The Essential Data You Need to Begin

The following data points should be provided by calendar month by class (category), ideally with 24 months of historical data for accurate forecasting and analysis.

1. Sales Data

✅ Net Sales – Total merchandise value sold after customer returns, markdowns, and sales tax, for a specific period.

2. Markdown Data

✅ Markdowns – Any price reductions applied after merchandise has been received in stock, for a specific period.

3. Inventory Data

✅ Ending Inventory (Retail) – The inventory value at retail at the end of a specific period (typically at the beginning of each month).

4. Adjustments (Retail)

✅ Adjustments include inventory-impacting transactions other than sales, markdowns, transfers, receiving, and RTVs.
Examples:

• Shrinkage (loss due to theft or errors)
• Breakage (damaged goods)
• Reconciliation entries (to align physical and book inventory)

5. Receiving Data (Cost & Retail)

✅ Merchandise receipts tracked at both cost and retail for a specific period.

6. RTVs (Return to Vendor) Data (Cost & Retail)

✅ Merchandise returned to the vendor, recorded at both cost and retail for a specific period.

7. Transfers (Cost & Retail)

✅ Merchandise movement between locations, recorded as:

• Transfers In (incoming inventory to a location)
• Transfers Out (outgoing inventory from a location)
• Net Transfers should balance to 0.

8. On Order Data (Cost & Retail)

✅ Outstanding (not yet received) purchase orders the retailer expects to receive, tracked by future month.

• This value is deducted from forecasted inflow to calculate the final Open-to-Buy (OTB) value.

Why This Matters

Having accurate, up-to-date data in these categories ensures precise inventory planning, forecasting, and financial analysis, helping retailers optimize stock levels and cash flow.