Competition, retailers and investments all add up to the already insurmountable pressure of growing your margin. As you adopt an optimization planning strategy, you are accepting the fact that the SALY (Same As Last Year) plan doesn’t work anymore. This truth has become more and more apparent during the past decade and a half. With omnichannel planning,  you cannot afford to cut the budget so the time is now to be more strategic and optimization is integral to this. 

Understanding what you want to do with optimization is the first step. Knowing what you want to invest in and whether you want to improve trade efficiency is key. Ultimately, gaining incremental customers helps close the gap to overall sales objectives both online and in-store.