While this role is offered on a 3-year contract, it provides a stable and rewarding opportunity. You will enjoy the same comprehensive benefits as our permanent employees, including AWS, performance bonuses, flexible work arrangements, and medical coverage, so you can focus on contributing and growing with us.
Job Responsibilities
1. Channel Demand Planning & Forecasting
- Convert approved demand plans into supply requirements (inventory, capacity, SKU/service availability depending on business context).
- Support allocation decisions across channels/regions based on priority rules, sell-through, and commercial targets.
- Monitor supply constraints, backorders/shortfalls, and propose mitigation plans (re-allocation, substitutes, phase-in/out timing, expediting).
2. OTB (Open to buy) Planning & Governance
- Support Channel Sales Manager with buy recommendations (what to buy, when, and for which channel), highlighting risks/opportunities.
- Enforce governance: approval workflow, spend controls, audit trail of assumptions/changes.
- Own day-to-day OTB tracking: planned vs. committed vs. spent vs. remaining, by channel/category/period.
3. Supply Planning, Buying Support & Replenishment
- Translate demand into purchase plans / replenishment plans considering lead time, MOQ, pack size, supplier capacity, and inbound schedules.
- Create/maintain replenishment parameters (min/max, safety stock, reorder points) tailored by channel and item criticality.
- Monitor PO lifecycle: placement, confirmations, shipment, receipt; resolve exceptions and propose expediting or substitutions.
- Monitor supplier delivery performance and expedite/adjust orders when needed.
4. Inventory Allocation & Availability Management (Multi-Channel)
- Recommend inventory allocation rules across channels (ecom/inflight/corporate/staff shop/internal) based on sell-through, priority, profitability, and commitments.
- Manage exceptions: stockouts, short shipments, damaged stock, late arrivals; propose substitutions or reallocation.
- Maintain healthy stock position: prevent overstock, slow-movers, and obsolescence, especially for seasonal/campaign items.
5. Inventory Health, Ageing & Exit Strategy
- Manage weeks of cover, turns, ageing, slow-movers and obsolescence risk.
- Manage new item introductions, transitions, and end-of-life plans (sell-through, markdown/clearance, staff shop liquidation where relevant).
- Support the planning of markdown/clearance (e.g., shift to staff shop, bundles, channel transfer) to protect bottom-line profit and reduce write-offs.
- Plan phase-in/phase-out for range refreshes and seasonal programmes to avoid stranded inventory
6. Performance Reporting & Business Reviews
- Produce weekly/monthly dashboards: sales vs forecast, inventory cover, OTB utilisation, inbound/outbound, availability and constraints.
- Support gap-to-target analysis and recommended actions (buy more/less, rebalance, promo levers, channel shifts).
- Prepare materials for business reviews and management reporting.
7. Master Data / Systems / Process Improvement
- Maintain planning master data (product/channel hierarchy, lead times, MOQ, calendars) and ensure data accuracy.
- Improve planning processes, reporting automation, and standard operating procedures.
8. Stakeholder & Vendor/Partner Coordination
- Liaise with internal operations/logistics/warehousing teams and external partners to ensure on-time availability and fulfilment.
- Manage exceptions and escalations affecting channel deliveries/availability.
9. Team/Role Expectations
- Operate independently on forecasting cycles and planning reviews
- Drive cross-functional alignment and communicate clearly to sales, production team and ops stakeholders.
Job Requirements
- Detail-oriented with strong governance mindset (controls, audit trail, documentation).
- Comfortable operating in ambiguity and handling frequent changes (campaigns, supply disruptions, priority shifts).
- High integrity and accountability due to budget (OTB) and stock risk and inventory ownership.
Education / Experience
- Degree in Supply Chain, Business, Engineering, Analytics, or related field.
- At least 3–5+ years in demand planning / supply planning / inventory planning / merchandising planning / replenishment (multi-channel retail or FMCG/consumer goods preferred).
- Hands-on experience managing owned inventory and OTB (Open-to-Buy) budgets is a must
- Exposure to cross-functional planning (sales/marketing/finance/procurement/warehouse) and cadence routines (e.g., S&OP/IBP) is an advantage.
Commercial & Financial Acumen
- Strong understanding of GM% / gross profit, markdown impact, sell-through, and price-volume trade-offs.
- Strong capability in forecasting and demand planning (seasonality, promotions, new launches, lifecycle/phase-out).
- Solid inventory management knowledge: safety stock, reorder points, weeks of cover, turns, ageing/slow movers, allocation logic.
- Competent in OTB governance: plan vs commit vs actual tracking, mix management, spend controls, approval discipline.
- Understanding of procurement and supplier management concepts: lead times, MOQ, pack sizes, inbound planning, PO tracking, OTIF.
Data and reporting skills
- Advanced Excel (pivot tables, lookups, Power Query; basic modelling).
- BI tools (Power BI/Tableau) preferred.
- Planning/ERP systems is mandatory
Analytical / Business Skills
- Strong analytical thinking: identify drivers, isolate issues (forecast error, stockouts, excess), quantify impacts and trade-offs.
- Commercial mindset: understands sales targets, margin impact, service levels, and working capital constraints.
- Able to do scenario planning (best/base/worst) and convert analysis into clear recommendations.
Stakeholder / Leadership Skills
- Confident communicator with sales-led stakeholders; able to challenge assumptions constructively.
- Strong coordination and follow-through across Sales, Marketing, Finance (OTB), Warehouse/3PL.
- Able to work independently, manage deadlines
