Interactive Assortment Planning: Using AI-Driven Visual Insights to Make Difficult Decisions
In the modern, complex retail landscape, strategic planning is key, and AI-driven tools are revolutionizing the process. The blog explores the capabilities of interactive assortment planning, emphasizing visual insights and a focus on core brands. Unlike traditional methods that rely on spreadsheets, modern tools like HIVERY Curate enable users to interact visually with the planogram, offering real-time insights and rapid decision-making. A case study illustrates how a retail buyer's plan for at least 500 stores was enhanced by visualizing the balance of days of supply, core brands, and innovation items, leading to more efficient planning. The blog underscores the importance of avoiding "writing on the wall" moments using AI-driven tools to anticipate challenges, align strategies, and optimize collaboration. The transformative power of visual interaction in retail planning brings new understanding and efficiency, driving well-merchandised, operationally effective category plans.
Introduction
In today's complex retail landscape, strategic planning and decision-making are essential for success. Advanced AI-driven tools allow retailers and CPG manufacturers to visualize and interact with insights via the planogram in previously impossible ways. This approach, exemplified by solutions like HIVERY Curate, offers a powerful new way to gain rapid insights and navigate the challenges of assortment planning.
Visual and Interactive Insights: A New Paradigm
Unlike traditional methods that rely on spreadsheets and data tables, modern retail planning tools allow for interaction with visual insights directly on the planogram. This visual and interactive approach enables decision-makers to see and manipulate how different assortment strategies play out in real-world scenarios.
For example, by simulating the addition or deletion of products in the assortment plan, stakeholders can not only see how decisions will impact days of supply (DOS), core brand priorities, and overall store performance but also observe the impact of demand transference and incrementality at the store level. This interactive visualization removes the guesswork and provides rapid insights, enabling more intuitive and informed decisions.
Avoiding the "Writing on the Wall" Moments
One of the game-changing benefits of this approach is the ability to anticipate potential challenges and adapt plans accordingly. AI-powered solutions offer dynamic simulations and real-time insights, leading to more operationally efficient and effective category plans.
Example Case Study: "At Least 500 Stores"
Consider the scenario where a retail buyer planned an assortment to be rolled out in at least 500 stores. Initially, balancing days of supply with core brands and innovation items on the planogram seemed viable.
However, by visually interacting with the planogram, the buyer quickly realized that the proposed assortment was not feasible. The visual representation clarified that the combination of DOS, core brands, and innovation items was incompatible with the store's goals. This insight led to a significant shift in strategy, resulting in more aligned and efficient planning.
Focus on Core and Collaboration
Modern retail planning transcends static insights; it allows retailers and suppliers to align their strategies with a shared focus on core brands, optimizing DOS and enabling confident collaboration. AI-driven tools offer the ability to make informed and strategic choices based on visual and interactive insights.
Moving to the World of Visual Interaction
The art of assortment planning in modern retail demands innovation, insight, and strategic focus. AI-driven solutions like HIVERY Curate provide a transformative way to visualize and interact with strategies, offering hyper-local, store-level insights that enable rapid decision-making.
The ability to see and interact with the planogram brings a new understanding and efficiency to the planning process. By leveraging these advanced tools, retail professionals can drive relevant, well-merchandised, and operationally efficient category plans that harmonize business and customer needs.