional line and assortment planning processes. Plans can be created as soon as the designer has created a sketch which updates automatically when samples are photographed either by your team, or the supplier. As vrLineplan comes into play during the design process, it provides the whole team with the ability to visualise the conceptual range and select the appropriate colour balanced assortment of options for each grade and type of store.

Full integration with top down planning systems

vrLineplan is built on an open systems architecture which means that integration with top down planning systems is quick and simple. This integration eliminates duplication of effort and makes certain that developing plans can be matched back against original financial budgets and store plans.

Integrating the range review and planning processes

Typically, the range review and planning processes can be somewhat disjointed as the audience shifts attention from numeric plans to collections of samples. In many instances brands and retailers have attempted to overcome this disconnect by producing visual reports but, the very nature of a range review is interactive. By being pictorially driven, vrLineplan can immediately reflect any decisions and answer questions by being totally interactive. At the click of a button the range can be seen by colour groups, price, supplier, product hierarchy, delivery, etc.

Available at a glance at any time

vrLineplan is instantly accessible by the whole team at any stage in the range development process. This makes the decision making process fluid and keeps everyone informed. The real power of vrLineplan lies in its visual approach. Whilst deciphering a traditional numeric assortment plan requires intimate knowledge of the product names and item numbers, because vrLineplan is visual, no prior product knowledge is needed. Everyone can see at a glance what the proposed range looks like.

Help build weekly plans

vrLineplan provides the ability to build seasonal plans on a week by week basis which makes it easy to build phases within the season and ensure the range remains fresh. By applying typical weekly sales curves to the planned lines, vrLineplan drives out weekly stock and intake requirements.
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