A pre-order is a promise
And a forecast. Getting it wrong costs either the sale or the cash.
PREORDERS VS STOCK5 promised / 3 in
Customer promises outrun the quantity the supplier has confirmed.
Toys, hobby & collectables
Half the range is bought before it exists.
Pre-orders create commitments before delivery dates or demand are certain, while collectable lines follow different replenishment rules.
FIELD READ / 01
What this trade does to a range.
Dates move, plans don't
Suppliers shift releases late, sometimes with the date only partly known.
RELEASE: SLIPPED4 orders placed
The launch moves while orders, campaigns and expectations stay put.
Collected, not consumed
Reordering collectables on velocity is the wrong decision, however good sales look.
COLLECTOR EDITIONreorder: locked
Scarcity is part of the product, so the normal reorder rule cannot apply.
Demand is deep but narrow
An average across the range hides micro-categories that trade nothing alike.
10 MICRO-CATEGORIES3 demand shapes
Small fandoms disappear when they are averaged into one toy department.
TWELFTH MOVES / 02
Set up for how toys, hobby & collectables actually trades.
Commitments stay in view
What is promised to customers sits against what is confirmed to arrive.
OutputA live commitment view
Moving dates, flagged
Changes surface against orders already placed, so plans get corrected in time.
OutputDate-change alerts
Different rules per line
Lines that should never auto-reorder are monitored rather than automatically reordered.
OutputPer-line handling rules
NEXT MOVE
See twelfth on toys, hobby & collectables ranges.
A pilot is configured around your categories and your team. We learn the work, connect the data, then get out of the way.