Senior Analyst, Inventory Planning

About the role

The Inventory Planning Analyst works within Supply Chain/Merchandising and partners with merchants to develop and implement inventory strategies that maximize sales and inventory productivity for a merchandising category. The role covers creating accurate SKU forecasts, building the inventory and replenishment strategy, managing category parameters, achieving target in-stock levels and planned inventory turns, and improving the effectiveness of the tools and processes used by the broader Supply Chain organization. The position reports to the Manager, Inventory Solutions and has no direct supervisory responsibility.

Key responsibilities

• In partnership with the merchant, create strategies and tactics that deliver financial objectives such as sales, margin and turns, product transitions, seasonal entry and exit strategies, and pricing and promotional activity.
• Achieve in-stock and turn targets and manage category open-to-buy targets.
• Coordinate needs across supply chain partners including vendors, stores, transportation, distribution and sourcing.
• Analyze category performance and provide recommendations to improve it.
• Build and maintain relationships with merchants, suppliers, stores and supply chain partners.
• Train new associates and contribute to cross-functional project teams.

Required profile

• At least 18 years old and legally permitted to work in the United States.
• High school diploma or GED; a BA/BS degree is preferred.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to retrieve, manipulate, analyze and interpret data.
• Strong quantitative skills, including knowledge of statistics and data analysis.
• Good written and verbal communication, persuasion and multitasking skills.
• Self-starter who can work with little supervision and in a team.

Required skills

• Extensive knowledge of Microsoft Excel.
• Ability to translate analysis into recommendations for an audience.