Markdown candidate data type (MKC)

The markdown candidate data type is used to compute inventory performance cost, including estimating the likelihood that an item becomes out-of-stock before its end date.

This data type is important to the stockout approach, as some cost can be factored in, even if discounted (to serve as tie-breaker / achieve early balancing) in advance of a markdown, and for non-replenishable SKUs in determining a stock-out avoidance cost.

This data set includes markdown events at the SKU/node level (including markdown rates), reflects the most up-to-date markdown event data, and should be updated if a SKU is added to markdown list of a node or if a SKU is taken off the markdown list of a node.

Artificial markdown

The following types of inventory may need to be prioritized to avoid markdowns:
  • Items that are not sold in stores due to returns or other conditions.
  • Slow-moving items.
  • Seasonal items approaching end of lifecycle at certain locations.

You can use artificial markdown to avoid markdowns on these items by prioritizing them over other inventory.

To identify an item for artificial markdown, complete the following steps:
  1. Set the SKU node status code to MKDOWN.
  2. Set the Markdown type for that item to 99.
  3. Provide the Markdown effective end date.

File name and separator

This data type uses the pipe (|) separator.

The recommended format for the file name is: MKC_[CUSTOMER NAME]_YYYYMMDDHHMISS.csv

Multiple CSV files can be uploaded by compressing into a tar.gz file.

Fields

Table 1. Table 1 displays the fields and descriptions for the markdown calendar data type.
Field Name Required Type Description
Event ID Yes STRING Event this markdown belongs to
SKU number Yes STRING SKU number that must exist in the Item data feed
Node key Yes STRING This is a store or distribution center (DC). The node key must exist in the Fulfillment Network data feed.
SKU node status code Yes STRING The item status at this node. Acceptable values are:
  • CL-TO-ACTIVE
  • CL-TO-ACTIVE-DELETE
  • MKDOWN
  • MKDOWN-DELETE
  • DISCONT (discontinued)
SKU node markdown retail price No DECIMAL Retail Amount at which the item will be sold for this markdown.

You must provide either the SKU node markdown retail price or the SKU node markdown percentage.
Markdown effective date Yes DATE The start date of this markdown for this SKU-node pair. If this date is an old date, such as 2000-01-01, then it is assumed that this markdown is no longer active.
SKU node markdown percentage No DECIMAL The markdown percentage for the SKU-node pair. This information is helpful when the TLog data does not contain accurate regular price information. The value must be between 0 and 1.

You must provide either the SKU node markdown retail price or the SKU node markdown percentage.
Markdown type No STRING The type of markdown.
  • Set to 01 for first markdown.
  • Set to 99 for artificial markdown.

Default value is 01. If the field is not present in the feed, Fulfillment Optimizer considers the markdown as a first markdown.
Markdown effective end date No STRING It is the end date for the artificial markdown.

This field is required if Markdown type is set as 99 for artificial markdown. If the date is not provided, the SKU-node pair is considered as invalid.
Currency No STRING The currency that is associated with the markdown cost. This value needs to be in the ISO three letter currency format. For example, USD, GBP, or EUR.

Sample for MKC_[CUSTOMER NAME]_YYYYMMDDHHMISS.csv

event_id|sku_id|node_key|sku_store_status_code|sku_store_mkdwn_rtl_price|mkdwn_eff_date|sku_store_mkdwn_perc|mkdwn_type|mkdwn_eff_end_date|currency

MARK_9|20908279|0035|MKDOWN|5.4|2018-07-20|20.56|USD

MARK_9|20908279|0014|MKDOWN|5.4|2018-07-20|10.56|USD

MARK_9|20908279|0037|MKDOWN|5.4|2018-07-20|20.56|GBP

MARK_9|20908279|0039|MKDOWN|5.4|2018-07-20|35.56|EUR

DPROMO1|95509519|1054|CL-TO-ACTIVE|10|2018-03-20||01||USD

DPROMO2|95509519|1055|CL-TO-ACTIVE-DELETE|10|2018-03-20||99|2018-09-20|USD

DPROMO1|95509519|1056|MKDOWN-DELETE|10|2018-03-20||99|2018-09-20|GBP

Sample script to upload data by using the file adapter

/<Install_dir>//AsperaClientLinuxDist/asperaTransferClient.sh -jobname MKCPush 
-contentType MKC -server -userid -password -op UPLOAD -src -dest/MKC 
-conf /<Install_dir>//AsperaLinuxDist/asperaTransferOption.properties