Inventory Planning Analyst

Client Overview:

A global beauty and skincare organization is seeking an Inventory Planning Analyst to support inventory management, corporate planning, business analytics, and wholesale retail operations. This role plays a key part in partnering with cross-functional teams to drive sales performance, maintain optimal inventory levels, support financial planning initiatives, and ensure the successful execution of retail strategies across major accounts.

Salary/Hourly Rate:$40/hr - $45/hr

Position Overview:

The Inventory Planning Analyst is passionate about data-driven decision making and thrives in a fast-paced, collaborative environment. This role serves as a key partner to Sales, Finance, Supply Chain, and Marketing teams, supporting inventory planning, sales forecasting, order management, financial reporting, and retailer strategy execution. The position will focus heavily on managing wholesale accounts, inventory analysis, forecasting, and identifying business risks and opportunities to help achieve organizational goals.

Strong analytical skills, communication abilities, and advanced Excel proficiency are essential.

Responsibilities of the Inventory Planning Analyst:

• Corporate Planning — Partner with Sales and Finance teams to develop annual retail sales, gross sales, and net sales plans that align with organizational financial objectives.
• Financial Analysis & Reporting — Support monthly outlook meetings, financial submissions, and ad hoc analysis while identifying risks and opportunities impacting business performance.
• Sales Forecasting — Analyze sales trends, retailer performance, and inventory levels to forecast sales and shipment activity.
• Inventory Planning — Manage inventory levels across major wholesale accounts to support sales targets while maintaining inventory goals.
• Retail Account Support — Partner closely with retailer planning teams to improve forecasting accuracy, product availability, and fulfillment performance.
• Inventory Risk Management — Monitor stock levels, out-of-stock trends, replenishment activity, and excess inventory to minimize financial risk.
• RTV Management — Track and manage return-to-vendor activities, discontinued inventory, and end-of-life product exposure while ensuring budget adherence.
• Business Analysis — Develop sales, inventory, and stock analyses to identify opportunities and provide recommendations that maximize retail and gross sales performance.
• Launch Forecasting — Support innovation launches and new product introductions through shipment and sales forecasting activities.
• Promotional Planning — Collaborate with Sales, Marketing, and Key Account teams to develop forecasts and shipment assumptions for promotions, media support, and secondary displays.
• Order Book Management — Maintain and monitor order forecasts, shipment performance, fulfillment metrics, and monthly sales objectives.
• Supply Chain Coordination — Partner with Customer Service, Distribution Center teams, and Global Supply partners to ensure inventory availability and timely order fulfillment.
• Performance Tracking — Monitor key performance indicators including fulfillment rates, inventory productivity, shipment performance, and customer service metrics.
• Business Analytics — Conduct detailed reporting and analysis to identify risks, opportunities, and strategic recommendations for leadership.
• Reporting & Dashboards — Create and distribute weekly and monthly retail, inventory, sales, and performance reports for cross-functional teams.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration — Work closely with Sales, Finance, Marketing, Supply Chain, and Retail partners to support business objectives and planning processes.

• Experience with in the beauty, retail, fashion, consumer products, or related industry.
• Experience supporting corporate planning, inventory planning, demand forecasting, or supply chain analytics functions.
• Strong understanding of inventory management, forecasting, and sales planning principles.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills with the ability to interpret and analyze large data sets.
• Experience using Power BI for reporting, analytics, and dashboard…