Director, Sales, Inventory and Operations Planning (NYC)

Director, Sales, Inventory and Operations Planning (NYC)

What You’ll Do: 

The Director, Sales & Inventory Operations Planning owns the demand , supply & inventory planning and top-line sales forecasting processes for Direct to Consumer (DTC) and Retail. This candidate will develop, maintain and monitor variances and trends for the demand plans as a key input for the Sales & Operations Planning process. This will be achieved by integrating product mix with total volume, operational plans with strategic & business plans. You must act pro-actively to maintain an optimum balance between demand and supply, working capital, and running operations efficiently in order to meet internal and external customer expectations in the most optimal way. You will lead the Sales & Operations Planning process End to End and drive the decision making with key stakeholders. In addition, this role will own the Master Production Plan, short and long term, maximizing customer service and operational efficiencies while maintaining appropriate inventory levels for raw ingredients, work in process, components and finished goods. 

This role requires working closely with marketing, operations, brand & innovation, finance, and procurement teams to identify and resolve changes in the forecast and their impact on the supply chain. You will be accountable for leading cross-functional meetings and actions to drive consensus for the forecast to ensure the product is forecasted accurately considering all demand signals. This position will also be responsible for various performance metrics including forecast error (MAPE) and bias. 

Primary Duties and Responsibilities: 

Demand Planning:

● Provide overall leadership on the Demand Plan that drives the S&OP process. 

● Manage and facilitate the sales forecasting process, demand planning process, and demand review meetings as part of the monthly S&OP process. 

● Review historical sales trends, research demand drivers, prepare forecast data, evaluate forecast results and explain variances. 

● Refine systems and methods to continually improve forecasts so that the company can better anticipate customer needs and handle customer requirements. 

● Coordinate cross-functional research activities to reconcile significant variances, refine the forecast model to reflect updated sales and marketing assumptions, and reduce forecast model variance. ● Dive deep with Growth Marketing, Customer service, Brand & Innovation, and Finance to understand demand forecast drivers. 

● Engage with Finance and Growth Marketing to collaborate on forecasting, and obtain and ensure that current and accurate information is used for demand forecasts. 

● Aggregate Demand Trends from month, Target business trends, Macro Trends, and learnings. ● Maintain rolling demand view. Flag risks, opportunities, changes. 

● Communicate ideas concisely to a wide variety of stakeholders for purposes ranging from informative to need for financial approval from executives. 

● Develop and implement tools and processes to improve forecast capabilities, efficiency, and accuracy. ● Influence leadership by providing detailed ad-hoc analyses as needed to assist in driving the profitability of the business. 

● Partner closely with Brand & Innovation, Sales, and Growth Marketing to estimate the lift and effectiveness of various promotional concepts. 

● Develop strong partnerships with key internal customers including Operations, Customer Service, R&D, Brand & Innovation, Growth Marketing, Finance, and e-Commerce. 

● Rolling Supply Review - Capabilities to rolling forecast. Raw Materials, Finished Goods, Resources. Discuss gaps and resolve them. Align on what we will signal for rolling 3, 6, 12 months. ● Provide input to the Production Planning and Inventory Management process owners in developing inventory strategies on existing items, new products, and active product phase-outs to achieve optimal inventory levels, and ultimately improve customer service/satisfaction level. 

● Review and actualized month and KPIs. Discuss tracking to hit business targets and implications. ● Perform other duties as needed and directed by management. 

Supply Planning/Inventory Management

• Oversee  the Master Production Schedule for Batching, Filled Items and Kitting

• Project forward looking inventory position for raw materials, components , work in progress and finished goods and set inventory levels for each category

• Manage the procurement spend by month and monitor variances

• Manage the inventory at all locations including Third-Party Manufacturers

• Detailed planning of discontinued skus to reduce E&O

• Work with key stakeholders to find opportunities to utilize E&O materials

• Propose Inventory Reserve to Finance on a quarterly basis

• Ensure Planning for New Retailers and New Innovation are executed on time with the determined inventory safety stock and reorder plan

• Lead the Sales & Operations Planning process end to end 

• Run Open Sales Order and Purchase Order reports on a weekly basis

• Finished Good Creation and Maintenance

Required Skills and Education: 

● 5+ years of demand & supply  planning experience and leading S&OP process

● Expert in Microsoft Excel

● Excellent written and oral communication skills 

• Previously Managed a team 

• Previous Experience on Inventory Optimization 

● High attention to detail and proven ability to manage multiple, competing priorities simultaneously

 ● Highly analytical with strong problem-solving skills and capable of communicating effectively with customers and senior management. 

● Must be a self-starter and possess excellent organizational skills 

● Professional Certifications a plus 

Desired Skills & Experience 

● 5+ years of experience in Retail and DTC environments

● Certified Professional Forecaster (CPF)

This role is based in our New York, NY office where team members are required to be on-site on Tuesday and Wednesday each week. The anticipated annual base salary range for this role is $120,000 - $150,000.