The decision chain

One connected retail planning workflow

The PACX decision-chain framework maps forecasting, financial planning, assortment, allocation, pricing and markdown as dependent decisions that should retain shared context.

Last reviewed 2026-08-22

Follow the decision, not a module list

Each chapter below starts with a definition and explains the information that moves into the next decision. The purpose is to make ownership and hand-offs clear enough for merchandising, finance and technology teams to review together.

Current PACX software supports forecasting, allocation and ordering workflows. The MFP, assortment, pricing and markdown chapters describe adjacent planning concepts and do not assert that each is a released PACX module.

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Retail demand forecastingRetail demand forecasting estimates how many units customers are likely to buy for each product, location and period, together with the uncertainty around that estimate.Read more
Merchandise financial planningMerchandise financial planning is the process of reconciling sales, margin, inventory, receipts and open-to-buy targets across time, category and channel.Read more
Assortment planning and size curvesAssortment planning determines which products a retailer will carry and how deeply to buy them, while a size curve allocates that depth across sizes for a store or cluster.Read more
Allocation and replenishmentRetail allocation decides where the initial units should go, while replenishment decides when and how much inventory to send after trading begins.Read more
Retail pricing and promotionsRetail price optimisation compares candidate prices or promotions against expected demand, margin, stock and business constraints.Read more
Markdown optimisationMarkdown optimisation selects the timing and depth of price reductions intended to reach an inventory or sell-through objective while protecting defined margin limits.Read more