From first concept to final allocation — in one connected workflow.
Most apparel planning breaks down at the handoffs. OTB lives in one file, assortment in another, buy plans in a third — and every transition between stages requires manual reconciliation before the next decision can be made. The data is never current. The plan is never shared.
RetailNorthstar connects every stage of the apparel planning arc in a single shared data model. When OTB changes, assortment updates. When assortment finalizes, the buy plan is already built. When the buy lands, allocation has context. No exports. No re-entry. No version chaos.
It's not the tools. It's the handoffs.
Every transition between planning stages creates an opportunity for data to fall out of sync. At the early stage, this is manageable. As brands grow with multiple channels and 500+ SKUs, it becomes the primary constraint on planning quality.
OTB ↔ Assortment
OTB is calculated in one file. Assortment decisions happen in another. When assortment changes, OTB isn't updated until someone manually reconciles — if they remember to.
Assortment ↔ Buy Plan
Buy plan quantities are hand-copied from the assortment file. Any late assortment edit requires manual re-entry into the buy plan, buy review, and vendor sheet.
Buy Plan ↔ PO Execution
Approved buy plans must be re-entered into PO systems. PO revisions don't flow back to the buy plan. Finance, buying, and planning each carry different numbers.
PO Data ↔ Allocation
By the time product arrives, allocation plans are built from memory of what was ordered — not from a live data feed. In-season decisions have no forward visibility.
Seven stages. One shared data model.
In RetailNorthstar, every stage of the planning arc is connected to the one before it and the one after it. Here is what that looks like at each stage.
Style and colorway decisions, category targets, product concept approvals. The season's product direction is established here.
Connects to: OTB — product targets become financial parameters.
Financial guardrails by department, channel, and week. How much inventory budget is available, when it can be committed, and how it must be distributed.
Connects to: Assortment — the OTB budget becomes the boundary that assortment must be built within.
Which styles, colorways, and SKUs make the season. Product selection at the attribute level, reconciled in real time against OTB targets.
Connects to: Buy Plan — the confirmed assortment automatically populates buy quantities.
Unit depth by style-color-size, size curves calculated from historical sell-through, vendor and delivery window allocation.
Connects to: PO Generation — the confirmed buy plan generates purchase orders without re-entry.
Purchase order creation, vendor terms, lead times, and delivery confirmation. The commercial commitment stage.
Connects to: WIP Tracking — confirmed POs become the tracking record for production milestones.
Factory milestone tracking, in-transit visibility, receipt confirmation. The period between buy placement and product arrival.
Connects to: Allocation — confirmed receipts feed the allocation plan with actual available inventory.
Channel and door distribution decisions, size replenishment, in-season reorder signals based on sell-through tracking.
Connects to: Next season — in-season performance data feeds the next cycle's OTB and assortment planning.
What the connected model eliminates.
| Without RetailNorthstar | With RetailNorthstar | |
|---|---|---|
| Version control | Multiple file versions, 'final_v3_REAL.xlsx' | Single live plan. Full audit history. |
| Pre-meeting prep | 2–3 hours reconciling files before every review | No prep required. Plan is always current. |
| OTB reconciliation | Manual calculation each time assortment changes | Automatic — OTB updates as decisions change |
| Design-to-buying handoff | Product data re-entered from Illustrator files into buying spreadsheets | Shared product record from concept through PO |
| Buy plan accuracy | Quantities based on instinct and last season's memory | Size curves from actual historical sell-through |
| In-season visibility | Post-season hindsight only | Margin and sell-through tracking in real time |
| Data re-entry | Every handoff = new entry, new error opportunity | Data entered once. Referenced everywhere. |
Which pillar owns which stages.
Line Planning
OTB Planning + Assortment Planning
Buy Planning + PO Execution + WIP Tracking
In-Season Analysis + Next Season Hindsight
Product record shared across all stages
Every role in the same workflow.
Merchandise Planners
OTB, assortment, and buy plan connected in one view. No more reconciliation before the review meeting.
See how →Apparel Buyers
Buy from an assortment that's already reconciled against budget. Place POs without starting over.
See how →Merchandising Leaders
See every stage of the planning arc in one dashboard. Course-correct while there's still time.
See how →Designers & Product Teams
Your product decisions live in the same system as the financial plan. Handoffs disappear.
See how →Common questions about connected planning
Does every stage need to be used for the workflow to be connected?
No. RetailNorthstar is designed to be adopted in stages. Many brands start with OTB and assortment planning, then expand into buying execution, WIP tracking, and allocation as they grow. Each addition unlocks more connectivity without requiring a full re-implementation.
What happens to data from our existing spreadsheets during migration?
RetailNorthstar imports your historical sales data, current inventory positions, and existing plan structures during onboarding. Your planning history migrates forward into the connected data model — you don't start from scratch.
How long does it take to get the full workflow connected?
Most brands are live on OTB, assortment, and buy planning within weeks. Adding buying execution, WIP tracking, and allocation typically follows within the next 1–2 planning cycles as teams expand their use of the platform.
See the connected workflow in 30 minutes.
We'll walk through the full planning arc — OTB through allocation — using a real-brand scenario so you can see exactly how the stages connect.