Merchandise Planner, Cannabis Industry
Client Background
Our rapidly growing client is one the earliest publicly traded companies serving the legal cannabis industry. We are assisting them in completing their merchandising, supply chain, and marketing organizations. This is an entrepreneurial environment that is looking for B2B and B2C talent to mature business processes while supporting continued rapid expansion. Candidates will be self confident and able to operate in a dynamic environment while leading or participating in establishing and hardening merchandising, supply chain, and ecommerce processes.
Job location: Boca Raton, FL
Position Summary
The Merchandise Planner is responsible for creating and maintaining period and yearly financial plans for their assigned categories and effectively partnering with Merchants and Inventory Management on identifying and implementing strategies to achieve or exceed them. They are responsible for class, subclass, and item planning and analysis to ensure merchandising and inventory plans are synchronized to achieve or exceed sales, inventory turns, margin and service level objectives.
Duties & Responsibilities
- Develops and manages a variety of different types of merchandising plans based on consideration fo strategic direction, performance trends, etc for multiple categories and vendors in cooperation with inventory and sales performance stakeholders
- Financial Planning
- Utilize Planning tools to accurately forecast both period and year sales, margin, inventory and turn. Ensure plans support objectives.
- Create department, class and portfolio level financial plans by analyzing historical, seasonal and current trends.
- Identify the impact future promotional and ad plans to sales and margin, and work with Inventory and Product Management teams to drive sales, minimize risk, and meet targeted goals.
- Leverage ad hock reporting to introduce opportunities to increase sales, margin and turn to meet or exceed budget.
- Utilize class, subclass, and assortment plans to maintain budgeted inventory, working with buying team to synchronize purchasing plans.
- Develop and manager vendor purchase planning process to accurately identify purchase volume and mix for financial reporting.
- Work collaboratively with finance team to ensure merchandising plans roll up to corporate financial plans.
- Utilize Planning tools to accurately forecast both period and year sales, margin, inventory and turn. Ensure plans support objectives.
- Item Planning
- Utilize planning tools to accurately forecast key items to maximize sales, margin, and turn.
- Create and maintain key item ladder plans.
- Analyze key items trends and seasonality, adjusting forecasts, receipts and inventory levels as needed to support plans.
- Reconcile key item plans with financial plans.
- Communicate all plans to Purchasing and Product Management teams, Vendors,(multi-channel where applicable) and collaborate with team to ensure plans can be supported.
- Support Product Manager in Assortment Planning process, compiling and analyzing assortment data utilizing the planning tools available.
- Manager Inactive inventory, working with Product Manager and Sales teams on dispositions to ensure product is either returned, or proper markdowns are in place to sell through.
- Utilize planning tools to accurately forecast key items to maximize sales, margin, and turn.
- Ads/Promotions
- Working with sales and marketing team to forecast sales, margin, and inventory for promotions to maximize sales, and service levels while minimizing residuals.
- Recap financial results after each promotion recommending changes if needed.
- Working with Product Manager, analyze historical information, and current business trends to develop accurate item and financial forecast for Ads and Promos.
- Based upon analysis, identify and challenge items that could have a negative impact on inventory and turn due to low performance.
- Ensure databases are maintained with accurate information.
- Work with Purchasing to ensure top level plans are appropriately executed at DC the level to achieve targeted sales, turn, and sell through.
- Manage seasonal purchasers, identifying items with seasonality, planning purchases and sell through to maintain high service levels.
- Analyze new vendor and sku performance to plan after initial rollout, calling out variances and working with Product Manager to develop tactics to address any shortfalls.
- Supply Chain/Vendor Relations
- Partner with Merchandising and Supply Chain to assist in approving reliability, and reducing supplier lead times to warehouses and fulfillment centers.
- Develop and maintain positive and effective relations with vendors, operate as a key contact for purchasing team.
- Drive collaborate planning process with Vendors and buying team, ensuring plans are aligned and can be supported.
- Working with Operations, monitor Vendor performance and identify any issues to Category Manager.
- Work with vendors and Supply Chain to improve vendor reliability in meeting metrics.
- Partner with Merchandising and Supply Chain to assist in approving reliability, and reducing supplier lead times to warehouses and fulfillment centers.
- Other duties as assigned by manager or designee.
Qualifications & Skills Required
- Minimum 3 years experience.
- Flexible, detail oriented, with strong planning and organizational skills.
- Demonstrated analytical and problem solving skills.
- Strong oral and written communication skills.
- Solid retail Inventory Management experience, with an emphasis on financial and item analysis and planning.
- Proficient to advanced computer literacy.
- Wholesale, Retail, .com, or experience in Inventory Management preferred.
- Experience with Evant, MarketMax, Arthur, MMS or comparable Merchandise Planning System preferred.
Education
- Bachelor’s degree
Contact
Executive Connections LLC is handling this executive search on an exclusive basis. For additional information, please contact:
Chris Hendren – Managing Director
630-561-1434
chendren@executiveconnectionsllc.com
OR
Jeff Gundersen – CEO
941-323-8300
jgundersen@executiveconnectionsllc.com