Manager, Merchandise Planning (SYS-2226)
Published Role Title
Manager, Merchandise
Planning
Location
Newton
Salary & Benefits
Job Advert Description
Clarks is seeking two Merchandise Planning Managers for our Buying &
Merchandising team!
These roles will be accountable for governing inventory management
activities within the Region by setting SKU-productivity targets, maintaining a
top-down open-to-buy plan, monitoring inventory aging and quality, and
providing stock productivity analysis. These individuals will create and
analyze forecasts across the region and provide robust reporting to all levels
of the organization.
Core Accountabilities:
1. Work cross functionally with other departments to implement new
processes within the organization in order to optimize buy targets, SKU
optimization, as well as time phased category plans. Work closely with
Inventory planning and Category Management groups to reconcile
consensus plan. Monitoring OTB flow for current buying season and an
extended 18 month strategic open to buy plan for future product seasons.
2. Manage in-season inventory activities, forecasting to a roll forward
projection, and making adjustments based on the agreed top down plan.
Maintain communication with Inventory team on outputs, by creating and
updating ad hoc reporting, monitoring results. Support the markdown
and closeout process. Create markdown and price change files to give
Finance for end of season inventory clearance.
3. Produce style count and SKU productivity targets to govern the range
selection activity for the Region. Monitor performance against these
targets and make recommendations to the Buying and Merchandising
Category Management team to improve results.
4. Create and update inventory productivity analysis including stock aging,
Pareto, velocity, flow optimization, and seasonal mix.
5. Prepare for monthly open-to-buy review meetings with the Buying and
Merchandising Category and Inventory Management groups. Review
current position against the top-down plan; identify risks and
opportunities for optimization.
6. Develop long-range capacity plans and strategic merchandise category
plans for use in Supply Chain, Product and Regional strategic planning.
7. Provide analysis on an as needed basis. This may include distribution
clustering; distribution cluster/grade performance; assortment analysis
by distribution grade/cluster; store space allocation, productivity and
profitability by category; markdown cadence optimization; stockouts and
service levels, etc.
8. Manage necessary reporting to organization, including creating ABC
80/20 analysis reports identifying what styles and patterns make up total
percentage of overall product sell in.
9. Responsible for working with Category management team to create buy
targets by channel. Breaking the future plans to lower classification
levels in order to improve forecast accuracy. Timephasing these
category plans in order to reflect the constraints within the LC as well as
Customer Service.
10. Responsible for developing and providing standard weekly and monthly
reports and evaluating performance versus agreed upon KPIs.
Key Outputs/Results:
1. Accountable for delivering financial and inventory productivity
performance in-line with or above annual targets for the Inventory
Management team in the Americas Region.
2. Quantitative product portfolio metrics and plans which meet the needs of
target consumers shopping in all Markets and within the Retail Channel
in the Region, including analytics required by Finance.
3. Periodic business and market/channel reviews for the Inventory
Management team including KPIs as well as product and distribution
performance against targets.
4. Prior and current season product performance analysis for the Inventory
Management team which feeds the development of a seasonal
merchandise strategy and as on-going insight for the Group Product
Team.
5. On-time delivery of high quality merchandise plans, open-to-buy plans,
portfolio metrics, buying, assortment and margin targets, and long-range
capacity plans based on pre-agreed deadlines
6. Seasonal planning calendar.
7. Annual financial budgeting and quarterly forecasting activities by
updating the monthly merchandise plans by channel and for the
business as a whole.
8. On-time reporting that provides the organization with necessary
information
9. Category level open to buys, in conjunction to ensure that categories are
being bought for appropriately.
10. Standard weekly and monthly reports as well as ad hoc analysis as
needed. Regional Buying and Merchandising-related KPIs, metrics, and
reports to monitor product, sales, stock and margin performance across
the Retail Channel, Markets, and as a consolidated Region for the
Inventory Management team.
Essential Knowledge:
Experience in footwear retail merchandise planning, demand and supply
planning
Knowledge of different business operating models – Retail, Franchise,
Factory, MCR, Wholesale
Finance – Management Accounts – Budgets, Forecasts, Sales, Margin,
Margin %
Supply Chain – Merchandise metrics and Supply Chain logistics
Merchandise planning, budgeting and forecasting
Successful Experience:
Successful Wholesale Merchandise, Demand and Supply Planning
experience
Experience in key distribution channels – wholesale, retail, franchise
and digital
Comprehensive understanding of overall business operations
Technical Skills:
Negotiation skills to maximize the matrix resources of Clarks
Organizational skills to coordinate feedback from a variety of sources
Practical understanding of financial, range, space and demand planning
processes
Practical understanding of trading and marketing planning processes
Ability to analyze trends and use that information to effectively plan and
forecast
Strong analytical and verbal skills
Decision making skills
Strong computer skills including the following tools:
Data warehouse/data mart query and report development tools
Advance Microsoft Excel (if statements, linking, pivot tables, etc.)
Microsoft Access or other database tools
Planning Software (MID, Arthur, NSB/STS/MMS, I2, Retek, Evant,
etc.)