Every role in your merchandising operation — in one workflow.
From planners and buyers to allocation, sourcing, production, designers, and the C-suite — RetailNorthstar is designed around how real apparel teams work. Eight personas, all operating from the same data model — not parallel tools that need to be reconciled.
Planning Roles
Merchandise Planners
“An OTB that reconciles itself.”
Your OTB, assortment, and buy plan stay connected — automatically. Hindsight data is in the workflow, not in a separate export. In-season actuals update the plan in real time.
Built for Merchandise Planners →Apparel Buyers
“From buy plan to PO — without starting over.”
Buy from an assortment that's already reconciled against OTB. Generate purchase orders directly from the confirmed buy plan. Size curves calculated from your actual sell-through history.
Built for Apparel Buyers →Inventory & Allocation
“Allocation that reflects what is actually inbound.”
ATS by week and store group, computed against the real buy plan. Replenishment that respects the seasonal arc. Lead-time variance feeds the next plan cycle automatically.
Built for Inventory & Allocation →Sourcing Teams
“Negotiate from the plan, not against it.”
Buy quantities flow from assortment to vendor allocation. MOQs and lead times are first-class fields. RFQ history, vendor performance, and IMU roll-up — visible during decisions, not after.
Built for Sourcing Teams →Production Teams
“See the slip before the floor set is at risk.”
T&A milestones tracked against the in-store date. WIP rolled up by vendor, category, region. Slip alerts carry the merchandising impact — so the response is structured, not a fire drill.
Built for Production Teams →Designers & Product Teams
“Your product decisions in the same system as the plan.”
Post your product work directly into the platform after Illustrator. Visual review tools, gallery views, and a line list that connects to the assortment and buying workflow.
Built for Designers & Product Teams →Merchandising Leaders
“See the full arc — not just the latest export.”
Real-time visibility across the planning arc — from OTB position through buy confirmation and in-season tracking. Margin trajectory visible while there is still time to act.
Built for Merchandising Leaders →Executive Leadership
“Steer the season, not just report on it.”
Board-level metrics in real time — margin, OTB exposure, in-season run-rate. Governance built into the workflow. An implementation that fits a growing brand's budget and timeline.
Built for Executive Leadership →Built for your business model.
RetailNorthstar is designed for apparel brands across DTC, wholesale, and omnichannel operations — each with different channel structures, planning cadences, and team configurations.
Team and workflow questions
Can multiple roles use RetailNorthstar in the same workflow?
Yes. RetailNorthstar is designed for cross-functional use — merchandise planners, buyers, and merchandising leaders work in the same platform with role-appropriate views. Designers and product teams collaborate on line planning and product data within the same system.
What if our team structure doesn't match the role definitions exactly?
RetailNorthstar is configurable to your team's actual workflow. If one person covers both buying and planning, or if your design team is separate from commercial planning, the platform adapts to your org structure rather than requiring you to reorganize around it.
Is RetailNorthstar suitable for small planning teams?
Yes. RetailNorthstar works for planning teams of 2 as well as organizations with 20+ planners. The platform scales with team size without requiring re-implementation or plan migration.
See your team's workflow in action.
Book a demo and we'll show you the planning workflow relevant to your role — whether you're a planner, buyer, leader, or product team.
Connected apparel planning — live in weeks, not quarters.