Dealer Planning Application
Briefing and Business needs
This project was initiated to support the client’s global dealer network in making better, data‑driven decisions on inventory and sales planning.
Before this project, planning activities were often fragmented across multiple Excel files, local tools, and manual processes.
The goal of the Retail Planning Tool was to provide a central, user‑friendly platform for retail planners, sales, and management.
Analysis & design
Before designing the solution, the team conducted an in‑depth analysis involving both business and technical stakeholders. The outcome of this analysis phase was a clear, shared vision of what problems the tool should solve, who would use it, and how it would fit into the broader client landscape. The team made several key design choices to ensure the Retail Planning Tool would be robust, scalable, and user‑friendly.
Development & implementation
The implementation of the Retail Planning Tool combined agile delivery with close collaboration with business stakeholders.
The project was delivered in iterative sprints, each focusing on a set of features. Early prototypes were shared with key users to validate concepts, gather feedback, and refine requirements before full build‑out.
- Reuse of existing components wherever possible reduced development time and ensured consistency.
- Data integration pipelines were implemented to bring in and synchronize the required sales, stock, and master data.
- Planning logic and KPIs were encapsulated in configurable services to allow adjustments when business rules evolve.
Change management and adoption
- Pilot roll‑outs with selected markets were used to test the tool in real‑life planning cycles, validate performance, and fine‑tune features.
- Training sessions and user guides were prepared to support planners and managers, focusing on concrete use cases.
- Feedback from pilot users directly informed improvements to usability, labeling, default views, and reporting content.
Key results and impact
- Consolidation effort for retail plans has been significantly reduced thanks to a single source of truth and automated data flows.
- Planners can now compare scenarios and adjust plans much faster when market conditions change.
- Management benefits from more transparent, comparable views of plans and performance across brands, markets, and time horizons.