Merchandise Planner (Consumables)

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. 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 ofavailable OTB and a good understanding of the category strategy, including new initiatives orareas of growth opportunity.• Accountability for category in store availability targets, ensuring that appropriate reporting isin place to understand availability opportunities at various levels of granularity.• Work closely with Planning Manager and Buying team to ensure that OTB / Availability risksare 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 recommendareas of improvement to support increases in sales or stock turn, ex. Optimization of storeassortments or range rationalization.• Fully manage basic/core items in terms of projecting, ordering and store replenishment suchas order calculation, submission, confirmation, order maintenance, PO allocation, etc.• Work closely with vendors, stores and internal customers to resolve order and invoicediscrepancies, compliance issues, RTVs and cycle count recommendations.• Fully utilize analytical tools including Smartlook and Aptos Analytics to prepare standard andad hoc reports for self and the team.• Effectively allocate merchandise and balance inventory levels by store by merchandisecategory, identifying any issues to the flow of inventory and finding solutions or seekingsupport 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 onorder, backstock inventory, and daily store replenishment.• Build new store inventory and assortment plans in partnership with Merchandise Plannersand Buyers.• 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 togain firsthand perspective of the results of the planning and allocation process.Job Requirements• 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.• Demonstrates high standards and takes accountability; detail-oriented person who takespride in maintaining and delivering superior accuracy.• Good knowledge of MS Office packages (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) with a high proficiency inExcel (pivot tables, lookups, and advanced formulas, power query a plus)