Merchandise Planner

Position Details

Title: Women’s Merchandise Planner

Department: Merchandise Planning

Reports to: Manager of Merchandise Planning

Location: Remote/Dearborn, MI

Job Classification: Exempt

Job Summary

The Merchandise Planner develops, manages, and executes sales, inventory, and margin plans that tie to financial targets for multiple business units and product categories. This individual contributes to the success of the organization by forging strong cross-functional partnerships, correlating historical and current trends, planning and forecasting multiple monthly and annual KPIs, optimizing inventory, and presenting, articulating, and defending their plan position.

The Women’s Merchandise Planner manages a designated book of business, working with other Planners, Sr. Planners, Inventory, Supply Chain, and Merchant counterparts.

Associate Responsibilities

• Develop and cultivate Women’s Planning/Merchandising partnerships to create long-range, pre-season, and in-season forecasts, and align inventory strategies with organizational strategies and targets.
• Support the pre-season plan review process, in-season reforecasting, and post-season hindsighting. Review category forecast/plan changes in relation to prior forecasts, prior year(s), and targets. Present, articulate, and support the plan or forecast position in relation to global targets.
• Partner with Women’s Merchandising and Inventory teams to identify areas of opportunity within the assortment to drive sales and margin and mitigate inventory liability using historical trends and analyses, coupled with market and consumer insights.
• Partner with cross-functional teams to efficiently manage the product life cycle for the assigned book of business.
• Lead and facilitate monthly/weekly meetings with key partners to understand current trends and proactively identify actionable risks and opportunities.
• Collaborate with cross-functional partners to resolve opportunities as they arise. Take a proactive approach to identify potential roadblocks and seek out resolutions in a timely manner.
• Identify planning process pain points and/or gaps and propose potential solutions to a broad audience.
• Champion the Merchandise Planning process and related calendar. Work to ensure company best practices are adhered to and completed within the allotted timeframe.

Required Education

- Bachelor’s degree in a related field or equivalent years of experience.

Required Skills & Experience

• Minimum of 3–5 years of experience in a demand planning or forecasting field; wholesale demand planning preferred.
• Self-motivated, passionate, and enthusiastic individual ready to bring energy and excitement to lead their business.
• High level of analytical thinking with a strong aptitude for forecasting methodology.
• Flexible team player who thrives in environments requiring the ability to effectively prioritize and delegate workload while juggling multiple concurrent projects and deliverables.
• Proactive critical thinking approach when confronting problems.
• Active listening skills and strong written and oral communication skills with the proven ability to communicate with all levels, including management and business unit partners.
• Outstanding organizational skills with a natural curiosity and interest in problem-solving.
• Ability to adapt to continuously evolving organizational changes and planning processes.
• Strong sense of urgency to change, adapt, and push processes forward.
• Advanced computer skills (MS Office Suite and Planning tools) are needed.

Physical Requirements and Working Conditions

• Typical office environment; cubicle/office setting.
• Extended periods of time sitting, standing, and typing on a computer.
• Travel required up to 20% of the time.
• Carhartt is a tobacco free workplace.