How-to guides
Practical, step-by-step guides for apparel and retail planning — free, vendor-neutral, and paired with the tools and templates you can use to apply them.
How to set open-to-buy (step by step) →
The open-to-buy formula, a worked apparel example, what negative OTB means, and how to keep it aligned to receipts and POs.
How to build a T&A calendar →
Map every production milestone backward from the in-store date, with an owner and lead time on each step, so a slip surfaces the moment it happens.
What is a WSSI? →
What the weekly sales, stock & intake plan is, the three lines it tracks, and the identity behind it: closing stock = opening stock + intake − sales.
How to read a WSSI, week by week →
An operational walkthrough on a worked 12-week grid — the cover line, finding the stock-out and overstock weeks, phasing intake, and when the grid is lying to you.
OTB vs WSSI: what’s the difference? →
How the open-to-buy budget and the weekly trading view differ, when to reach for each, and why most planning teams end up needing both.
How to build a buy plan →
Turn OTB, assortment decisions, and demand assumptions into a line-by-line buy — with costs, margin, channels, and delivery timing attached.
How to calculate size curves →
How to build size ratios from history and translate total style/colour demand into size-level buying quantities that match how a style actually sells.
Line plan vs assortment plan →
What each plan decides — the range you will offer versus where it goes and in what depth — and how the two connect to buying and production.
Retail math formulas →
A practical formula library covering OTB, sell-through, GMROI, inventory turnover, markdown, margin, and weeks of supply, each with a worked example.
Looking for analysis and best practices? See Insights.