Allocations
Purpose: Notes for the upcoming Allocation project; focus on visuals and context. Notes also linked to grid/data table post.
Updated: Feb 17
Screen walkthrough
Size Profile
Visuals/Function - Single line selector with a lookup and a Style Hierarchy input - Grid based screen - Action/options panel to have many CTA’s (what is the priority) - Hit allocate > allocate to a bucket and into a store? - Excel access - Approval process > similar to price change console
Context - Size breakdown for applicable stores
Allocate By Style Option
Visuals/Function - Cannot pivot table on this screen but this does exist - Export to Excel; reliance on this - Analysis dashboard
Lucie’s Presentation
Visuals/Function
- Lookup function to select products by specific criteria - Filtering/Selection options depending on specifics“Weeks of Supply” > gives priority to stores with products running low “Packs” > Handle multi-sku packs? - Purchasing & Allocations; didn’t work as a package prod
Purchase Order in Warehouse
Context
- Printing a label vs. piece of paper - Scan carton > pack goods in carton > print off label (with store & list of contents) > ticketed/label printed > carton seal - PO has assorted SKUs > Divide by Style > Comm back to buyer > enter into PO and receive SKUs - Ticket printing: by receiving memo, ad hoc print for 2 SKUs, by carton - Tracking for vendor compliance (we don’t have)
Warehouse Delivery Maintenance - Multiple message popup describing the error messages on the screen Warehouse Production Summary - SSRS reports within a window that looks like a doc editor window - The screen has a document editor for the report with action buttons on top - Grid that has varied readonly information from data to yes or no - Instructional info band at the top of the screen - Toggle up and down numbers for the input in the description - pinning items to the top of the grid header to make sure columns appear first in view Context - Handhelds suggest, something and someone else pulls it into a database - SSRS for reporting
Feb 3
Allocations grid - refer to Lucie’s documentation https://mi9retail.atlassian.net/wiki/x/qQCAAw PROCESS > go through doc, compare to current Merchant, document functionality gaps and identify visual design patterns for the future HTML5 screen
Notes (added or kept functionality): - Store ineligibility linked to Allocation process (aka it will not be allocated to the store if it’s part of the store ineligible list) - Any store that was not allocated a product because it was not eligible will be highlighted in the Allocation Review screen > visual indicator needed on Review Screen + option to override - Allocation Store Grading screen merged into 1 screen (instead of having the user navigate thru 3 different screens to create/view store grading) - Standardize algorithm screens look and feel -- There are inputs on screens (think: bulk edit) and also grids (think: costs & discounts + Like Item Allocation Rules) - Multi-tabs for ribbon bar/action buttons - (i.e. ‘home’ tab = buttons that affect file + view of screen & ‘allocation method & settings’ tab = specific algorithm applied to allocation grid) - History basis is the side navigation panel tree that allows them to jump from screen to screen - A new product navigation tree pane will be added to the Review screen where the user will be able to easily view all products affected by a store that was constrained - For web, can the page specifically have the system setting accessible on the page?
Questions: - Envision keeping all the screens? - What is the typical workflow for a user between the Allocation screens? (i.e. PO > Allocation Worklist > Allocate By Style option?) Can we identify a hierarchy of use for screens? - What is the typical flow
Feb 16
Worklist
-
Multiple select enhancement (drag)
- User works on 1 PO- When you select from worklist it takes you to another screen >
By default it includes the users’ default stores
- User just wants to see the selected stores rather than the whole store list (is this from the selector?)
* Products included > store selection > then allocation algorithm
Allocation Methods - Understand the weight of each intelligence depending on user Grade = classification of stores (i.e. A, B, C, best and worst stores) *After you click on Allocate, the screen that appears when you click allocate + the rules popup comes up together
Store grading
- Avoid all the popups to get to certain information (from multiple screens to .. feedback panels) - Enhance so that user understands they have multiple classes to go through (not as intuitive) - This is per allocation session - Also used in replenishment
Review screen
- User wants to see sizes going across grid
- Can manually override the system’s algorithm in grid cell
- Warning shows user what else they need to allocate
- Apportion method > algorithm applied by rank of store grade, takes from lowest store and allocates one by one to the better graded stores
- Needs a navigation panel to view different styles & an alert that shows what needs attention for style/color
Rules
- (Constraints) - Controls amount of units per store; is this a filter? a separate option?
Sales Profile
- Based on the history of sales of ‘x’ store so that the algorithm can appropriately allocate sizes to the ‘profile’ of ‘x’ store
Sibling styles
- Used for replenishment, unknown for allocations - Borrowing the history of the sister style
Allocation Console
- Approval and authorization management of allocation worklists - Enhancing for unauthorizing
Qs - Would manual be the default for the user? They plug-in without any intelligence behind the grid
- Would user want to do multiple allocation methods in 1 session?
Misc N
- What is this similar to in terms of pattern/flow
- Standardize the store and product selection - Show the UI without all the obsolete options & screens
- User specific needs; they may or may not want to see certain allocation methods
= User refreshes and deletes filters
- Purchase Order Allocation option based on system setting - Buyer & allocator may be same person (from PO, bring them to “Allocation by Options” screen via link, skip through the allocation worklist) --> Get rid of ‘allocate all’ button - Hierarchy of information columns - User has big ass screens, multiple, always refreshing, one screen as worklist to compare & contrast - Allocate for new styles (vs. replenishment, where they always have stock, consistent replenishment) or have shorter shelf life/trendy items
Research
Competitors - ANTUSA
- Story boarding and card sorting to make sense of features & hierarchy - How to do the wizard pattern as well as navigation pane + search (re-imagine for the web) - 3 navigation panel - More research in “WIP > Allocations > Research”. PPT document