Inventory Management Planner

General Overview:
Develop and manage departmental financial plans in support of merchandising strategies. Partner with merchandising in developing item/program/category strategies to support financial plans. Recommend and execute changes as needed to ensure profitability and productivity. Responsible for the professional development of the Inventory Management Analyst and/or Inventory Management Specialist.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities:

• Business owner of total departmental inventory (inbound and outbound) and results
• Manage the departmental financial plans and the OTB at the department, category, and sku level with monthly presentation to senior management
• Partner with Merchant on appropriate quantities and cost to assort for core schematic, seasonal shops, and guidelines
• Develop pre and in season financial plans and analysis (units, sales, and margin) for sku's, programs, categories, and order corresponding quantities
• Develop and manage inventory plans for shops and advertising
• Manage order flow quantities to support sales, inventory, margin, DC space plans, and turn
• Responsible for forecast accuracy
• Communicate assortment plan with Inventory Management Analyst to achieve appropriate distribution strategies by developing flow strategies for all product types, core, seasonal, new, and advertising
• Direct Inventory Management Analyst to allocate appropriately to support schematic, shops, and guidelines to stay within in stock and turn goal
• Develop profitable entrance and exit strategies with merchandising for new, seasonal and replacement programs
• Develop in season pricing strategies with appropriate margin for discontinued inventories
• Develop and manage PO (projection, validity, timely entering into system based on lead times, balance to shops, guidelines, and advertised goods) generation, maintenance, chargebacks, and vendor communication
• Be an integral partner with Visual, Merchandising, Store Operations, Vendors, Distribution Centers, and E-Commerce
• Responsible for Inventory Management Analyst development and execution

Job Requirements:

• Minimum 3-5 years Retail/Catalog/Internet Planning and Distribution experience
• Previous OTB management experience required
• Supervising experience a plus
• Excellent analytical and problem solving skills with ability to deal with ambiguity and complexities
• Proficient in Microsoft office products including advanced level Excel
• Excellent ability in organization, communication, and presentation skills to influence others
• Bachelors degree required
• PC operation 30+ hours per week

Key Competencies:

• Business Acumen/Decision Quality
• Dealing with Ambiguity
• Command/Communication Skills
• Conflict Management/Positively Influence
• Timely Decision Making/Results Oriented