Retail Tactical Planning: An Aligned Process?

This paper addresses tactical planning in retailing through a case study approach in one grocery retailing company. The issues are how tactical planning is conducted and how the different plans are connected. The study complements earlier retail planning studies by showing the sequence of planning phases and by studying the fragmented plans as a process. The master category planning is important and sets borders for the other planning phases. This stabilizes overall planning. However, the retailer loses responsiveness to demand. The study proposes better integration among planning phases.