Strategic Merchandise Planning Lead

Bapcor Limited; Melbourne; On-site; AUD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Diversity opportunities

Employee discounts

Paid birthday leave

Wellbeing support

Novated leasing

Job summary

Bapcor Limited is seeking a Merchandise Planning Manager in Melbourne to lead strategic merchandise planning for Burson and Precision sites, partnering with Supply Chain to optimise inventory and profitability. You’ll mentor and develop the team, drive performance, and influence purchasing decisions using sales data and market insights.

You will build forecasting models, align forecasts with Marketing and Trade activities, and embed a Trade Demand Planning capability while maintaining data

Qualifications

• Significant experience in merchandise planning or demand planning.
• Experience with forecasting, inventory optimization and planning methodologies.
• Ability to translate data into actionable commercial insights.
• Strong stakeholder engagement across Merchandise, Supply Chain and Finance.

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 (under/overstocking).
• 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.
• Contribute to system enhancements and capability uplift across planning and inventory tool

Skills

Merchandise planning

Demand planning

Inventory management

Data analysis

Forecasting

ERP systems

Stakeholder engagement

Cross-functional collaboration

Retail / B2B experience

Continuous improvement

Tools

ERP systems

Job description

Bapcor Limited is seeking a Merchandise Planning Manager in Melbourne to lead strategic merchandise planning for Burson and Precision sites, partnering with Supply Chain to optimise inventory and profitability. You’ll mentor and develop the team, drive performance, and influence purchasing decisions using sales data and market insights.

You will build forecasting models, align forecasts with Marketing and Trade activities, and embed a Trade Demand Planning capability while maintaining data