Assortment Planning Process: How to Build Collections
Assortment Planning Process: How to Build Collections
Oct 28, 2025
The pace of fashion never slows. Each season introduces new styles, shifting demand, and changing customer behavior. Without a clear plan, collections can easily miss the mark or lead to excess stock.
Assortment planning brings structure to that constant movement. It helps fashion brands understand demand, balance creative ideas with proven performers, and release each product at the right time.
With the right process, every collection feels deliberate, cohesive, and aligned with what customers want.
In this guide, you’ll learn how the assortment planning process works, why it matters for fashion brands today, and how connected tools help teams make faster, more confident decisions each season.
What Is Assortment Planning?
Assortment planning is how fashion brands decide which product offerings to release each season and where to sell them. It involves reviewing sales history, studying market trends, and shaping collections that balance creativity and demand.
A strong assortment strategy helps teams plan which styles to introduce, how many to produce, and when to launch them across stores or online channels. Each decision supports larger goals like meeting financial targets, improving inventory efficiency, and keeping customers engaged.
Assortment planners work closely with design, merchandising, and sourcing teams to link creative direction with real data. They review customer preferences, store inventory, and consumer demand to decide what belongs in the collection and what doesn’t.
When done right, effective assortment planning keeps the supply chain aligned, prevents stockouts, and supports smoother retail operations.
It helps brands stay responsive to diverse customer needs, following proven assortment planning examples that balance creativity with strategy.
Why Is Assortment Planning Important?
Knowing what customers want shapes every successful collection. Brands that follow demand early can plan assortments that attract shoppers and perform well across channels.
Customer demand changes quickly. Economic shifts and seasonal trends often influence what people buy. Without clear sales data, even small mistakes can affect margins and long-term performance.
Poor planning often leads to lower sales, excess inventory, markdown losses, and weak responses to changing consumer trends.
Strong retail assortment planning helps teams act before problems grow and better meet customer demand. With access to accurate data, planners can adjust product mix, pricing, and timing to keep assortments balanced.
A clear assortment plan, supported by assortment planning software, also helps manage multiple channels and store layouts. Teams can see which products drive results, refine their strategy, and maintain focus on both evergreen products and new designs that reflect emerging trends.
Fashion brands that plan thoughtfully achieve a successful assortment plan, avoid overproduction, protect profit margins, and maintain consistency across regions and channels.
What Does Assortment Planning Include?
The assortment planning process helps fashion teams decide what products to develop, how many to produce, and where each item fits best. It combines data and creative direction to build collections that feel cohesive and perform well across every channel.
A retail assortment plan often starts with merchandise financial planning, sales analysis, and trend review.
Teams then use this insight to shape assortments that align with market timing and customer demographics. Seasonality, pricing, and promotions also influence how assortments take shape each season.
Assortment planning involves:
Balancing seasonal, carryover, and core products
Setting up placeholders and new items within product lifecycle management (PLM) for visibility
Aligning size and color distribution with customer expectations
Applying store clustering to tailor products by region or audience
Reviewing visual plans to confirm balance across categories
Matching assortments with financial targets and production capacity
Different assortment planning strategies help brands adapt to store space, channel type, or business model to maximize sales potential. A focused plan improves visibility, minimizes excess inventory, and helps improve customer satisfaction by delivering what shoppers actually want.
The Assortment Planning Process: A Step-by-Step Guide
A clear assortment planning process helps fashion teams stay organized from concept to launch. Each stage builds on the last, guiding teams through data analysis, planning, and execution to create collections that meet both creative and commercial goals.
1. Market and Trend Analysis
Every plan starts with insight. Teams study historical sales data, gather customer feedback, create a fashion mood board, and analyze market trends alongside seasonal items to identify what customers want next.
These insights help forecast future demand and align with diverse customer needs.
2. Strategy and Budget Definition
Once the data is clear, brands set financial targets and category goals. They decide how much to invest in each product group and align plans with broader business objectives.
This step keeps inventory management balanced and prevents overspending.
3. Product Selection and Line Planning
Teams create the product mix within PLM, organizing styles, colors, and price points while staying aligned with the brand strategy.
Visual planning tools make assortment planning easier by showing how collections fit together.
4. Segmentation and Localization
Collections rarely fit every customer the same way. Planners use store clustering to adjust assortments for regions, online stores, or audience segments.
They consider customer demographics, local events, and climate differences to make assortments relevant to each market.
5. Visual Line Review
The next step focuses on presentation. Teams review digital line plans to confirm color, size, and category balance.
Visual checks help spot overlaps, fill product gaps, and confirm that the assortment planning fits both creative direction and customer expectations.
6. Finalization and Go-to-Market
The last step locks the plan in place. Teams finalize quantities, confirm production details, and align with sourcing through centralized data management software that keeps everything connected.
This step helps every product launch on time, match demand, and support sell-through goals across all channels.
Assortment Planning Optimization Tips
Improving your assortment planning process means learning from each season and adapting quickly to change. With fashion technology and the right structure, teams can reduce waste, react to sales trends, and plan assortments that perform better over time.
Simple ways to optimize assortment planning:
Keep data connected - Use modern assortment planning tools to organize product details in one place. Shared access helps teams make faster and more informed decisions.
Track what works - Reviewing performance highlights strong sellers and weak spots. It helps manage inventory costs and keep assortments balanced.
Listen to your audience - Use customer feedback to understand what drives interest. It ensures products match real expectations.
Use analytics wisely - Advanced analytics and machine learning can forecast future demand more accurately, reducing overproduction and missed sales.
Collaborate often - Keep design, merchandising, and sourcing aligned through one system. Real-time visibility builds stronger teamwork and faster adjustments.
Assortment optimization helps brands stay clear and confident. When data, collaboration, and insight work together, every decision supports stronger collections.
After refining the process, the next step is understanding the core goals behind effective assortment optimization.
Assortment Optimization Primary Goals
Assortment optimization helps fashion brands refine their product mix each season so every piece contributes to stronger results. The goal isn’t to have more products; it’s to have the right ones in the right places and at the right time.
A thoughtful optimization process supports both creative direction and commercial success. When teams review sales data, inventory turnover, and customer insights, they can shape assortments that align with what shoppers want while improving overall business performance.
The key goals of assortment optimization include:
Responding to customer needs - Understand regional preferences and adjust assortments to fit each retail store or market. Tailoring collections to local demand helps increase sales and maintain stronger customer relationships.
Adapting to seasonal changes - Plan assortments that match the rhythm of each season. Aligning products with weather patterns and trend cycles keeps collections relevant and encourages repeat purchases.
Maximizing product relationships - Group complementary items to inspire add-on purchases and enhance the shopping experience. Cross-merchandising opportunities help fashion brands maximize sales across both in-store and online channels.
Reaching these goals is easier when every team works within the same system. Platforms like Onbrand PLM bring design, merchandising, and sourcing together so everyone stays aligned.
How Onbrand PLM Simplifies the Assortment Planning Process
Fashion teams need more than spreadsheets to manage complex collections. Onbrand PLM gives them one place to plan, visualize, and deliver assortments without the delays or confusion that come with outdated systems.
It connects design, merchandising, and sourcing in real time, so every decision feels organized, transparent, and on track.
With Onbrand PLM, brands can plan smarter assortments faster. Teams can view the entire collection at a glance, balance colors and materials, and make quick adjustments before production begins.
Every update is live, which means fewer mistakes, fewer emails, and more confident decisions.
While Onbrand PLM keeps every decision organized and on track, great assortments start long before planning begins. That’s where Onbrand AI Design comes in.
It’s an intelligent, creative workspace that helps teams explore ideas, spot trends, and shape concepts before they move into development.
Teams can use Onbrand to combine AI design and PLM to analyze trends, explore color palettes, and visualize new concepts earlier in the planning stage. This helps them make creative decisions with confidence before products reach PLM.
Trusted across the fashion industry by brands like Bandier, Evelyn & Bobbie, and Gold Hinge, Onbrand replaces cluttered workflows with a single, intuitive platform built for modern fashion.
Key Features
Centralized workspace - All styles, colorways, and categories organized in one shared view.
Visual planning boards - Review assortments visually and spot gaps before production.
Live tech packs - Update details instantly without version issues or email threads.
Configurable structure - Plan collections by delivery, season, or theme based on your workflow.
Built-in collaboration - Designers, developers, and vendors work together in real time.
Integrated project management - Track approvals, samples, and timelines without extra tools.
Fast onboarding - Teams are fully set up in under four weeks, not months like legacy PLMs.
With Onbrand PLM, teams move from scattered tools to clear visibility across sourcing, sustainability, and compliance workflows. The platform helps optimize inventory, reduce waste, and improve overall business performance across every retail season.
Brands using Onbrand report up to 55% faster tech pack creation and stronger team collaboration.
Create Confidently With Onbrand PLM!
Assortment planning keeps every collection focused, balanced, and aligned with customer needs. When teams connect data with creative direction, they can make faster, smarter choices that bring clarity to the entire product lifecycle.
With Onbrand PLM, the leading PLM for fashion, fashion brands gain the structure and visibility they need to plan assortments that satisfy customers.
The platform replaces scattered tools with one intuitive system where design, merchandising, and production stay perfectly in sync.
Ready to plan your new assortment plan with more confidence? Book a demo and see how Onbrand PLM helps teams plan, visualize, and deliver assortments that make every season stronger.
FAQs About Assortment Planning Process
What are the five steps of preparing an assortment plan?
The five main steps in the assortment planning process are market analysis, strategy definition, product selection, localization, and go-to-market. Each step helps brands align collections with customer demand and increase sales volume across every retail store and channel.
What is the assortment planning process?
The assortment planning process helps fashion teams decide what to sell, where, and when. In assortment planning in retail, brands combine data and collaboration to match creative ideas with demand, helping collections reach the right customers at the right time.
What are the seven steps in the strategic retail planning process?
The seven steps include research, setting goals, defining assortment strategies, product mix planning, budget allocation, execution, and performance review. These steps help fashion retailers organize assortments that meet market demand while using shelf space effectively.
What is an example of an assortment plan?
An assortment plan example could be a brand adjusting its product mix across specialty stores and convenience stores based on customer preferences.
Seasonal products are placed where they fit best, helping brands reach target audiences and maximize sales volume across all channels.
The pace of fashion never slows. Each season introduces new styles, shifting demand, and changing customer behavior. Without a clear plan, collections can easily miss the mark or lead to excess stock.
Assortment planning brings structure to that constant movement. It helps fashion brands understand demand, balance creative ideas with proven performers, and release each product at the right time.
With the right process, every collection feels deliberate, cohesive, and aligned with what customers want.
In this guide, you’ll learn how the assortment planning process works, why it matters for fashion brands today, and how connected tools help teams make faster, more confident decisions each season.
What Is Assortment Planning?
Assortment planning is how fashion brands decide which product offerings to release each season and where to sell them. It involves reviewing sales history, studying market trends, and shaping collections that balance creativity and demand.
A strong assortment strategy helps teams plan which styles to introduce, how many to produce, and when to launch them across stores or online channels. Each decision supports larger goals like meeting financial targets, improving inventory efficiency, and keeping customers engaged.
Assortment planners work closely with design, merchandising, and sourcing teams to link creative direction with real data. They review customer preferences, store inventory, and consumer demand to decide what belongs in the collection and what doesn’t.
When done right, effective assortment planning keeps the supply chain aligned, prevents stockouts, and supports smoother retail operations.
It helps brands stay responsive to diverse customer needs, following proven assortment planning examples that balance creativity with strategy.
Why Is Assortment Planning Important?
Knowing what customers want shapes every successful collection. Brands that follow demand early can plan assortments that attract shoppers and perform well across channels.
Customer demand changes quickly. Economic shifts and seasonal trends often influence what people buy. Without clear sales data, even small mistakes can affect margins and long-term performance.
Poor planning often leads to lower sales, excess inventory, markdown losses, and weak responses to changing consumer trends.
Strong retail assortment planning helps teams act before problems grow and better meet customer demand. With access to accurate data, planners can adjust product mix, pricing, and timing to keep assortments balanced.
A clear assortment plan, supported by assortment planning software, also helps manage multiple channels and store layouts. Teams can see which products drive results, refine their strategy, and maintain focus on both evergreen products and new designs that reflect emerging trends.
Fashion brands that plan thoughtfully achieve a successful assortment plan, avoid overproduction, protect profit margins, and maintain consistency across regions and channels.
What Does Assortment Planning Include?
The assortment planning process helps fashion teams decide what products to develop, how many to produce, and where each item fits best. It combines data and creative direction to build collections that feel cohesive and perform well across every channel.
A retail assortment plan often starts with merchandise financial planning, sales analysis, and trend review.
Teams then use this insight to shape assortments that align with market timing and customer demographics. Seasonality, pricing, and promotions also influence how assortments take shape each season.
Assortment planning involves:
Balancing seasonal, carryover, and core products
Setting up placeholders and new items within product lifecycle management (PLM) for visibility
Aligning size and color distribution with customer expectations
Applying store clustering to tailor products by region or audience
Reviewing visual plans to confirm balance across categories
Matching assortments with financial targets and production capacity
Different assortment planning strategies help brands adapt to store space, channel type, or business model to maximize sales potential. A focused plan improves visibility, minimizes excess inventory, and helps improve customer satisfaction by delivering what shoppers actually want.
The Assortment Planning Process: A Step-by-Step Guide
A clear assortment planning process helps fashion teams stay organized from concept to launch. Each stage builds on the last, guiding teams through data analysis, planning, and execution to create collections that meet both creative and commercial goals.
1. Market and Trend Analysis
Every plan starts with insight. Teams study historical sales data, gather customer feedback, create a fashion mood board, and analyze market trends alongside seasonal items to identify what customers want next.
These insights help forecast future demand and align with diverse customer needs.
2. Strategy and Budget Definition
Once the data is clear, brands set financial targets and category goals. They decide how much to invest in each product group and align plans with broader business objectives.
This step keeps inventory management balanced and prevents overspending.
3. Product Selection and Line Planning
Teams create the product mix within PLM, organizing styles, colors, and price points while staying aligned with the brand strategy.
Visual planning tools make assortment planning easier by showing how collections fit together.
4. Segmentation and Localization
Collections rarely fit every customer the same way. Planners use store clustering to adjust assortments for regions, online stores, or audience segments.
They consider customer demographics, local events, and climate differences to make assortments relevant to each market.
5. Visual Line Review
The next step focuses on presentation. Teams review digital line plans to confirm color, size, and category balance.
Visual checks help spot overlaps, fill product gaps, and confirm that the assortment planning fits both creative direction and customer expectations.
6. Finalization and Go-to-Market
The last step locks the plan in place. Teams finalize quantities, confirm production details, and align with sourcing through centralized data management software that keeps everything connected.
This step helps every product launch on time, match demand, and support sell-through goals across all channels.
Assortment Planning Optimization Tips
Improving your assortment planning process means learning from each season and adapting quickly to change. With fashion technology and the right structure, teams can reduce waste, react to sales trends, and plan assortments that perform better over time.
Simple ways to optimize assortment planning:
Keep data connected - Use modern assortment planning tools to organize product details in one place. Shared access helps teams make faster and more informed decisions.
Track what works - Reviewing performance highlights strong sellers and weak spots. It helps manage inventory costs and keep assortments balanced.
Listen to your audience - Use customer feedback to understand what drives interest. It ensures products match real expectations.
Use analytics wisely - Advanced analytics and machine learning can forecast future demand more accurately, reducing overproduction and missed sales.
Collaborate often - Keep design, merchandising, and sourcing aligned through one system. Real-time visibility builds stronger teamwork and faster adjustments.
Assortment optimization helps brands stay clear and confident. When data, collaboration, and insight work together, every decision supports stronger collections.
After refining the process, the next step is understanding the core goals behind effective assortment optimization.
Assortment Optimization Primary Goals
Assortment optimization helps fashion brands refine their product mix each season so every piece contributes to stronger results. The goal isn’t to have more products; it’s to have the right ones in the right places and at the right time.
A thoughtful optimization process supports both creative direction and commercial success. When teams review sales data, inventory turnover, and customer insights, they can shape assortments that align with what shoppers want while improving overall business performance.
The key goals of assortment optimization include:
Responding to customer needs - Understand regional preferences and adjust assortments to fit each retail store or market. Tailoring collections to local demand helps increase sales and maintain stronger customer relationships.
Adapting to seasonal changes - Plan assortments that match the rhythm of each season. Aligning products with weather patterns and trend cycles keeps collections relevant and encourages repeat purchases.
Maximizing product relationships - Group complementary items to inspire add-on purchases and enhance the shopping experience. Cross-merchandising opportunities help fashion brands maximize sales across both in-store and online channels.
Reaching these goals is easier when every team works within the same system. Platforms like Onbrand PLM bring design, merchandising, and sourcing together so everyone stays aligned.
How Onbrand PLM Simplifies the Assortment Planning Process
Fashion teams need more than spreadsheets to manage complex collections. Onbrand PLM gives them one place to plan, visualize, and deliver assortments without the delays or confusion that come with outdated systems.
It connects design, merchandising, and sourcing in real time, so every decision feels organized, transparent, and on track.
With Onbrand PLM, brands can plan smarter assortments faster. Teams can view the entire collection at a glance, balance colors and materials, and make quick adjustments before production begins.
Every update is live, which means fewer mistakes, fewer emails, and more confident decisions.
While Onbrand PLM keeps every decision organized and on track, great assortments start long before planning begins. That’s where Onbrand AI Design comes in.
It’s an intelligent, creative workspace that helps teams explore ideas, spot trends, and shape concepts before they move into development.
Teams can use Onbrand to combine AI design and PLM to analyze trends, explore color palettes, and visualize new concepts earlier in the planning stage. This helps them make creative decisions with confidence before products reach PLM.
Trusted across the fashion industry by brands like Bandier, Evelyn & Bobbie, and Gold Hinge, Onbrand replaces cluttered workflows with a single, intuitive platform built for modern fashion.
Key Features
Centralized workspace - All styles, colorways, and categories organized in one shared view.
Visual planning boards - Review assortments visually and spot gaps before production.
Live tech packs - Update details instantly without version issues or email threads.
Configurable structure - Plan collections by delivery, season, or theme based on your workflow.
Built-in collaboration - Designers, developers, and vendors work together in real time.
Integrated project management - Track approvals, samples, and timelines without extra tools.
Fast onboarding - Teams are fully set up in under four weeks, not months like legacy PLMs.
With Onbrand PLM, teams move from scattered tools to clear visibility across sourcing, sustainability, and compliance workflows. The platform helps optimize inventory, reduce waste, and improve overall business performance across every retail season.
Brands using Onbrand report up to 55% faster tech pack creation and stronger team collaboration.
Create Confidently With Onbrand PLM!
Assortment planning keeps every collection focused, balanced, and aligned with customer needs. When teams connect data with creative direction, they can make faster, smarter choices that bring clarity to the entire product lifecycle.
With Onbrand PLM, the leading PLM for fashion, fashion brands gain the structure and visibility they need to plan assortments that satisfy customers.
The platform replaces scattered tools with one intuitive system where design, merchandising, and production stay perfectly in sync.
Ready to plan your new assortment plan with more confidence? Book a demo and see how Onbrand PLM helps teams plan, visualize, and deliver assortments that make every season stronger.
FAQs About Assortment Planning Process
What are the five steps of preparing an assortment plan?
The five main steps in the assortment planning process are market analysis, strategy definition, product selection, localization, and go-to-market. Each step helps brands align collections with customer demand and increase sales volume across every retail store and channel.
What is the assortment planning process?
The assortment planning process helps fashion teams decide what to sell, where, and when. In assortment planning in retail, brands combine data and collaboration to match creative ideas with demand, helping collections reach the right customers at the right time.
What are the seven steps in the strategic retail planning process?
The seven steps include research, setting goals, defining assortment strategies, product mix planning, budget allocation, execution, and performance review. These steps help fashion retailers organize assortments that meet market demand while using shelf space effectively.
What is an example of an assortment plan?
An assortment plan example could be a brand adjusting its product mix across specialty stores and convenience stores based on customer preferences.
Seasonal products are placed where they fit best, helping brands reach target audiences and maximize sales volume across all channels.
Discover how Onbrand PLM can streamline your product development!
Discover how Onbrand PLM can streamline your product development!
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© 2024 Onbrand. All rights reserved.
