Centric Planning & Pricing

Centric Planning & Pricing is a merchandise planning and pricing system for retailers, brands and manufacturers coordinating product decisions across markets and channels. It is strongest for organizations that need assortment, pricing and inventory planning to work together; buyers seeking a published price or a self-serve purchase should look elsewhere.

Overview

The product connects financial planning with assortment strategy and trading execution, using demand forecasts to inform range depth, product mix and localization. Its link between planning, demand and inventory is useful for teams that need stock decisions to reflect expected demand rather than sit in a separate workflow.

Centric says customers report that budget preparation time can be cut in half and planning cycle time reduced by as much as 75%. Those potential gains make the product worth considering for organizations with lengthy planning cycles, though they are not a promise of results for every buyer.

Key features

Assortment and merchandise planning

Size and color, location, seasonal, scenario, open-to-buy and channel planning are supported. That breadth suits retail teams coordinating assortments across products, stores, seasons and sales channels. Demand forecasting informs those choices, while the connection to financial targets and trading execution makes this more than a standalone assortment tool.

Lifecycle pricing and competitor response

Lifecycle pricing covers seasonal and evergreen products, taking later markdowns into account when setting initial prices. Dynamic adjustments also address infinite-stock e-commerce items, giving teams a way to plan pricing beyond seasonal inventory. Integration with Centric Market Intelligence supports competitor price comparisons and automated changes in response to competitor strategies. This is a more relevant fit for teams managing price decisions as part of a broader merchandising process than for buyers seeking a narrowly focused price tool.

Connected workflows and integrations

Centric describes a connected environment for financial targets, assortments, pricing and inventory management. Centric Planning & Pricing also integrates with Centric PLM, Centric Planning and Centric Market Intelligence, which is most useful to organizations building around those products. A 60-minute demonstration with retail-first planning and pricing specialists offers a practical way to assess fit before a purchase.

Pricing

Centric Planning & Pricing has custom pricing, with a demo offered on request. There is no public plan price to compare against a budget, so buyers should expect a sales-led evaluation rather than a straightforward self-serve purchase. The product is paid; no free plan, trial length, seat allowance or usage quota is stated.

The single named plan supports size and color, location, seasonal, scenario, open-to-buy and channel planning. Its coverage is broad for merchandise teams, but buyers should confirm commercial terms and any limits directly with Centric before committing.

Platforms

The product is available on the web. Centric says its web applications use security-by-design and are hosted in industry-certified data centers. It reports SOC 2 Type 2 and SOC 3 Type 2 assessments, as well as ISO/IEC 27001:2022, ISO 27017:2015 and ISO 27018:2019 certifications, and states a commitment to protecting personal information under GDPR.

Who it's for

Centric presents the product to global brands, retailers and manufacturers, with particular relevance to fashion and apparel, footwear, and outdoor and sports businesses. It is a better match for teams coordinating planning, assortment, pricing and inventory than for small buyers who need a low-cost entry plan or a narrow, independently priced tool.

Pros and cons

• Pro: Planning spans size and color, location, seasons, scenarios, open-to-buy and channels, which supports assortment decisions across multiple dimensions.
• Pro: Lifecycle pricing and competitor intelligence connect initial prices, markdowns and market response in one broader merchandising workflow.
• Pro: Reported planning-time reductions could matter to organizations trying to shorten budgeting and planning cycles.
• Con: Custom pricing and a demo-led buying path make costs harder to evaluate without engaging sales.
• Con: Its breadth is aimed at coordinated retail and consumer-goods operations, so buyers needing only a focused planning function may not need the wider workflow.

Alternatives

For an assortment-planning comparison, see the Retail Assortment Planning Software list; for broader merchandise-management options, see Retail Merchandise Management Software.

• NIQ is a paid alternative with Android, iOS, web, Windows and API platforms; consider it if those platform options matter to your selection.
• SAS Federation Server is a paid option spanning API, Linux, self-hosted, web and Windows, with pricing by contact; choose it if those deployment options are the priority.
• Assortment.AI is a paid, web and API product with pricing by demo; consider it for an assortment-focused alternative.
• Circana Liquid Activation is a paid web product with a free trial, useful if a trial is important before purchase.
• Increff Merchandising Software is a paid web cloud SaaS product with a free trial and demo-based pricing; consider it if a trial is a deciding factor.
• RELEX Demand Planning is a paid web-based alternative for readers focused on demand planning.
• Retalon Price Management and Optimization is a paid web product with pricing by demo; consider it when price management is the central requirement.
• Style Arcade is a paid web product whose pricing depends on estimated annual sales orders and data sources; consider it if those pricing factors suit your purchasing process.

Verdict

Centric Planning & Pricing is a strong candidate for global retail and consumer-goods teams that need assortment, lifecycle pricing and inventory decisions connected to financial planning. Its main appeal is that breadth; its main drawback is that custom pricing requires a sales conversation, making it a weaker fit for buyers who need a transparent price or a narrowly scoped tool.