Americas - Inventory Planner - Women's
INVENTORY PLANNER WOMENS - Needham, MA.
As the Inventory Planner, you will lead seasonal inventory forecasting across three seasons and oversee products from launch through end‑of‑life. You’ll play a key role in aligning inventory decisions with company budget targets and quarterly financial forecasts, working cross‑functionally to support overall business performance
What You'll Do:
- Collaborate with Wholesale and Retail Planning teams to support demand forecasts and create a supply forecast that fits within company receipt budget and factory capacities while considering factory lead-time.
- Maintain Demand Manager Planning System consensus forecast at an article level which sends time phased Available to Promise signal to Customer Service and a Factory Purchase Plan signal to Supply Chain.
- Analyze historical inventory cycles and distribution channels.
- Adapt and react to market trends during each biweekly forecast/purchasing cycle.
- Review demand forecast reports at account and channel distribution levels.
- Deliver to Supply Planning monthly factory purchase plans for current buying season that fit within factory capacity and targeted receipt plans.
- Support new ideas, processes, and be open to change as we find better ways to reduce inventory while still servicing our customers and aligning to company receipt plans.
- Share best practices and communicate information as needed.
- Responsible for executing monthly factory purchase order placement including:
- Creating monthly purchase orders and managing SKU profiles.
- Analyzing customer orders at the SKU level to ensure proper inventory balance and agreement with the consensus forecast.
- Plan and execute Direct Ship PO process in collaboration with customer service and supply planning.
- Bundle by factory, container minimums and account transit times.
- Support pre‑season planning by maintaining time‑phased, program‑level inventory placeholders.
- Develop historical, time‑phased demand plans within the Demand Planning System to support seasonal Assortment Plan targets and inform preliminary capacity requirements for Supply Planning.
- Partner cross‑functionally in weekly supply reviews with Supply Planning, Demand Allocation, and Inventory Planning teams to identify and address demand‑supply mismatches and drive continuous improvement.
- Monitor in season available inventory to ensure targeted stock and replenishment styles reflect correct available picture in SAP, while working with cross functional teams to trouble shoot CTP pictures.
- Responsible for ensuring the integrity of the data in the system including buffer stock setting, color/size/width profiles, planning, forecasting, and product life cycle flags to support seasonal assortment plans.
What You'll Bring:
- Experience in footwear demand and supply planning, merchandising, buying
- Knowledge of different business operating models – Retail, Franchise, Factory, MCR, Wholesale
- Successful Demand and Supply Planning, Buying, and Merchandising experience
- Experience in key distribution channels – wholesale, retail, franchise and digital
- Understanding of overall business operations and supply chains
- Strong organizational skills to coordinate feedback from a variety of sources
- Practical understanding of demand planning and inventory management processes
- Strong computer skills including the following tools:
- Advanced Microsoft Excel (statements, linking, pivot tables, etc.)
- Data warehouse/data mart query and report development tools
- Ability to analyze trends and use that information to effectively plan and forecast
- Strong analytical and verbal skills
- Strong decision-making skills
- Demonstrated expertise in planning systems and analytics platforms (SAP, Demand Manager, MFP, Business Objects, Power BI, D360)
- Commercial Awareness
- Analytical/ highly numerate and able to identify key information
- Ability to problem solve and manage conflict situations
- Excellent interpersonal and motivational skills
- Team player, goal oriented
- Ability to analyze, interpret and act on market intelligence
- Commercial skills to maximize opportunities that ari
- Customer Focus
- Delivering Results
- Planning and Organizing
Minimum salary:
53,000
Maximum salary:
65,000
Rewards and benefits
Our rewards and benefits are as varied as our customers and our people, depending on your role, and which part of the business you join. The one thing they have in common is that they’re designed to recognise your contribution to our success.
Flexible & hybrid working
Generous holiday allowance (often including your birthday!)
Dental coverage
Life, accidental death, dismemberment and disability insurance
401k with employer match
Real estate assistance program
Employee Assistance Programme
Discount on Clarks products
Exclusive employee discounts on a wide range of products and brands
Investing in your development
We’re constantly on the move, staying ahead of a changing world by keeping our minds sharp and our skills fresh. That’s why, wherever in the world you join us, you’ll find a wide range of learning opportunities at your fingertips, to make sure you keep growing and progressing.
From apprenticeships in the UK, to internships in the US and Singapore. Support for professional qualifications, to targeted leadership development programmes, and LearnerVerse, our corporate online training portal. Not to mention the chance to experience life in different parts of the business, and learn first-hand from experienced colleagues. So, if you’re looking to build on your skills, the opportunities are yours for the taking.
What we can offer youMeet some of the team
To give you a real insight into what it’s like to work at Clarks, we thought we’d ask the people who know it best.
The people who already work here. And in their own words.
Esther
Senior Manager Wholesale Account Management
Natalia
Franchise Regional Business Manager
Sam
Manager Wholesale Management
What to expect from our process
We know every person is unique – and we embrace it. So, you’ll find our recruitment process is a little different, depending on the role you apply for and where it’s based. But you’ll always find it’s:
Transparent
Right from the start, you’ll know what to expect. We’ll be honest about the role, the team, the division, and the business, as well as the process.
Fair
Our family values mean it’s in our DNA to treat people fairly. So, you can expect a process that’s respectful, whatever the outcome.
A two-way process
We’ll make sure you find out as much about us as we do about you, so you’re sure we’re the right fit for you.
Communicative
We’ll keep you in the loop at every step – so you always know where you stand. And at each stage, you’ll learn more about our culture, our brand, and what it means to be part of our journey.
Ready to
apply?
Americas - Inventory Planner - Women's
Location: Needham
Reference number: 27837