Merchandise Planning | Foundations
Learn the ART and the SCIENCE of everything Merchandise Planning
ENROL NOWIntroducing our signature course ...
Ideal for Junior Planners and Allocators in the early stages of their career, or seasoned Planners looking for a new perspective, Foundations is your one stop shop for everything you need to know when getting started in Merchandise Planning!
Also perfect for Buyers, Analysts and other Planning related functions, wanting a deeper understanding of how Planning works, as well as founders and business owners, looking to implement Planning and understand the positive impacts it can have on their business.
Foundations will help accelerate your Planning journey!
Build a solid Foundation in Merchandise Planning:
- 50+ lessons across 2 core modules
- More than 20 + videos
- Over 200 pages of downloadable course notes and worksheets
- 2 comprehensive glossaries of retail terminology and KPI's, plus all the retail calculations and formulas
- Quizzes so you can test your learning along the way
- Certificate of completion
- Plus 2 bonus modules, new for 2021!
What's included?
We're equipping you with all the skills and tools you need to accelerate your Planning career:
Module 1: Discover Merchandise Planning
Do you ever sit in your Monday trade meeting and think "I have no idea what they're talking about?"
Rest assured, you're not alone.
So much of Merchandise Planning is about perspective, so before you dive in to all the technical stuff, you need to get the context right. Merchandise Planning | Fundamentals will help you do just that. A successful career in Merchandise Planning relies on having the fundamentals right, so we need to start here.
Module 1: Merchandise Planning | Fundamentals consists of 4 sections, covering everything to do with the Merchandise Planning landscape:
First things first
Get clarity on the purpose of Planning, the responsibilities of the role, and the behaviours required for success
Framework
Establish the boundaries a Planner works within; the retail calendar, the product and location hierarchies, plus more.
Flow
Understand the Planning and Product life cycles that determine when Planning activities need to happen.
Friends
Understand the role of a Planner in the organisational structure, and focus in on a few critical relationships.
2 x 'EPIC life changing' glossaries
You'll get access to our two downloadable glossaries:
Talk it Up and Measure Up
which cover ALL the retail language, terminology, calculations and formulas you need to know.
Our students are loving them!
"The fact that you take away 2 great cheat sheets with concepts and formulas that you can refer to in your daily life as a Planner is fantastic, as there is no where else you can find a complete reference of formulas and concepts like these - I've tried!" - Senior Merchandise Planner
YES I NEED THESE!
Module 2: Unlock Retail Maths
Everyone starting out in Retail, and Merchandise Planning in particular, goes through a period of feeling overwhelmed by all the metrics, formulas and spreadsheets. We don't want to be a burden on our peers by asking what everything means, so we muddle through until eventually things sink in and click.
But what if you don't want to wait? Well now you don't have to!
The perfect follow on from Fundamentals, Merchandise Planning | Figured Out, is not just any retail maths course. You can learn the formulas anywhere. Rather than just giving you the WHAT, we break down the formulas and metrics so you understand the mechanics of HOW, WHY and WHEN to use them.
Module 2: Merchandise Planning | Figured Out consists of 6 sections, covering all the retail concepts and principles across what we Sell, Own, Buy and Earn:
Principles and Concepts
Key principles and concepts that are the foundation for how to approach retail maths.
Maths Principles
Back to school for this one to brush up on some key maths principles. Percentages and some formula mechanics.
Sales Measures
All the formulas and calculations related to what we Sell - Gross vs Nett Sales, Sales at Retail and Cost, Average sales and more.
Stock Measures
All the formulas and calculations related to what we Own - Weeks Cover, Sell thru, Stock Turn and more!
Purchase Measures
All the formulas and calculations related to what we Buy - including OTB, Freshness and product costing.
Margin Measures
All the formulas and calculations related to what we Earn - including the interplay between the three types of margin.
Certificate of
completion
On completion of the course you will receive a downloadable certificate of completion.
Receiving this certificate makes you a SMART IN PLANNING Planner of Distinction (POD).
Add it to your CV and display it proudly on your Linked In profile! And if you tag us in a post with your certificate Susan will jump on and give you a public pat on the back!
Bonus Module 1: Intro to the Merchandise Financial Plan
In this bonus module we bring all the learning together and introduce you to the Merchandise Financial Plan (MFP).
This is the place where everything you've learnt about in Fundamentals and Figured Out comes to life. We're giving you a behind the scenes tour so you can see the dimensions, hierarchies and calculations in a real life scenario, and take away some of the mysterious around the MFP.
There are 4 lessons within this bonus module:
What is the MFP?
Susan explains what the MFP is, and how it's used so you can visualise how all of the principles, concepts, measures and calculations you've learnt show up in the daily life of a Planner.
Structure and layout of the MFP
Susan takes you on a guided tour of a typical Merchandise Plan, showing how the measures, dimensions, hierarchies and calculations we've learnt about come to life and live together in this format.
The flow calculation
This is the engine calculation of the MFP, and Susan steps you through a simplified version of how it works and weaves itself through the entire plan, so you will be able to recognise and replicate the calculation.
Learning in action
Watch a recording of a training session Susan ran with an experienced Planning team, to see a great demonstration of the principles in action, and how Planning really is subjective as well as objective.
Learn from Industry expert Susan Martin
Over the course of her 25 year career, Susan has gained extensive experience at the Executive level, developing, integrating and managing the Planning function. Most notably she has worked for global retail giants The Foschini Group in South Africa, and The Cotton On Group in Australia where she lead the Planning function.
And now, as the CEO and Founder of SMART IN PLANNING, in 6 short years she has worked with over 80 businesses and brands, with a combined annual turnover in excess of $10 Billion!
Known as an expert in her field, her collaborative style and people skills are evidenced through a strong track record in attracting and retaining highly skilled Planning professionals, often through volatility; she always brings a stabilising influence and collaboration across functions.
With her unique perspective and way with words, Susan communicates Merchandise Planning principles and concepts in a manner that is engaging and hits the mark with junior through to executive audiences.
I WANT TO LEARN FROM SUSAN!
Bonus Module 2: R.E.A.L Reporting
Wouldn't you love to know what an executive team member is listening for in a trade meeting?
Take your reporting from dull to dynamic with Susan's 4 R.E.A.L steps on how to approach your analysis, what questions to ask, what actions to take, and most importantly how to present your information in an influential and engaging way.
This module contains 3 lessons:
Go from dull to dynamic
Ever heard the phrase "It's not just what you say, it's how you say it" ? Well in this case, it's BOTH!
Susan shares her insider tips from the perspective of an executive, on how to approach your analysis, engage your audience, bring value to the table and establish yourself as a Planner of Distinction.
4 steps to R.E.A.L reporting
The process is broken down into 4 simple steps in a downloadable checklist to make the most of your time and effort:
Review
Evaluate
Ask & Act
Learn
Ask and Act matrix
While it's easy enough to grasp the concept of digging into the data, and drawing out meaning from it; it can be difficult to know where to start.
We've come up with a set of typical questions you could ask (think of them as clues), and actions you could take, when it comes to the analysis to support your reporting.
A reminder of what you're getting:
- 50+ lessons across the 2 core modules
- More than 20 + videos
- Over 200 pages of downloadable course notes and worksheets
- 2 comprehensive glossaries of retail terminology and KPI's, plus all the retail calculations and formulas
- Quizzes so you can test your learning along the way
- Certificate of completion
- Plus 2 bonus modules!
- Learn online, anytime, anywhere
Looking for multiple licenses or
corporate pricing?
We love working with businesses on tailored training solutions.
We have options for bulk course pricing with multiple licenses for your whole team, or we can work with you to curate a customised training solution.
To get in touch and discuss further, send us an enquiry at the link below.
BESPOKE TRAINING AND CORPORATE PRICING
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