Merchandise Planner

Job Summary:

Working as part of a category-focused team, the Merchandise Planner is responsible for the availability of products for our customers, by managing the timely flow of inventory through our supply chain and supporting the Planning Manager in the delivery of the overall merchandise plan. Working in close partnership with the Buying team, the Merchandise Planner will develop strategies to effectively drive sales and profitability by proactively identifying key issues and areas of opportunity, developing creative solutions to solve problems and improve business outcomes.

The Merchandise Planner will prepare accurate forecasts and plans, including optimization recommendations for inventory and assortment. The Merchandise Planner will lead a team of 1-2 Replenishment Planners / Analysts, providing their direct reports with training and coaching opportunities, as well as direction on day-to-day tasks. Key measures of success include sales, receipts, markdown & margin vs budget, inventory vs budget, warehouse in stock %, OTIF, in store Availability.

Job Responsibilities

• Work closely with the Planning Manager and Buying team to ensure close management of available OTB and a good understanding of the category strategy, including new initiatives or areas of growth opportunity.
• Accountability for category in store availability targets, ensuring that appropriate reporting is in place to understand availability opportunities at various levels of granularity.
• Work closely with Planning Manager and Buying team to ensure that OTB / Availability risks are clearly understood and communicated with appropriate category and functional leaders where possible recommending action to mitigate or improve.
• Work closely with the Buying teams and their own direct reports to identify and recommend areas of improvement to support increases in sales or stock turn, ex. Optimization of store assortments or range rationalization.
• Fully manage basic/core items in terms of projecting, ordering and store replenishment such as order calculation, submission, confirmation, order maintenance, PO allocation, etc.
• Work closely with vendors, stores and internal customers to resolve order and invoice discrepancies, compliance issues, RTVs and cycle count recommendations.
• Fully utilize analytical tools including Smartlook and Aptos Analytics to prepare standard and ad hoc reports for self and the team.
• Effectively allocate merchandise and balance inventory levels by store by merchandise category, identifying any issues to the flow of inventory and finding solutions or seeking support to resolve.
• Build and maintain all Allocation & Replenishment (A&R) forecast models, seasonality curves, lead times, dynamic min/max, and vendor review schedules to effectively manage vendor on order, backstock inventory, and daily store replenishment.
• Build new store inventory and assortment plans in partnership with Merchandise Planners and Buyers.
• Carry out post launch analysis of new store openings or new initiatives to ensure appropriate replenishment metrics are in place, taking remedial action if required.
• Effectively plan and manage entrance/exit strategies of seasonal products, including sell through reporting and risk reporting.
• Develop good working relationships with vendors and internal field leadership teams, ensuring any communication is timely, focused and supportive.
• Visit stores regularly to gain a full understanding of our customers and their needs and to gain firsthand perspective of the results of the planning and allocation process.
• To demonstrate every day the values of WHSmith North America

Job Requirements

• Bachelors degree with coursework in math or statistics preferred
• 2+ years of work experience in a retail corporate office or stores preferred
• 2+ years of experience in a retail planning or allocation role would be preferred
• Experience with merchandising, analytics, planning, and/or allocation systems preferred
• Robust problem-solving, analytical, and data management skills.
• Good knowledge of MS Office packages (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) with a high proficiency in Excel (pivot tables, lookups, and advanced formulas, power query a plus)
• Satisfactory Criminal Background Check and Drug Testing May be required depending upon location