Systems and methods for electronically optimizing merchandise planning

Abstract

Disclosed are methods, systems, and non-transitory computer-readable medium for dynamically assorting merchandise. For example, a method may include receiving or generating a plurality of cells defined by one or more dimensions, receiving a total number of resources for allocation to the plurality of cells, allocating the total number of resources among the plurality of cells, determining one or more stock keeping units for each cell, determining a quantity of each of the one or more stock keeping units in each cell, assigning one or more launch dates for each of the one or more stock keeping units for each cell, and stocking the one or more inventories with one or more articles corresponding to the stock keeping units in each cell, based on the determined quantity and the assigned one or more launch dates of each of the stock keeping units in each cell.

1 . A computer-implemented method for dynamically assorting merchandise, the method comprising:
 receiving or generating, in one or more electronic databases, a plurality of cells defined by one or more dimensions, the one or more dimensions each associated with item attributes of a plurality of wearable items to be assorted in one or more inventories, wherein each cell of the plurality of cells includes one or more cell values associated with the one or more dimensions;   receiving, by one or more processors, a total number of resources for allocation to the plurality of cells, the total number of resources including an overall style count target for the plurality of cells and an overall article identifier count for the plurality of cells;   receiving, by the one or more processors, a closeting metric per style for each cell indicative of an expected demand and a wearability metric for each cell indicative of a level of propensity that one or more wearable items of the cell will be worn by one or more users;   determining, by the one or more processors, an optimization model configured to allocate the total number of resources among the plurality of cells;   utilizing the optimization model to allocate, by the one or more processors, the total number of resources among the plurality of cells, wherein allocating the total number of resources among the plurality of cells comprises:
 allocating the total number of resources among the plurality of cells, by: (i) allocating the overall style count target among the plurality of cells and (ii) allocating the overall article identifier count among the plurality of cells based on the wearability metric for each cell; 
 allocating the overall style count target among the plurality of cells; and 
 generating a style count for each cell of the plurality of cells based on the closeting metric per style and the allocated overall style count target for each cell; 
   determining, by the one or more processors, a number of resources corresponding to each cell of the plurality of cells based on the allocated total number of resources among the plurality of cells;   based on the determined number of resources corresponding to each cell, determining, by the one or more processors, one or more stock keeping units for each cell;   determining, by the one or more processors, a quantity of each of the one or more stock keeping units in each cell;   assigning, by the one or more processors, one or more launch dates for each of the one or more stock keeping units for each cell; and   generating, by the one or more processors, electronic instructions for stocking the one or more inventories with one or more articles corresponding to the stock keeping units in each cell to optimize the assortment of the one or more articles stocked in the one or more inventories in accordance with the closeting metric and the wearability metric, the stocking performed based on the determined quantity and the assigned one or more launch dates of each of the stock keeping units in each cell.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the allocating the total number of resources among the plurality of cells further comprises:
 receiving, by the one or more processors, a style count target for each of the one or more dimensions, wherein the closeting metric is indicative of an expected number of closetings per style for each cell; and   allocating, by the one or more processors, the overall style count target among the plurality of cells based on the style count target for each of the one or more dimensions and the expected number of closetings per style for each cell.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the allocating the overall style count target among the plurality of cells further comprises:
 imposing, by the one or more processors, a lower bound to the style count for each cell of the plurality of cells.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the allocating the overall style count target among the plurality of cells further comprises:
 imposing, by the one or more processors, an upper bound to the style count for each cell of the plurality of cells.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the wearability metric is an average wearability metric for each cell indicative of an average level of propensity that one or more wearable items of the cell are actually worn by one or more users, and
 wherein the allocating is performed such that an overall wearability metric of the plurality of cells is maximized, wherein the overall wearability metric of the plurality of cells is a weighted sum of the average wearability metric of every cell, with each weight of the weighted sum derived based on an article identifier count of each cell.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the allocating the total number of resources among the plurality of cells further comprises:
 receiving, by the one or more processors, an average unit cost per article identifier in each cell of the plurality of cells; and   allocating, by the one or more processors, the total number of resources among the plurality of cells such that an overall article identifier count is maximized based on the average unit cost per article identifier in each cell, wherein the overall article identifier count is a sum of article identifier count from every cell of the plurality of cells.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the determining the one or more stock keeping units for each cell further comprises:
 receiving, by the one or more processors at a user interface, one or more candidate stock keeping units for each cell.   
     
     
         8 . A computer system for dynamically assorting merchandise, the computer system comprising:
 a memory having processor-readable instructions stored therein; and   at least one processor configured to access the memory and execute the processor-readable instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor configures the at least one processor to perform a plurality of functions, including functions for:
 receiving or generating, in one or more electronic databases, a plurality of cells defined by one or more dimensions, the one or more dimensions each associated with item attributes of a plurality of wearable items to be assorted in one or more inventories, wherein each cell of the plurality of cells includes one or more cell values associated with the one or more dimensions; 
 receiving a total number of resources for allocation to the plurality of cells including an overall style count target for the plurality of cells; 
 receiving, by the one or more processors, a closeting metric per style for each cell indicative of an expected demand; 
 determining, by the one or more processors, an optimization model configured to allocate the total number of resources among the plurality of cells; 
 utilizing the optimization model to allocate the total number of resources among the plurality of cells, wherein allocating the total number of resources among the plurality of cells comprises:
 allocating the overall style count target among the plurality of cells; and 
 generating a style count for each cell of the plurality of cells, based on the closeting metric per style and the allocated overall style count target of each cell; 
 
 determining a number of resources corresponding to each cell of the plurality of cells based on the allocated total number of resources among the plurality of cells; 
 based on the determined number of resources corresponding to each cell, determining one or more stock keeping units for each cell; 
 determining a quantity of each of the one or more stock keeping units in each cell; 
 assigning one or more launch dates for each of the one or more stock keeping units for each cell; and 
 generating electronic instructions for stocking the one or more inventories with one or more articles corresponding to the stock keeping units in each cell to optimize the assortment of the one or more articles stocked in the one or more inventories in accordance with the closeting metric, the stocking performed based on the determined quantity and the assigned one or more launch dates of each of the stock keeping units in each cell. 
   
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the function for allocating the total number of resources among the plurality of cells further comprises:
 receiving a style count target for each of the one or more dimensions, wherein the closeting metric is indicative of an expected number of closetings per style for each cell; and   allocating the overall style count target among the plurality of cells based on the style count target for each of the one or more dimensions and the expected number of closetings per style for each cell.   
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the function of allocating the overall style count target among the plurality of cells further comprises:
 imposing a lower bound to the style count for each cell of the plurality of cells.   
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the function of allocating the overall style count target among the plurality of cells further comprises:
 imposing an upper bound to the style count for each cell of the plurality of cells.   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the functions include:
 receiving an average wearability metric for each cell of the plurality of cells and an overall article identifier count for the plurality of cells, wherein the average wearability metric for each cell is indicative of an average level of propensity that one or more wearable items of the cell are actually worn by one or more users; and   allocating the overall article identifier count among the plurality of cells such that an overall wearability metric of the plurality of cells is maximized, wherein the overall wearability metric of the plurality of cells is a weighted sum of the average wearability metric of every cell, with each weight of the weighted sum derived based on an article identifier count of each cell.   
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the function of allocating the total number of resources among the plurality of cells further comprises:
 receiving an average unit cost per article identifier in each cell of the plurality of cells; and   allocating the total number of resources among the plurality of cells such that an overall article identifier count is maximized based on the average unit cost per article identifier in each cell, wherein the overall article identifier count is a sum of article identifier count from every cell of the plurality of cells.   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the function of determining the one or more stock keeping units for each cell further comprises:
 receiving, at a user interface, one or more candidate stock keeping units for each cell.   
     
     
         15 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing instructions for dynamically assorting merchandise, comprising:
 receiving or generating, in one or more electronic databases, a plurality of cells defined by one or more dimensions, the one or more dimensions each associated with item attributes of a plurality of wearable items to be assorted in one or more inventories, wherein each cell of the plurality of cells includes one or more cell values associated with the one or more dimensions;   receiving a total number of resources for allocation to the plurality of cells including an overall article identifier count for the plurality of cells;   receiving, by the one or more processors, a wearability metric for each cell indicative of a level of propensity that one or more wearable items of the cell will be worn by one or more users;   determining an optimization model configured to allocate the total number of resources among the plurality of cells;   utilizing the optimization model to allocate the total number of resources among the plurality of cells, wherein allocating the total number of resources among the plurality of cells comprises allocating the overall article identifier count among the plurality of cells based on the wearability metric for each cell;   determining a number of resources corresponding to each cell of the plurality of cells based on the allocated total number of resources among the plurality of cells;   based on the determined number of resources corresponding to each cell, determining one or more stock keeping units for each cell;   determining a quantity of each of the one or more stock keeping units in each cell;   assigning one or more launch dates for each of the one or more stock keeping units for each cell; and   generating electronic instructions for stocking the one or more inventories with one or more articles corresponding to the stock keeping units in each cell to optimize the assortment of the one or more articles stocked in the one or more inventories in accordance with the wearability metric, the stocking performed based on the determined quantity and the assigned one or more launch dates of each of the stock keeping units in each cell.   
     
     
         16 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the instructions further include:
 receiving a style count target for each of the one or more dimensions, an overall style count target for the plurality of cells, and an expected number of closetings per style for each cell; and   allocating the overall style count target among the plurality of cells to generate a style count for each cell of the plurality of cells, based on the style count target for each of the one or more dimensions and the expected number of closetings per style for each cell.   
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the allocating the overall style count target among the plurality of cells further comprises at least one or more of:
 (i) imposing a lower bound to the style count for each cell of the plurality of cells; and   (ii) imposing an upper bound to the style count for each cell of the plurality of cells.   
     
     
         18 . (canceled) 
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the wearability metric is an average wearability metric for each cell indicative of an average level of propensity that one or more wearable items of the cell are actually worn by one or more users, and
 wherein the allocating is performed such that an overall wearability metric of the plurality of cells is maximized, wherein the overall wearability metric of the plurality of cells is a weighted sum of the average wearability metric of every cell, with each weight of the weighted sum derived based on an article identifier count of each cell.   
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the allocating the total number of resources among the plurality of cells further comprises:
 receiving an average unit cost per article identifier in each cell of the plurality of cells; and   allocating the total number of resources among the plurality of cells such that an overall article identifier count is maximized based on the average unit cost per article identifier in each cell, wherein the overall article identifier count is a sum of article identifier count from every cell of the plurality of cells.   
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the overall style count target indicates a total number of styles comprising at least one or more of category, vendor, pattern, end-use, and size.