Inventory demand planning and markdowns for fashion brands: reorder by size, discount by market
Two questions every fashion brand asks weekly — what do we reorder, and what do we mark down — answered per size and per market from the same sales data.
· 8 min read
In short: The KNKTD OS planning module answers the two questions a fashion brand asks every week. Inventory demand forecasts the stockout date of every size from its real sales velocity, suggests reorders that respect supplier minimums and lead times, and shows the cash trapped in stock that will not sell through. The markdown planner schedules discounts per market, with a code and an end date each, and pushes them to Shopify.
A fashion brand's inventory is always wrong in two directions at once. Some sizes of some styles will run out before the next delivery could land. Other styles have enough stock to last a year at their current rate, and the cash that bought them is not coming back at full price.
Demand planning tools built for consumables treat both as a reorder-point problem. Fashion is not that: the unit of sale is the size, the unit of purchase is the style, the supply is a run from a factory with a minimum, and the fix for slow stock is a markdown, not a smaller order. The planning module in KNKTD OS is built around those four facts.
Demand planning by size, not by style
The core measurement is sales velocity: units per day, counted only over the days the variant was actually in stock. A size that sold out in week two and then sold nothing for six weeks was not slow; it was absent. Measuring velocity while in stock is what makes the forecast honest.
From velocity and available stock comes a stockout date per size, refreshed nightly. Each variant is then placed in one of four states:
| State | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Reorder now | Stockout lands inside the supplier's lead time — an order today still arrives late |
| Order soon | Stockout lands shortly after the lead time — order within the planning window |
| Covered | Stock outlasts the horizon at current velocity |
| Below minimum | Stock is under the floor you set for the style, regardless of velocity |
Because the state is per size, a style that looks healthy in total can show two sizes in "reorder now". That is the normal case in apparel, and the case a style-level forecast hides.
Reorder suggestions that a supplier will accept
A suggestion is not a raw number. It is rounded up to the supplier's order minimum and the style's order floor, and split across sizes by the style's size curve — learned from sales, or taken from the size chart when there is not enough history. The result is an order the supplier can actually run and that restocks the sizes that sell, not the sizes that were left.
One step turns the suggestion into a draft purchase order in the warehouse module, to the style's supplier, pre-filled and ready to issue.
Trapped cash
The other direction has its own tab. Trapped cash is the cost of stock that will not sell through within the horizon at its current velocity — the money already spent that is sitting on a shelf. It is listed per style, largest first, so the conversation moves from "we have too much stock" to "these six styles hold most of it".
The fix is usually a markdown, which is why the planner sits in the same module.
Markdown planning per market
The markdown planner schedules a discount on a style or a set of styles, per market. A markdown in Canada is not a markdown in the United Kingdom unless you say so; each market gets its own percentage, its own discount code, and its own start and end dates.
The end is scheduled, not remembered. A sale that was meant to last two weeks ends itself in two weeks, in every market, without a reminder in someone's calendar. Codes and prices are pushed to Shopify, and a dive view shows what each markdown did to velocity and margin once it ran.
Because markdowns and reorders read the same sales data, a style that is marked down does not also get a reorder suggestion based on its discounted velocity — the two decisions are made with the same facts in view.
Why the two belong together
Reordering and marking down are the same decision from opposite ends: how much of this style, at what price, will sell in the window we care about? A brand that plans them in different tools answers the question twice with different numbers. A brand that plans them from one velocity, one stock position and one calendar answers it once.
That is the reason the planning module exists as a module rather than as two reports.
The reports behind the plan
The planning module reads the same data the analytics module reports on. Sales Velocity shows the units-per-day-in-stock measure by style and size. Product Demand shows how demand has moved against a baseline. Inventory Valuation puts a cost on what is sitting in each location. None of the three requires a spreadsheet to reconcile with the plan, because there is no second copy of the numbers.
Ask the assistant
KNKTD OS connects to Claude and ChatGPT as a workspace assistant. "Which sizes of the linen shirt stock out before the next delivery?" and "what is trapped in outerwear?" are answered from the same demand engine the planning screens use, and every answer respects the asking user's role. The planning module makes the plan; the assistant explains it.
Pricing
Every plan includes the planning module. Plans start at $100 USD per month for two team members, with a 14-day free trial. See current pricing.
Bottom line
Fashion demand planning is a per-size, per-market problem with a supplier minimum attached. KNKTD OS forecasts the stockout of each size from its real velocity, suggests an order the supplier will accept, shows where cash is trapped, and schedules the markdown that frees it — from one set of sales data, in one module.
Frequently asked questions
How does KNKTD OS forecast a stockout?
It measures each variant’s sales velocity — units per day over the days it was actually in stock — and divides current available stock by it. The stockout date is refreshed nightly per size, so a size that is running out inside a supplier’s lead time is flagged before the style as a whole looks low.
Do reorder suggestions respect supplier minimums?
Yes. A suggestion is rounded up to the supplier’s order minimum and the style’s order floor, split across sizes by the style’s size curve, and can be turned into a draft purchase order in one step.
Can I schedule a markdown for one market only?
Yes. The markdown planner sets a discount per market with its own code and its own start and end dates. The end is scheduled, so a sale ends itself without a reminder.
What is trapped cash?
The cost of stock that will not sell through within a chosen horizon at its current velocity. The planning module lists it per style so a markdown or a smaller reorder can free it.