SUN RED - Senior Manager Merchandising Planning & Operations

This role leads the end-to-end planning function across demand, supply, and inventory to ensure the right product is in the right place at the right time to maximise sales and profitability. It manages the demand and supply planning cycle, open-to-buy budgets, and allocation and inventory strategy across regions and sales channels. The role is responsible for demand forecasting, supply planning, open-to-buy management, and setting sales, margin, weeks of supply, and DIO plans by product line.

It works cross-functionally with Merchandising, Sales, Service, Order Management, Marketing, and Supply Chain to support brand and go-to-market strategies through pre-season and in-season processes.

• Build annual, seasonal, and monthly demand and open-to-buy plan models in alignment with sales channel revenue plans and DIO strategies; ensure alignment between merchandise plans, OTB budgets, and supply/demand plans to drive a cohesive end-to-end planning process.
• Manage the OTB process to ensure purchasing plans align with financial targets, inventory turn goals, and sales forecasts.
• Partner with Finance, Sales, and Merchandising to build, monitor, and adjust OTB budgets by region, sales channel, and category; provide regular OTB reporting and recommend allocation of OTB dollars to support weeks of supply and capsule strategies.
• Manage the demand forecasting process, integrating statistical models, sell-through data, market trends, and input from Finance, Sales, Merchandising, and Supply Chain; lead demand and supply planning functions to deliver accurate and timely forecasting results.
• Monitor category and regional demand signals to identify risks and opportunities during pre-season and in-season forecast processes; develop in-season product category forecasts at style, style-colour, and SKU level aligned to financial forecasts.
• Translate demand forecasts into supply plans, coordinate with Supply Chain to plan capacity, create monthly and yearly capacity plans by product line, and balance supply constraints (capacity, lead-times, MOQs) against demand requirements.
• Partner with supply chain and logistics to optimise lead-times, costs, and service levels; identify product supply risks and provide recommendations; review weekly and monthly production delivery calendars and ship mode options with Supply Chain, Logistics, Finance, and Operations.
• Analyse historical and sell-through data, margin, and productivity by category, style, and SKU to inform demand, supply, and buy decisions, markdown timing, and future assortment strategy; manage inventory from launch to clearance across sales distribution channels.
• Lead pre-season and in-season merchandise planning reviews and sell-through meetings, providing recommendations on product life cycle, replenishment, weeks of supply, and capsule metrics.
• Develop and execute regional inventory allocation strategies, manage replenishment strategies in core styles and capsule sell-through metrics, and deliver solutions managing weeks of supply for core, continuing, and seasonal product while balancing inventory availability by channel.
• Manage sales order management processes to ensure accuracy, on-time fulfilment, and alignment with inventory availability; establish and monitor KPIs for monthly revenue plans, order fill rate, on-time delivery, and order accuracy.
• Manage monthly demand review (S&OP) meetings, monthly consensus, open-to-buy, and trade working capital deliverables.
• Manage recommended monthly buys by analysing sell-through, weeks of supply, revenue plans, and lead-times, including style and size analysis for initial and replenishment purchase orders.
• Lead, build, develop, and motivate the planning team; facilitate continuous learning and collaboration; drive process improvements, system enhancements, and continuous improvement initiatives across systems, processes, and tools.

• Advanced working knowledge of apparel, accessories, and footwear demand planning, open-to-buy planning, inventory management, and supply chain management.
• Strong analytical skills with proficiency in data modelling.
• Proven ability to work in a team-oriented, collaborative environment.
• Proficient in Microsoft Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint), with advanced Excel skills.
• Strong English written and verbal communication skills and ability to interact with all levels.
• Ability to accurately assess talent and effectively motivate and influence others to build skills,…