Sr Inventory Planner, Furniture

About the Inventory Planning Team

The Inventory Planning & Management team is responsible for building and managing merchandise financial plans that optimize for sales growth, margin and turn. We are a trusted partner to the merchandising organization, providing insight into sales trends, inventory productivity and exit strategies. We are numbers people with a passion for analyzing and synthesizing data into forecast models, constantly updating plans in reaction to sales trends. 

 

Overview of the Sr. Inventory Planner role 

As the Sr. Inventory Planner for Furniture, you manage the full inventory planning and management lifecycle for the Furniture product category. You’ll start with tops-down long-range plans in collaboration with Finance and your Merchant partners, then build bottom-ups quarterly plans for the category, including new launches and exits. At the same time, you’ll be managing inventory in-season, ensuring product lands on-time for launch and sells-through according to our targets. You’ll run pricing strategies for product exits and partner with marketing to help drive sales. You will be working cross-functionally with merchants, sourcing and the eCommerce and Retail channels to hit your KPIs of sales growth, maintained margin and inventory turn. 

 

Responsibilities

• Represent your category in weekly cross-functional business reviews, communicating variances to the sales and inventory plan that impact your partners 
• Participate in initial forecasts for new product development to guide sourcing strategies
• Develop 3-year plans with your merchant partners to roadmap growth opportunities
• Build quarterly Investment Review plans for the entire assortment:
  • Including carryover, newness and exits
  • Forecast sales, margin and inventory investments
• Lead the monthly Open-to-Buy meeting for your category:
  • Align with your merchant on the sales and margin forecast by category by month
  • Communicate inventory position in detail (full price, promo, clearance) and pricing recommendations
  • Request additional receipts or receipt shifts to keep inventory in alignment with the sales plan
• Build monthly “Push-Chase-Cancel” requests to optimize open inventory receipt dollars by month
• Build monthly reorder recommendations in-line with approved OTB receipts and roll-up to senior management for approval
• Run ad-hoc reporting for partners and senior management as needed
• Participate in regular process improvement discussions to faciliate continued company growth

 

 

 

Criteria

 

1. Have a minimum of 3 years prior experience in inventory planning and management.
2. Have a minimum of 3 years of people management experience, preferably multiple direct reports
3. Have prior experience in retail
4. Are proficient with the Microsoft Office suite of products with excellent proficiency in using MS Excel.
5. Have a high level of retail math acumen, including elements of markup, margin planning, open to buy, and inventory productivity measures.
6. Have proven analytical, business planning skills.
7. Can make timely decisions, anticipate problems and able to provide creative solutions.
8. Are well-organized, detail oriented.
9. Can effectively deal with ambiguity and a changing environmentAbility to perform work onsite in the Portland office full-time pending state, local, and Company return-to-work guidance during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

 

People First

Putting People First means investing in overall well-being and opportunities to grow and advance within the organization. Depending on the position and location, here are a few highlights of what benefits may be available:


 

Benefits

• A generous discount on all WSI brands
• A 401(k) plan and other investment opportunities
• Paid vacations, holidays, and time off to volunteer
• Health benefits, dental and vision insurance, including same-sex domestic partner benefits
• Tax-free commuter benefits
• A wellness program that supports your physical, financial and emotional health

 

Continued Learning

• In-person and online learning opportunities through WSI University
• Cross-brand and cross-function career opportunities
• Resources for self-development
• Advisor (Mentor) program
• Career development workshops, learning programs, and speaker series  

 

 

WSI will not now or in the future commence an immigration case or "sponsor" an individual for this position (for example, H-1B or other employment-based immigration).

This role is not eligible for relocation assistance.

 

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, or other applicable state or local laws and ordinances.

Our Company

Founded in 1956, Williams-Sonoma, Inc. is the premier specialty retailer of high-quality products for the kitchen and home in the United States. Our family of brands are Williams Sonoma, Williams Sonoma Home, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, Pottery Barn Teen, Rejuvenation, West Elm, Mark & Graham, Outward, and GreenRow. These brands are among the best known and most respected in the industry. We offer beautifully-designed, stylish and functional products for every area of the home, including the kitchen, living room, bedroom, home office, closet, laundry room and even outdoor spaces. We've seen some big changes since our first brick-and-mortar store opened more than half of a century ago. What hasn't changed is our passion for high-quality products, functional design, outstanding customer service, and enhancing the lives of our customers and the communities where we operate. Today, we're a multi-brand, multi-channel, global enterprise supported by state-of-the-art technology and some of the most talented teams in retailing - and we're always looking for new energy and ideas.