Partner collaboration, categories

Step 2 - Create Joint Business Plan. In this step of the CPFR process, the entities (suppliers and buyers) exchange information about their corporate strategies and business plans in order to collaborate on developing a joint business plan. The partners first create a partnership strategy, and then, define category roles, objectives, and tactics. The item management profiles (e.g., order minimums and multiples, lead times, order intervals) for items to be collaborated on are established. 

Fashion apparel and other seasonal goods follow a seasonal pattern of danand. Thus, collaborative planning in these categories has a horizon of a single season and is performed at seasonal intervals. Given the seasonal nature, forecasts rely less on historical data and more on collaborative interpretation of industry trends, macroeconomic factors, and customer tastes. In this form of collaboration, the trading partners develop an assortment plan jointly. The output is a planned purchase order at the style/color/size level. The planned order is shared electronically in advance... 

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