In the process of pushing merchandise through to stores, you can allocate quantities on the basis of information and planning figures determined centrally, without needing to know recipient requirements. This method is used in the following cases, for example:

• First-time distribution of a new article
• Distribution of promotional merchandise
• Distribution of remaining stock
• Distribution of one-time, fashion articles

The allocation table enables you to distribute merchandise to a large number of sites centrally. You can plan merchandise distribution and then trigger the flow of merchandise by creating follow-on documents. The allocation table supports all variants of the SAP Retail logistics concept, that is, the direct delivery of goods from the vendor to the recipient (third-party delivery), and the delivery of goods to the recipient via a distribution center.

Promotions are used to boost sales, or increase customer awareness of new merchandise, for example. When planning a promotion, you can use data from the information system relating to past promotions. In a promotion, articles are usually offered at a lower price. In SAP Retail, you can create both retail promotions (for store sales) or wholesale promotions (with special pricing for known customers in your customer master data).

Promotions that have the intention of reducing stock are not relevant for Requirements Planning, since the merchandise does not need to be procured. If merchandise is procured once only, it is generally allocated centrally. To do this, you can generate an allocation table with reference to the promotion in promotion subsequent processing.

If an article is procured on a regular basis, and is temporarily part of a promotion, the sales of the article generally increase. As a result, in the case of time-phased planning, the system informs the stock planner of any impending promotion.