1 DATASHEET | Oracle Retail Allocation

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Oracle Retail Allocation Data Sheet

Inventory is the single most important physical asset of a retailer. The

ability to accurately and efficiently allocate merchandise is one of the

most challenging, yet critical areas of retail. Having the right item in the

right place, at the right time, is key to converting sales and customer

satisfaction. Agility and efficiency in allocating merchandising in a

multi-channel world is just as important. Retailers need an allocation

solution that is tightly integrated with plans, purchase orders, supply

chain updates, and real-time inventory levels throughout the supply

chain.

ADDRESSING ALLOCATION CHALLENGES

When allocating merchandise, all retailers face a similar challenge regardless of

whether the products are fashion items, groceries, or electronics; or if the retailer has

one distribution center or multiple distribution centers, one hundred stores or five

thousand stores. What they all need is an efficient, accurate method of translating

their merchandise plans into location level allocations.

They need to consider how they will fulfill customer order demands and how that

impacts both warehouse holdback quantities as well as store allocations. Effectively

allocating products is a critical step in product life cycle management and makes the

difference in converting on sales opportunities.

Oracle Retail Allocation enables retailers to deliver on their promise of getting product

in the right place at the right time with a powerful, easy to use, and accurate method

of allocating merchandise. Retailers create allocations within a configurable, user-

centric workflow for maximum efficiency. The full platform supports allocation:

merchandising, planning, forecasting and science to ensure that the right quantity of

each size and color are sent to the right location at the right time in the product

lifecycle. There is also flexibility to allocate along the supply chain (DCs, suppliers,

etc.) and to allocate during the lifecycle (to fill in subsequent shipments or push out

remaining inventory for example).

Allocations can be done in advance of an order’s arrival or at the last minute to

leverage real-time sales and inventory information. Incoming orders and warehouse

stock can be allocated on the same allocation to optimize the merchandise flow and

collection quantities in the store. Multiple parameters related to items, locations, and

rules control the final allocation results. The tool determines store need based on

metrics that fit the product, store characteristics and product life cycle for allocation

based on individual store need, which is the key to maximizing sales and profits.

Key Benefits

 Supports allocating in

advance of delivery as well as

postdelivery to help optimize

warehouse operations

 Standardizes the allocations

process across user groups

 Provides sophisticated rules

for the allocation basis

including marrying plan data

with recent sales data

 Determines net demand at

SKU/ location level using

latest figures

 Supports all product

categories

 Standard planning and size

profile integration

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UNIQUE FEATURES OF ORACLE RETAIL ALLOCATION Determine Need at the SKU/Location Level. Oracle Retail Allocation not only

considers the gross need for a particular item and location combination, but it also

takes into account factors such as real time stock on hand, on order, reserved,

backorder and in-transit inventory figures to arrive at the true net need for the

item/location. The tool uses sophisticated algorithms to determine how to spread the

available inventory across all the locations’ net need, providing an allocation that

reduces the likelihood of overstocks and subsequent future markdowns.

Role-Based. Persona-based dashboards provide the Allocator with real-time

information they need to both create and maintain their allocations. The entire UI is

focused on user behavior, providing multiple methods to view, filter, and adjust the

allocation results. Dashboards also highlight their incoming purchase orders due to

arrive in the next number of weeks while easily notifying the allocator of any issues

that require their attention.

Multiple Allocation Methods. By offering a variety of allocation rules and

parameters, Oracle Retail Allocation provides a robust set of options to meet the

needs of retailers of all sizes and verticals. Allocation needs can be determined based

on manual input, historical data, plan information, demand forecasts, or a

combination of plan and history, which compares the actual sales to plan and re-

forecasts based on actual performance in-season.

Maximize Productivity. Allocators work with all types of items and item behavior

which changes across their lifecycles. Oracle Retail Allocation provides a flexible

workflow with configurable dashboards. It meets the various lifecycle requirements

while promoting efficiency, simplifying processes, and reducing time and cost. Also

via integration with Oracle Retail Price Management, there is visibility to the retail

values of the allocation.

Promote Buying Accuracy. What-if allocation modeling allows the retailer to apply

different methods and parameters during the allocation process and they can create

purchase orders automatically within the merchandising system based on the

bottom-up unconstrained demand at the item/location level.

Complete, Seamless Integration. Oracle Retail Allocation is tightly integrated with

Oracle Retail Merchandising for item details, purchase orders, and up to date

inventory figures. Oracle Retail Planning suite provides plan data and size profile

information in order to drive pre-season allocations and ensure proper size

distribution, while Oracle Retail Demand Forecasting provides forecasts to drive

allocations.

Key Features

 User-centric dashboards and

contextual BI  Calculates net need at the

item/ location using real-time

stock figures  Ability to base allocation on

different hierarchy levels, item

groups, or a single item  Multiple items and locations

per allocation

 Base allocations on orders,

ASNs, transfers, BOLs, or

stock on hand

 Reusable templates  Constrain quantities with

min/max limits  Determine optimal pack

configurations  Ability to schedule automatic

allocations for secondary

pushes  View the retail value of an

allocation

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