Feature of the Month

March 2003

Evaluation Reports

Evaluation is a powerful tool for planning, developing and managing inventory.  The expansion, contraction, elimination and modification of inventory items are often influenced by evaluation findings.  Retail Pro’s reporting capabilities provide an objective means of documenting success, identifying problem areas and guiding refinements.  Understanding the report types, report vocabulary and the basic building blocks of reports such as layout, sort and totals allows you to develop systematic assessment for whether and to what extent retail decisions are implemented as intended and whether they achieve desirable results.

Basic Building Blocks:

Layout

Sort: Level of Detail reporting on and Sort Order.

Layout: The Column Headers of the Report: Descriptive and Value components (what prints).

Totals: Sub-total, Run-total, and Grand Total.

Rank: Ranks (sorts) items by a Value component (Ext Price Dollars).

Appearance: Font and Pitch Size of Heading, Detail and Totals.

Options

Name of the Report

Access Level:  Assign an Access Level to the report.

Subtitle: an additional comment about the report that prints at the top left corner

Date Range: Defines the dates to be included in the report (Journal and Summary only).

Filter:  Assign a default filter to the report.

Orientation: Set the report to default to Portrait or Landscape.

Non-repeat Mode: Stops like values from repeating down the report (do not when exporting to Excel).

Line Feed after data block: Places a line feed after each piece of data defined by the Sort (level of detail).

Record Limit: defines the limit for ranking reports (best sellers).

Record Types Allowed: Defines the types of transactions allowed (Sales, Returns, etc…).

Cancelled/Reversed Receipts: Allows Normal and or Canceled/Reversed transactions.

Use Net Sales: Use net values vs gross values.

(There are other options available in other report modules)

Filter

Build New Filters:

Select New and the Filter type

Select the elements to be included in the filter by moving them above the line

Select Criteria on the side bar menu and define any permanent criteria.

Assign the filter to a report in the report options area in edit mode.

Data Types:

Define up to 16 different data types per report from any of the 20 different types available.

Select Extended, Average, Percent to Total, and Margin values for each data type for the report layout.

Access the Data Type through the Report Options screen in edit mode.

Rules:

Always copy an existing report and edit it to create a new report.

In Version 8, Do not edit Installed Reports (…0001 - …00050) or Filters.

In Version 8, Report Numbers from …00051 through …00060 are programmed reports and can not be copied.

Know your Sort and your Filter criteria before you start building a report

Values:

P$= Unit Price dollars                          Ext P$=Extended Price dollars                            Margin%=Margin Percent 

Orig P$= Original Unit Price               Ext Orig P$=Extended Original Price MUP%=MarkUp Percent

P$T$=Unit Price + Tax dollars            Ext P$T$=Extended Price+Tax                            Coef=Coefficient (cost multiplier)                    

C$=Unit Cost dollars                           Ext C$=Extended Cost dollars                           

M$=Unit Margin  dollars                    Ext M$=Extended Magrin dollars

D$=Unit Discount dollars                   Ext D$=Extended Discount Dollars                                                                                  

T$=Unit Tax Dollars                            Ext T$=Extended Tax Dollars

DCS=Dept/Class/SubClass                D=Dept                  C=Class                 S=Subclass

Penetration Evaluation:

Merchandise Reports contain a powerful series of report values generating % Totals.  The percentages displayed on merchandise reports are relative to the body of information included in the report.  The body of information is determined by the criteria options specified when you run the report.   The following information builds two distinct Penetration Reports.  The below department report includes all departments. The below vendor report includes all vendors.  If you were to run the vendor report, but filter for only one department the end result gives you a breakdown of  % Totals for only the Vendors that contain merchandise in that one specific department.  If your department carries 5 Vendors, the report will show five rows. If your department carries 10 vendors, the report will show 10 rows.  If you need additional information about building reports please refer to your software manuals or call 916.368.1070 to schedule a refresher session with one of our trainers.