Fill Shelf Report

Key Dates & Info

Report Built Daily January 2nd - January 22nd  Based on QOH + QOO + Future Qty
Ordering Deadline January 22nd Entered and submitted on Acenet
Shipping Window February 12th - 28th  
Dating 6-months deferred or 26 equal installments (non-seasonal) Dating terms are dependent on credit status


Fill Shelf Report - Fill your shelves before the season starts!

The Fill Shelf Report helps stores stock up in the preseason when labor is more plentiful and orders intelligently to avoid creating backstock. A critical component of this report is shelf capacities. Knowing precisely what fits on the shelf—and ordering accordingly—eliminates costly backstock and maximizes efficiency. The goal is to place and put away an order in the preseason that:

  • Covers sales for the Mar-June sales period 
  • Fits on your shelves without creating backstock
  • Allows for dating terms

What is the Fill Shelf Report?

Fill Shelf identifies items you sold last year during the four-month period (Mar-Jun) and recommends order quantities up to but not exceeding shelf capacity. This allows you to stock up on SKUs you will sell in the coming months without creating backstock. The benefit is reduced line count during your busy period and a better in-stock position coming into your busy season. This tool utilizes Discovery Assortment Planner, which allows for six-month dating, making the process cash flow positive.

Why is the Fill Shelf Report Important?

  1. Meets Consumer Expectations: Today's consumers expect convenience and immediate availability. A well-stocked shelf ensures that customers can find what they need without delay.
  2. Optimizes Supply Chain Management: By stocking products early, stores can avoid the logistical chaos that often accompanies peak season and helps mitigate the risks of supply chain disruptions.
  3. Reduces Stockouts and Overstocking: Proper preseason planning balances having enough inventory and avoiding excess stock, which can lead to additional labor spent downtocking on a busy day. By understanding exactly how much fits on the shelf, stores can avoid over-ordering.

Challenges and Solutions

While the Fill Shelf strategy has numerous advantages, it is not without challenges:

  • Preseason Planner Overlap: This report should not be confused with Preseason Planner, which will overlap with some SKUs. However, this report filters out these Preseason Planner SKUs by default to prevent double buying. 
  • Missing Shelf Capacities: Your store likely lacks a shelf capacity for each suggested SKU. When a shelf capacity isn't available, Mango uses a conservative global shelf capacity value. However, you can enter your store's shelf capacities for these SKUs, and a new report will be generated the next day! 
  • Cash Flow: Buying inventory during a typically cash-tight period sounds difficult. However, this order is submitted through Discovery Assortment Planner, where six months of dating can be applied. This allows your store to be stocked up and ready for the season, and a substantial amount of this inventory can be sold before the final bill is due!

How to Execute the Fill Shelf Report

  1. Prerequisites (IMPORTANT!):
  • Verify Option ID 104 (Number of Days Before Future PO Quantity Becomes Current) is set to 6. Any value larger than this risks creating out-of-stocks because the Fill Shelf order will block regular replenishment orders. This is a store-specific option ID, so it needs to be checked for each store on the server.
    1. Type OPT into the Eagle launch bar, press Enter
    2. Press ID in the header (Ctrl + I)
    3. Type 104 and click OK
    4. Set OPT ID 104 = 6 (Number of Days Before Future PO Quantity Becomes Current)
    5. Press Change (F5)
    6. If multi-store, change the store in the dropdown and repeat steps 2-5
  • Verify the setting - Days Before a Future Order Quantity Becomes Current - is set to 6. Any value larger than this risks creating out-of-stocks because the Fill Shelf order will block regular replenishment orders.
    1. Click the gear icon in the upper-right
    2. Select Settings & Licenses
    3. Scroll down and find "Days Before a Future Order Quantity Becomes Current"
    4. Set the value to 6
    5. Press the Save icon in the upper-right 

  1. Download the Report:

    1. Look for a link called Fill Shelf Report sent January 2nd in your Newsletter
    2. Click on the Download link inside the email
    3. Open the Excel file, click Enable Editing and Enable Content

  2. Filter and Review Data:

    • Are you a multi-store organization? Consider filtering the report to focus on a particular store or group of stores using the first column, Ace Store Number
    • Consider sorting on Suggested Order Qty and TTM Sales Units for any unusually high numbers
    • Preseason Planner SKUs are filtered out by default. However, if you submitted PSP SKUs by 12/31 or do not participate, you can include these SKUs by selecting Y from column S

  3. Get Shelf Capacities (Optional):

    • Use the Missing Shelf Cap tab to get store-specific shelf capacities
    • Any SKUs given shelf capacities today will get recalculated in tomorrow's report
    • Download the report again tomorrow for an updated order suggestion list

  4. Copy the Data into Acenet:

    1. Once you've filtered or deleted any rows you wish to exclude, press the Build Acenet Data button in the header
    2. A message box will appear prompting if you want to select data for multi-store, Yes or No
      • Determine if you want to enter data into Acenet via Multi-store mode or One store at a time
      • Yes copies Columns A, C, J. No copies C & J.
      • This can take up to 5 minutes to process
      • We build the data in 2500 SKU chunks due to Acenet order-submit limitations
    3. Once the screen is done flashing, it will end on the workbook tab named "2500"
    4. Click the button called Copy Data to Clipboard
    5. Open Acenet and navigate to Discovery Assortment Planner
    6. Under Import Discovery Order, click Start
    7. If you're doing multi-store entry, select the stores with the Multi-Store button
    8. In the basket dropdown, select Other (Merchandise Class)
    9. Right-click inside the first row of the grid and select Paste
    10. Click Validate and Save; this can take multiple minutes to finish
    11. If you have more than 2500 rows, multiple worksheets will generate (5000, 7500, etc.). For each worksheet, repeat steps 4 & 8-10
    12. Navigate to the Shopping Basket and click the Discovery tab
    13. Select the checkbox next to MC and press Checkout in the lower-right
      • If you are still finalizing Preseason Planner, uncheck the category DL LAWN & GARDEN/OUTDOOR LIVING
    14. Above the header, please select a ship date between 2/12 and 2/28. Click Apply to All
      • The items will ship on your next closest truck day to your selected ship date.
    15. Above the header, change the Delivery Date dropdown to Reference ID. Type FillShelf into the field and click Apply to All
    16. Press Confirm Checkout in the lower-right
    17. The order has been created; great work! You can follow the status of the order in Acenet Order Tracking

  5. Prepare for Truck Day:

      1.  

Technical Details

  • The report is built daily (6 am) between January 2nd - 22nd
  • Current QOH, QOO, and Future Order Qty are taken into account
  • Current Shelf Capacities are used - if you enter shelf capacities today, tomorrow's report will utilize those
  • OM < 6, Cost < 35, and not currently managed by EOQ (max stock)
  • Promo sales and spike seasonal demand are suppressed 

Conclusion

The Fill Shelf Report is a surefire way to ensure you are ready for the season with solid inventory levels without creating backstock. Not only will you front-load labor during a typically slow time of the year, but you will also reduce order line count and put-away labor during busy months. Additionally, it gets inventory out of the warehouse and into your store, so if the season hits early, you're ready to go.

  • Column A - Ace Store Number

    Column B - Store: System store ID 

    Column C - SKU: Ace Item Number 

    Column D - Description: Ace catalog description of the item

    Column E - Location: primary location of SKU according to the system 

    Column F - QOH + QOO + FOQ: Quantity on Hand plus Quantity on Order plus Future Order Quantity. What we call a Loaded QOH position. 

    Column G - OP: System Order Point

    Column H - Shelf Cap: The store's entered Shelf Capacity

    Column I - LY 4mo Sales: Last Year 4-month sales window (March - June)

    Column J - Suggested Order Qty: Suggested amount Mango is recommending you order

    Column K - OM: Order Multiple of the SKU 

    Column M - Ext Cost: Suggested Order multiplied by the cost of the item 

    Column N - TTM Sales Units: how many the store has sold in the last rolling year (Twelve Trailing Months)

    Column O - Order Qty Season Coverage: The percentage of the 4-month sales window that is covered by the suggested order amount. 100% means you'll put the stock away and not touch it again until July 

    Column S - Preseason Planner: whether the SKU is also a part of Ace's Preseason Planner program. If you've submitted PSP SKUs by 12/31 or do not participate, then you can include these SKUs.

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