Merchandise Planning & Forecasting Lead

Antojitos Mexicanos La Jefa; Melbourne; On-site; AUD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Diverse career opportunities

Discounts on products and services

Work-life balance policies

Paid birthday leave

Wellbeing support

Novated leasing

Job summary

Bapcor Ltd is seeking a Merchandise Planning Manager to lead strategic merchandise planning across Burson and Precision sites in Melbourne. You will partner with Supply Chain to optimise inventory, using sales data and market insights to inform purchasing and profitability. Leadership and capability development are key components of this role.

This is a pivotal time of transformation within our Merchandise team as we build a high-performing function and drive meaningful commercial outcomes.

Qualifications

• Experience in merchandise planning, demand planning, inventory management or supply chain analytics.
• Analytical, data-driven with large datasets.
• Forecasting, inventory optimisation and planning methodologies.
• Advanced systems capability across ERP and forecasting/optimisation tools.
• Cross-functional partnering across Merchandise, Supply Chain, Finance and Operations.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and communication skills.
• Ability to translate data into insights that drive business performance.
• Experience in retail, B2B or trade environments; automotive is highly regarded.
• Continuous improvement mindset; thrives in a fast-paced, evolving environment.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and execution of merchandise planning and demand forecasting across Trade.
• Build and maintain forecasting models using sales data, market insights and statistical methods.
• Partner with Merchandise, Marketing and Supply Chain teams to align forecasts, inventory and promotional activity.
• Ensure optimal inventory levels, balancing availability, working capital and risk.
• Identify and resolve supply and demand gaps, driving improved planning outcomes.
• Establish and embed a Trade Demand Planning capability, including governance and KPI tracking.
• Provide clear reporting and insights on forecast accuracy, inventory performance and trends.
• Translate data into actionable insights to support commercial decision-making.
• Maintain high standards of inventory data quality and drive continuous improvement in processes and systems.

Skills

Merchandise planning

Forecasting

Inventory management

Data analytics

Cross-functional collaboration

Stakeholder engagement

Business performance insights

Retail / B2B / trade experience

Continuous improvement mindset

Tools

ERP systems

Job description

Bapcor Ltd is seeking a Merchandise Planning Manager to lead strategic merchandise planning across Burson and Precision sites in Melbourne. You will partner with Supply Chain to optimise inventory, using sales data and market insights to inform purchasing and profitability. Leadership and capability development are key components of this role.

This is a pivotal time of transformation within our Merchandise team as we build a high-performing function and drive meaningful commercial outcomes.