Planning Lead

Job Title
- Planning Lead

Location
- Pune

About Palmonas

Palmonas is a modern demi-fine jewellery brand focused on design-led collections, fast innovation, and omnichannel growth. We blend global trends with Indian sensibilities to create everyday luxury.

Role Overview

The Planning Lead will own demand planning, merchandise planning, inventory strategy, and sales forecasting across channels. This role is critical in ensuring the right product, at the right time, in the right quantity — while balancing growth, cash flow, and profitability.

The role works closely with Design, Sourcing, Supply Chain, Marketing, and Sales and reports directly to senior leadership.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Planning & Forecasting

- Build and own annual, quarterly, and monthly sales forecasts by category, collection, channel, and price point
- Translate business goals into merchandise plans and buy plans
- Drive alignment between growth targets, inventory investment, and margin goals

Merchandise & Inventory Planning

- Develop SKU-level inventory plans to support launches, replenishment, and seasonal spikes
- Optimize inventory turns, sell-through, and stock cover
- Identify overstock and stock-out risks early and propose corrective actions
- Lead replenishment planning for core and fast-moving styles

Cross-Functional Collaboration

- Partner with Design & Product teams on assortment planning and range architecture
- Work with Supply Chain & Operations to align production timelines and delivery schedules
- Collaborate with Marketing & Sales on campaign planning, launches, and promotions

Performance & Analytics

- Track and analyze sales performance, sell-through, ageing, markdowns, and margins
- Build dashboards and reports for leadership reviews
- Use data to recommend assortment rationalization, pricing actions, and new opportunities

Process & Team Leadership

- Establish scalable planning processes and tools as the brand grows
- Mentor and manage planning team members (if applicable)
- Continuously improve planning accuracy and operational efficiency

Key Metrics Owned

- Sales vs forecast
- Inventory turns & ageing
- Sell-through %
- GMROI
- Stock availability & fill rates

Ideal Candidate Profile

Experience

- 6–10+ years of experience in merchandise planning / demand planning / inventory planning
- Prior experience in fashion, jewellery, D2C, lifestyle, or retail brands preferred
- Experience working in a fast-growth or startup environment is a strong plus

Skills

- Strong analytical and financial acumen
- Advanced Excel skills (Power BI / SQL is a plus)
- Ability to work with large datasets and translate insights into action
- Strong stakeholder management and communication skills
- Structured thinker with a bias for action

Mindset

- Ownership-driven and comfortable with ambiguity
- Detail-oriented but able to think big picture
- Passion for product, trends, and consumer behaviour