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Iris
Which classes in Footwear have plan-health issues this week, and what's the inventory exposure?
Iris · Footwear, this week, plan health
  • 6 classes flagged this week
  • Exposure concentrated in 2 departments

The largest exposure sits in classes carrying both excess inventory and soft sell-through. I'd prioritize those first and check for markdown or exit risk. Want the ranked list?

Show the list, ranked by exposure.
Iris · ranked by exposure
ClassIssuePriority
Outerwear · Class AExcess inventory, soft sell-throughHigh
Outerwear · Class BOTB gap vs. forecastHigh
Footwear · Class CUnspread receiptsMedium

Suggested next steps: review the high-priority classes first, then confirm receipt timing on the rest.

I won't change the plan without your review. Commit or discard each line when you're ready.
PlanSmart™

Meet Iris, Your AI Merchandise Planning Agent

Only With Impact Analytics
Iris works alongside your planners inside PlanSmart, continuously reading the working plan, original plan, forecast, and last year's performance across every level of the merchandise hierarchy. Through autonomous orchestration, Iris explains what's happening, recommends the next best action, and stages every change for review—while operating within the guardrails you define.
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THE AGENT AT WORK

Investigate Every Planning Decision with Iris

Ask Iris about sales, margin, inventory, receipts, or open-to-buy. It investigates every version of the plan, explains what changed, and stages recommended actions for planner review.

Exposure

Exposure Ranked Before This Week's Sign-Off

Iris reads the planning health alerts across every class this week, sizing the inventory exposure and showing where it concentrates, so your planners see which classes carry the risk before approval closes.

‍

  • Flags the classes carrying both excess inventory and soft sell-through.
  • Sizes exposure by class and shows where it concentrates across departments.
  • Returns a ranked worklist your planners commit or discard inside PlanSmart.
Iris
Which classes in Footwear have plan-health issues this week, and what's the inventory exposure?
Iris · Footwear, this week, plan health
  • 6 classes flagged this week
  • Exposure concentrated in 2 departments

The largest exposure sits in classes carrying both excess inventory and soft sell-through. I'd prioritize those first and check for markdown or exit risk. Want the ranked list?

Show the list, ranked by exposure.
Iris · ranked by exposure
ClassIssuePriority
Outerwear · Class AExcess inventory, soft sell-throughHigh
Outerwear · Class BOTB gap vs. forecastHigh
Footwear · Class CUnspread receiptsMedium

Suggested next steps: review the high-priority classes first, then confirm receipt timing on the rest.

I won't change the plan without your review. Commit or discard each line when you're ready.

Root Cause

The Drivers Behind a Margin Move, Ranked and Explained

Iris backs it as a diagnosis your planners can act on rather than a number restated back to them. Iris analyzes markdowns, assortment mix, receipts, and class performance together to identify the root causes of margin changes, not simply report that margins declined.

‍

  • Separates a markdown-and-mix problem from a category-wide one.
  • Names the classes carrying the largest share of the margin gap.
  • Points to the exact PlanSmart sort and filter to open next.
Iris
Why is margin declining in Denim this quarter even though sales are up?
Iris · Denim, margin on the working plan
  • Markdown: Markdown penetration is up vs. plan, concentrated in a few classes
  • Mix: Growth is skewed toward lower-margin subclasses
  • Receipts: Cost per unit is trending up vs. plan
  • Top classes: A small set of classes accounts for most of the margin gap

Conclusion: This looks like a markdown-and-mix issue concentrated in a few classes, not a blanket category problem.

Next in PlanSmart: Sort Denim by margin dollars, filter to the flagged classes, and review markdown and receipt cost trends on those classes.

Scenarios

A Plan Built to Hit Your Target, Staged for Review

Define your sales and margin targets, and Iris builds a recommended financial plan that respects business rules, locked periods, and actual results before staging every change for approval.

‍

  • Builds to the target while respecting your locks and actualized periods.
  • Stages the full plan for review before anything commits.
  • Generates optimistic, base, and conservative scenarios to compare.
Iris
If I want to hit my sales target for Outerwear at a stronger margin rate than currently planned, what would the plan need to look like?
Iris · Outerwear, target-driven plan

I built a distribution across Outerwear's classes that hits your target at the margin rate you specified, honoring your locks and actualized periods.

I can also generate optimistic, base, and conservative scenarios against this target so you can compare risk and upside before you decide.

Here's the staged plan. Review it before anything commits.

Sign-Off

Ready Before This Week's Review

Iris automatically prepares an executive-ready summary of sales, margin, inventory, receipts, and key planning risks, highlighting where leadership should focus before the weekly review.

‍

  • Exec-ready synthesis drawn only from live plan data.
  • Three specific asks for your planners, ready by end of day.
  • The sign-off narrative is drafted for you to edit before it goes out.
Iris
Give me a short plan story I can bring to this week's review: sales, margin, inventory risk, receipts, and where to focus.
Iris · plan snapshot, this season
  • Sales: Company sales are ahead of original plan and last year
  • Margin: Margin rate is soft vs. plan. Markdown and mix pressure in a few categories
  • Inventory: Elevated in select departments; risk skewed to specific classes, not the whole category
  • Receipts: Still committing where sell-through is soft. Worth a closer look
  • Attention: two departments need focus this week
Three asks for planners · end of day
  • Review top-exposure classes with open receipts still on the plan
  • Confirm the classes driving the margin miss vs. plan
  • Check that the forward plan isn't writing sales ahead of recent trend
I've also drafted the sign-off narrative for this review. Ready for you to edit before it goes out.

Exposure Ranked Before This Week's Sign-Off

Iris reads the planning health alerts across every class this week, sizing the inventory exposure and showing where it concentrates, so your planners see which classes carry the risk before approval closes.

‍

  • Flags the classes carrying both excess inventory and soft sell-through.
  • Sizes exposure by class and shows where it concentrates across departments.
  • Returns a ranked worklist your planners commit or discard inside PlanSmart.
Iris
Which classes in Footwear have plan-health issues this week, and what's the inventory exposure?
Iris · Footwear, this week, plan health
  • 6 classes flagged this week
  • Exposure concentrated in 2 departments

The largest exposure sits in classes carrying both excess inventory and soft sell-through. I'd prioritize those first and check for markdown or exit risk. Want the ranked list?

Show the list, ranked by exposure.
Iris · ranked by exposure
ClassIssuePriority
Outerwear · Class AExcess inventory, soft sell-throughHigh
Outerwear · Class BOTB gap vs. forecastHigh
Footwear · Class CUnspread receiptsMedium

Suggested next steps: review the high-priority classes first, then confirm receipt timing on the rest.

I won't change the plan without your review. Commit or discard each line when you're ready.

The Drivers Behind a Margin Move, Ranked and Explained

Iris backs it as a diagnosis your planners can act on rather than a number restated back to them. Iris analyzes markdowns, assortment mix, receipts, and class performance together to identify the root causes of margin changes, not simply report that margins declined.

‍

  • Separates a markdown-and-mix problem from a category-wide one.
  • Names the classes carrying the largest share of the margin gap.
  • Points to the exact PlanSmart sort and filter to open next.
Iris
Why is margin declining in Denim this quarter even though sales are up?
Iris · Denim, margin on the working plan
  • Markdown: Markdown penetration is up vs. plan, concentrated in a few classes
  • Mix: Growth is skewed toward lower-margin subclasses
  • Receipts: Cost per unit is trending up vs. plan
  • Top classes: A small set of classes accounts for most of the margin gap

Conclusion: This looks like a markdown-and-mix issue concentrated in a few classes, not a blanket category problem.

Next in PlanSmart: Sort Denim by margin dollars, filter to the flagged classes, and review markdown and receipt cost trends on those classes.

A Plan Built to Hit Your Target, Staged for Review

Define your sales and margin targets, and Iris builds a recommended financial plan that respects business rules, locked periods, and actual results before staging every change for approval.

‍

  • Builds to the target while respecting your locks and actualized periods.
  • Stages the full plan for review before anything commits.
  • Generates optimistic, base, and conservative scenarios to compare.
Iris
If I want to hit my sales target for Outerwear at a stronger margin rate than currently planned, what would the plan need to look like?
Iris · Outerwear, target-driven plan

I built a distribution across Outerwear's classes that hits your target at the margin rate you specified, honoring your locks and actualized periods.

I can also generate optimistic, base, and conservative scenarios against this target so you can compare risk and upside before you decide.

Here's the staged plan. Review it before anything commits.

Ready Before This Week's Review

Iris automatically prepares an executive-ready summary of sales, margin, inventory, receipts, and key planning risks, highlighting where leadership should focus before the weekly review.

‍

  • Exec-ready synthesis drawn only from live plan data.
  • Three specific asks for your planners, ready by end of day.
  • The sign-off narrative is drafted for you to edit before it goes out.
Iris
Give me a short plan story I can bring to this week's review: sales, margin, inventory risk, receipts, and where to focus.
Iris · plan snapshot, this season
  • Sales: Company sales are ahead of original plan and last year
  • Margin: Margin rate is soft vs. plan. Markdown and mix pressure in a few categories
  • Inventory: Elevated in select departments; risk skewed to specific classes, not the whole category
  • Receipts: Still committing where sell-through is soft. Worth a closer look
  • Attention: two departments need focus this week
Three asks for planners · end of day
  • Review top-exposure classes with open receipts still on the plan
  • Confirm the classes driving the margin miss vs. plan
  • Check that the forward plan isn't writing sales ahead of recent trend
I've also drafted the sign-off narrative for this review. Ready for you to edit before it goes out.
FEATURES

Every Answer, Draft, and Action Stays Under Your Control

Iris covers the full distance between asking about the plan and changing it, and every step of that distance is something you can see, edit, or undo.

Ask in Plain Language, Across Every Plan Version

Ask questions in plain language across any division, department, class, or subclass. Every answer identifies the plan version and reporting period behind it, giving planners complete confidence in every response.

Ranked Drivers Behind Every Number

Iris analyzes sales, receipts, markdowns, inventory, and assortment mix together, ranking the factors driving every KPI so planners understand the "why," not just the number.

Exceptions Surfaced Before Approval

Iris automatically surfaces unspread receipts, open-to-buy gaps, inventory risk, and other planning exceptions before approval, helping planners resolve issues before they impact performance.

Targets Modeled, Changes Staged for Review

Describe the business outcome you want, and Iris builds a recommended plan using autonomous planning logic. Every recommendation is staged as a draft for review before anything changes.

Reach Iris Across Your Agent Stack

Access Iris directly in PlanSmart or extend the same intelligence across Claude and other enterprise applications through MCP.
Get Started

From First Question to Approved Change

Iris answers the same way every time, naming the plan version it read before stating a number, showing the evidence behind it, and staging every change where your planners approve it inside PlanSmart.
01

Investigate

Iris reads every plan version and level, names what it looked at, and surfaces the classes carrying the most exposure before approval closes.
02

Recommend

Each flag arrives with its evidence and a staged draft or ranked worklist, sequenced so the planner agent puts the highest exposure in front of you first.
03

Orchestrate

Your team commits, edits, or discards each line inside PlanSmart, and every change stays logged, reversible, and inside the guardrails you set.
01

Investigate

Iris reads every plan version and level, names what it looked at, and surfaces the classes carrying the most exposure before approval closes.
02

Recommend

Each flag arrives with its evidence and a staged draft or ranked worklist, sequenced so the planner agent puts the highest exposure in front of you first.
03

Orchestrate

Your team commits, edits, or discards each line inside PlanSmart, and every change stays logged, reversible, and inside the guardrails you set.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an AI merchandise planning agent?

An AI merchandise planning agent, like Iris, works inside your planning tool. It reads every plan version, explains what changed, surfaces exceptions, and stages recommended actions for planner review across the merchandise hierarchy.

How does the AI merchandise planning agent work?

Iris reads the working plan, original plan, forecast, and last year across every hierarchy level. It ranks the drivers behind each KPI, flags exceptions before approval, and stages every recommended change as a draft for review.

Does the planning agent change my merchandise plan?

Only within tolerance bands your admins set. Routine, in-tolerance changes run automatically, and each is logged and reversible in one click. Everything outside those bands stays a staged draft until your planners approve it.

How is an AI planning agent different from merchandise planning software?

Planning software stores the plan and waits for input. An AI planning agent investigates it. Iris explains why numbers moved, surfaces exceptions before approval, and builds target-driven plans, all staged for your review.

Autonomous AI Agent Orchestration

Only With Impact Analytics
Rethink how your business makes decisions. Replace disconnected AI with agentic intelligence that moves every function toward the same business outcome. Discover how Impact Analytics helps you lead the shift to a fully orchestrated, autonomous enterprise.
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