Sr. Inventory Planner

About the role

The Senior Planner role is responsible for managing inventory across the entire supply chain to maximize sales and profit. This person is a lead on one of our departmental planning teams, which works in close collaboration with purchasing across all product categories. Primary day-to-day responsibilities include: managing open-to-buy, maintaining stock levels in the warehouse and stores, allocating product to warehouse and stores, managing promotional inventory, warehouse inventory balancing, forecasting and financial planning, and general category/item analysis.

Responsibilities

• Lead team in decision making for all day-to-day activities including: purchasing quantity decisions, distributions and allocations, inbound warehouse appointments, demand forecasting, replenishment, and reporting and analysis
• Oversee department sales, profit, and inventory forecasting in collaboration with purchasing and logistics
• Review regular projections/analysis with team for consistency, strategic alignment and thought process
• Advise on optimal pricing decisions to support purchasing, distribution and selling strategies
• Manage inventory at a more specific and tactical level for certain departments as needed
• Execute the allocation of products to stores to maximize sales and profit
• Manage and maintain department financial forecasts in conjunction with the open to buy
• Conduct ad hoc analysis to understand business opportunities and develop plans to address
• Analyze and identify opportunities to improve forecasting, purchasing and allocation methods
• Constantly re-adjust key parameters that drive replenishment to improve inventory position and flow
• Partner with planning, purchasing, and IT to develop and enhance tools and processes
• Respond to store comments and questions and use feedback constructively to improve practices
• Develop annual inventory plans from department to warehouse to store levels by closely working with business leaders/cross-functional partners in accordance to financial objectives
• Develop and foster a cohesive team environment with immediate team and cross-functional partners alike
• Manage an Assistant Planner, providing guidance, objectives, and support as needed
• Present analytics and reports to various stakeholders to identify and capture business opportunities
• Be a strong partner to Store Operators, Sales & Merchandising, Suppliers and Distribution Centers; communicate clearly and effectively to inform various stakeholders of status and future changes
• Visit stores and warehouses as necessary to maintain strong communication and stay on top of opportunities

Requirements

• Minimum of 3+ years of relevant experience in areas including but not limited to the following: Merchandise Planning, Demand Forecasting, Inventory Allocation, Financial Planning, Data Analytics
• Strong analytical skills with attention to detail – able to analyze and identify insights from large amounts of data
• Creative and strategic thinker that is always pushing status quo in an effort to improve
• Excellent logical thinking and problem-solving skills; can easily diagnose and solve an ambiguous situation or problem
• Able to build constructive and effective relationships with a broad, diverse group of business partners
• Strong understanding of general business financial metrics as well as retail specific metrics and math (e.g., discounts, margin)
• Strong communication skills, customer service, organization and attention to detail
• Expert knowledge and use of Excel and BI platforms; proficient in other MS Office applications and AS400
• Possesses the “roll-up-your sleeves” attitude and strong personal ownership of work needed to be successful in a flat, entrepreneurial organization

Qualifications

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