Inventory Planner

INVENTORY PLANNER

• Collaborate with Wholesale and Retail Planning teams to support demand forecasts and create a supply forecast that fits within company receipt budget and factory capacities while considering factory lead-time.
• Maintain Demand Manager Planning System consensus forecast at an article level which sends time phased Available to Promise signal to Customer Service and a Factory Purchase Plan signal to Supply Chain.
• Analyze historical inventory cycles and distribution channels.
• Adapt and react to market trends during each biweekly forecast/purchasing cycle.
• Review demand forecast reports at account and channel distribution levels.
• Deliver to Supply Planning monthly factory purchase plans for current buying season that fit within factory capacity and targeted receipt plans.
• Support new ideas, processes, and be open to change as we find better ways to reduce inventory while still servicing our customers and aligning to company receipt plans.
• Share best practices and communicate information as needed.
• Responsible for executing monthly factory purchase order placement including:
  • Creating monthly purchase orders and managing SKU profiles.
  • Analyzing customer orders at the SKU level to ensure proper inventory balance and agreement with the consensus forecast.
• Plan and execute Direct Ship PO process in collaboration with customer service and supply planning.
• Bundle by factory, container minimums and account transit times.
• Support pre‑season planning by maintaining time‑phased, program‑level inventory placeholders.
• Develop historical, time‑phased demand plans within the Demand Planning System to support seasonal Assortment Plan targets and inform preliminary capacity requirements for Supply Planning.
• Partner cross‑functionally in weekly supply reviews with Supply Planning, Demand Allocation, and Inventory Planning teams to identify and address demand‑supply mismatches and drive continuous improvement.
• Monitor in season available inventory to ensure targeted stock and replenishment styles reflect correct available picture in SAP, while working with cross functional teams to trouble shoot CTP pictures.
• Responsible for ensuring the integrity of the data in the system including buffer stock setting, color/size/width profiles, planning, forecasting, and product life cycle flags to support seasonal assortment plans.

• Experience in footwear demand and supply planning, merchandising, buying
• Knowledge of different business operating models – Retail, Franchise, Factory, MCR, Wholesale
• Successful Demand and Supply Planning, Buying, and Merchandising experience
• Experience in key distribution channels – wholesale, retail, franchise and digital
• Understanding of overall business operations and supply chains
• Strong organizational skills to coordinate feedback from a variety of sources
• Practical understanding of demand planning and inventory management processes
• Strong computer skills including the following tools:
• Advanced Microsoft Excel (statements, linking, pivot tables, etc.)
• Data warehouse/data mart query and report development tools
• Ability to analyze trends and use that information to effectively plan and forecast
• Strong analytical and verbal skills
• Strong decision-making skills
• Demonstrated expertise in planning systems and analytics platforms (SAP, Demand Manager, MFP, Business Objects, Power BI, D360)
• Commercial Awareness
• Analytical/ highly numerate and able to identify key information
• Ability to problem solve and manage conflict situations
• Excellent interpersonal and motivational skills
• Team player, goal oriented
• Ability to analyze, interpret and act on market intelligence
• Commercial skills to maximize opportunities that arise
• Communication
• Customer Focus
• Effective Decision Making
• Delivering Results
• Planning and Organizing
• Numerical Skills
• Analytical ability to disseminate information