Allocation that finally knows the network
A 14-store apparel network still split each season with a rule written when it had 8 stores. Solya re-allocated on what every store had actually become.
Outcome
+9 pts full-price sell-through
Network
14 stores · lifestyle apparel
Measured outcomes
+9 pts
Full-price sell-through in tier-A stores
−15%
In-season inter-store transfers needed
Day 1
Live allocation the day stock landed
What's wired up
Systems connected
Merchandising system
3 yrs sell-through by store
E-commerce platform
Online demand
Warehouse (WMS)
Allocation & dispatch
Before · After
Before
Allocating yesterday's network
From a flagship to small regional stores, every store still got the same season split by a rule written when the chain had 8 stores. Tier-A stores ran out of bestsellers by week 4; tier-C stores still held week-1 stock at week 12.
After
A distribution that fits each store
Solya tagged every store on revenue tier, customer profile and category strength, then proposed a per-store distribution under MOQs, capacity and a 12% reserve. The team reviewed, adjusted a few lines, and shipped it live the day stock landed.
The challenge
It was FW 2024. The network ran from a flagship store down to small regional-town shops. But the same buy and the same allocation rules had been in place since the chain was 8 stores.
The new allocation lead, three months in, ran the numbers. Tier-A stores ran out of bestsellers by week 4. Tier-C stores were still sitting on week-1 stock at week 12. The pattern repeated every season: total revenue looked fine, but the missed opportunity was huge.
When the season hit the warehouse, the team split it with a rule written in 2017. Each store got a quota proportional to last year's revenue, plus a few manual nudges for known bestsellers.
That rule ignored everything that had changed since — store size, customer profile, online cannibalization, local events. They were allocating yesterday's network for tomorrow's season. Allocation had become a copy-paste job, not a decision.
What we changed
Through its data layer, Solya ingested three years of sell-through per store, category and week. It then tagged every store on three dynamic dimensions: revenue tier, customer profile (seasonal vs steady) and category strength.
Allocation logic became a function of those tags, not last year's revenue alone. The intelligence layer proposed a new per-store, per-tier distribution: more stock to high-velocity stores, less to slow regional ones. It ran under MOQs, store capacity and a 12% reserve held back for week-3 rebalancing.
How decisions get made
The team didn't rubber-stamp the model. They reviewed the proposed split, adjusted a handful of items where they knew something the data didn't, and approved the rest.
The 12% reserve gave them a live lever: stock held back at the warehouse, ready to flow to whichever stores showed the strongest early sell-through.
Where it lands
Approved allocations flowed through the orchestration layer straight into the WMS for dispatch, and the plan shipped live the day stock landed. Sell-through was monitored from week 1, and each season's outcome was logged to retune the model.
For the first time, the allocation matched the network it served. Tier-A stores stopped stocking out of bestsellers, tier-C stores stopped sitting on dead stock, and in-season transfers dropped.
What changed
- +9 points of full-price sell-through in tier-A stores
- 15% fewer in-season inter-store transfers needed
- Live allocation on day 1, with dynamic store tags driving every line
Related: see how the seasonal buy plan feeds this allocation upstream, or how real-time network performance watches each store from week 1.
More use cases
A seasonal buy plan, signed off in one review
A 14-store apparel buyer had to cut next season's open-to-buy by 12% — and built a sharper plan on two years of live sell-through instead of intuition.
Move stock before markdown is the only option left
A 9-store streetwear brand turned twice-a-season panic transfers into a calm weekly lever — moving stock six weeks before markdown was the only answer left.
One feed for every alert that matters
An outdoor retailer's ops director triaged alerts across five channels. Solya gave her one prioritised feed — and 20 minutes back every Monday.
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