As a member of the Forecasting & Planning team, the Hardgoods Forecasting Manager is responsible for building and managing demand forecasts for our US wholesale footwear and equipment business and for overseeing the development and execution of purchase plans. Establish control-related standards and procedures.
Qualifications
Education/Experience:
Years of Related Professional Experience: 5+.
BA/BS degree in Business Administration or Finance and a minimum of 5+ years of related professional management experience. Direct footwear industry experience is required. Strong data management skills, ability to manage and lead a team of analysts, ability to present business conclusions to Senior Management are required.
Skills:
Strong analytical and communication skills
Ability to prioritize and meet deadlines
Performing work independently on a large volume of simultaneous projects are needed
Strong PC skills (spreadsheets, word processing, databases) are necessary.
Motivation, flexibility, and detail orientation are needed to meet the demands of a fast-paced and passionate working environment.
Key Responsibilities
Managing the U.S. footwear and equipment category merchandise buys each season to the SKU level (by unit style, color, and size) to achieve forecast and inventory objectives.
Coordinating, tracking, and adjusting the global buy in response to a variety of supply and demand (which includes, in addition to the US buy, the purchases of the Retail, Europe, Canada, and Licensee groups). Analyzing global buys against production requirements to achieve maximum sales with minimal inventory exposure.
Working with Sourcing to manage cut planning and delivery issues. Tracking product status, analyzing current forecast of seasonal demand, drawing conclusions and communicating relevant issues to the organization.
Providing category inventory reporting to organization. Working with logistics and tracking category merchandise inventory in/out status.
Making decisions on product flow to support inventory management objectives and to satisfy customers.
Redesigning and improving all data inputs used in inventory roll. Managing excess inventory.
Redesigning and improving all data inputs used in excess inventory analysis.
Analyzing and redesigning long-range forecasting models and processes.
Managing the current forecast during purchasing and calculating open-to- Performing these and other duties as assigned.
