Merchandising Planning Software
for Apparel Brands.
Merchandising planning is the connected workflow that takes a brand from financial budget through assortment decisions, buy commitments, and inventory allocation — all in one system. RetailNorthstar is built for it.
Most apparel brands run this workflow across 3–5 disconnected spreadsheets. RetailNorthstar replaces those spreadsheets with a single connected platform — purpose-built for apparel complexity, live in weeks.
Four connected workflows. One platform.
Each workflow in RetailNorthstar feeds the next. Changes in one update the others automatically — no manual reconciliation between files.
OTB Planning
Calculates open-to-buy budget by category and channel. Sets the financial guardrails before assortment and buy decisions are made. Updates in real time as commitments change.
Assortment Planning
Determines which styles, colors, and sizes to carry within the OTB budget. Plans at style-color-size depth with seasonal collection structure built in.
Buy Planning
Converts assortment decisions into structured purchase commitments — quantities by style, vendor, channel, and size. Reconciled against OTB in real time.
Allocation Planning
Distributes confirmed inventory across channels and store doors using AI-powered recommendations based on door-level sell-through history.
Apparel-specific from the start
Generic planning platforms require months of configuration to handle apparel workflows. RetailNorthstar ships with apparel built in — these capabilities are native, not configured.
Mid-market and growing apparel brands
DTC Brands
OTB connected to Shopify sell-through. Assortment built for direct channels.
Wholesale Brands
Account-level buy commitments, seasonal windows, channel splits.
Luxury & Premium
Limited-depth assortment logic, margin-first planning, exclusivity management.
Mid-Market & Contemporary
Growing brands that have outgrown spreadsheets but need to be live this season.
Not a general planning tool configured for apparel
Enterprise planning platforms like Board can be configured to handle apparel merchandising workflows. PLM tools like Centric Software manage the product development side but leave the planning layer to spreadsheets. Neither is purpose-built for what apparel planning teams actually do.
- 6–18 months of configuration and implementation
- Dedicated IT or BI team to build apparel workflows
- External implementation partner (significant cost)
- Custom-built size curve, seasonal OTB, and collection logic
- Ongoing IT maintenance to keep configurations current
- Weeks to onboard, self-serve by merchandising teams
- No IT team required — ever
- No implementation partner — ever
- Apparel workflows native: size curves, seasonal OTB, collections
- Maintained by RetailNorthstar — not your IT department
Merchandising planning questions
What is merchandising planning software?
Merchandising planning software is a category of business software that manages the financial and assortment planning workflow for retail and apparel brands. It covers open-to-buy planning (how much to spend), assortment planning (what to carry), buy planning (how many units to commit to and from whom), and allocation planning (how to distribute inventory across channels and stores). Merchandising planning software replaces the spreadsheet-based workflows that most brands use to manage these decisions. RetailNorthstar is a purpose-built merchandising planning platform for apparel brands.
What does RetailNorthstar cover in the merchandising planning workflow?
RetailNorthstar covers the complete apparel merchandising planning workflow: OTB planning, assortment planning, buy planning, and allocation optimization. All four workflows are connected in a single platform — changes to the assortment update the buy plan, and changes to the buy plan update the OTB position. No manual reconciliation between files. Apparel-specific capabilities — size curves, seasonal OTB, collection structure, and multi-channel buys — are native to the platform.
How is RetailNorthstar different from general retail planning software?
General retail planning software is built for broad retail use cases and requires significant configuration to work for apparel workflows. Apparel-specific needs — size curve management, seasonal OTB, collection structure, fashion seasonality — are not native features in most general platforms. RetailNorthstar is designed specifically for apparel brands. These capabilities are built in. Implementation takes weeks instead of 6–18 months, and no IT resources or external implementation partner are required.
Who is RetailNorthstar built for?
RetailNorthstar is designed for mid-market and growing apparel brands that have outgrown spreadsheet-based merchandising planning. This includes DTC apparel brands, wholesale brands, luxury and premium labels, and contemporary fashion companies. The platform is used by merchandising leaders, buyers, merchandise planners, and allocation teams at brands that need a purpose-built planning system without the complexity and cost of enterprise PLM or supply chain platforms.
See connected merchandising planning in action.
Book a demo and walk through a full apparel planning workflow — OTB through allocation — in one connected system, live in weeks.