Merchandise Planner – Supply Chain & Procurement

About the Role

We're hiring a Merchandise Planner to sit at the intersection of supply chain operations and procurement strategy. You'll manage end-to-end inventory flow — from vendor purchase order planning through final allocation — ensuring product availability aligns with demand forecasts while optimizing cost and working capital.

Responsibilities

• Develop demand forecasts and translate them into procurement plans and purchase order recommendations
• Manage the open-to-buy (OTB) budget in alignment with supply chain capacity and vendor lead times
• Collaborate with procurement and sourcing teams to align inventory receipts with planned demand
• Monitor supply chain performance metrics — fill rate, on-time delivery, weeks of supply, inventory turn
• Partner with vendors and buyers to resolve supply constraints, shipment delays, and overstock/understock positions
• Maintain inventory health across distribution centers and channels; drive markdown and liquidation decisions when needed
• Support supplier negotiations with data on sell-through, replenishment velocity, and stock coverage
• Reconcile purchase orders against actuals and adjust forward plans based on supply chain variances

Qualifications

• 3–5 years in merchandise planning, inventory planning, or supply chain planning within a retail or consumer goods environment
• Experience with procurement workflows, PO management, and vendor collaboration
• Proficiency in planning systems (Oracle Retail, Blue Yonder, SAP, Anaplan, or similar ERP/SCM tools)
• Strong retail math fundamentals: OTB, GMROI, weeks of supply, fill rate, inventory turn
• Comfortable working cross-functionally with procurement, logistics, and finance

Nice to Have

• Exposure to supplier contract terms or cost negotiation support
• Experience with omnichannel supply chain or DTC fulfillment models

What changes vs. the retail-only version: Leading with "supply chain operations and procurement strategy," adding PO management, vendor collaboration, fill rate, ERP/SCM tool mentions, and supplier negotiation language are the primary signals that push this into Supply Chain & Procurement taxonomy — while the OTB and sell-through terms keep it correctly identified as Merchandise Planning, not a generic supply chain role.