Senior Buyer / Inventory Planner

Canadian Sporting Goods Association; Vaughan; Hybrid; CAD 85,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

HockeyStickMan Inc. in Vaughan, ON, is seeking a Senior Buyer / Inventory Planner to own inventory purchasing strategy and work closely with ownership to gradually assume responsibilities.

Focus is on right products, right quantities, and right timing. Requires 5+ years in inventory planning, strong analytical and Excel skills, and experience with NetSuite; hybrid role with in-office days.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in inventory planning, purchasing, or demand planning.
• Proven experience influencing purchasing decisions in retail, wholesale, or e‑commerce.
• Strong analytical skills translating sales data into actionable purchasing decisions.
• Experience with forecasting, reorder points, lead times, and safety stock analysis.
• Proficiency with Excel and ERP/demand-planning systems; NetSuite is a strong asset.

Responsibilities

• Own inventory planning and strategic purchasing for assigned product categories, including third-party retail, pro and closeout inventory.
• Analyze sales history, inventory levels, seasonality, supplier lead times, stockouts, and demand signals to determine purchasing requirements.
• Develop purchasing recommendations: what to buy, how much, and when to place orders.
• Build reorder points, safety stock, and replenishment methodologies per product category.
• Use NetSuite and demand-planning tools to improve forecasting and replenishment decisions.
• Monitor inventory health: availability, weeks of supply, slow-moving stock, and stockout risks.
• Collaborate with Sales and leadership to incorporate promotions and category priorities into plans.
• Work with vendors on purchasing programs, availability, lead times, and order timing.
• Provide visibility to leadership on upcoming purchasing needs and inventory risks.
• Strategically allocate inventory across locations and stores; reduce owner reliance on intuition.
• Improve data, tools, and processes for purchasing decisions and translate decisions into accurate POs.

Skills

Inventory planning

Purchasing

Demand planning

Forecasting

NetSuite

Excel

ERP systems

Vendor management

Analytical skills

Retail / SKU management

Tools

NetSuite

Job description

Position Information

Senior Buyer / Inventory Planner

The Opportunity

HockeyStickMan is looking for an experienced Inventory & Strategic purchaser to take ownership of a significant portion of our inventory purchasing strategy and management. This is a newly created role and we are looking for someone that will work closely with the owner, with the expectation of gradually taking over key inventory planning and purchasing responsibilities currently managed by ownership.

The core mandate is straightforward: help HockeyStickMan buy the right products, in the right quantities, at the right time. The successful candidate will combine strong inventory analysis with practical purchasing experience and commercial judgment. They will work closely with ownership, Sales, Procurement, Operations and Finance while gradually assuming purchasing responsibilities that currently sit with the company's President/Owner.

Key Responsibilities

• Own inventory planning and strategic purchasing for assigned product categories, with a focus on third-party retail, pro and closeout inventory. (Including new and used inventory)
• Analyze sales history, inventory levels, sales velocity, seasonality, supplier lead times, stockouts, incoming inventory and other demand signals to determine purchasing requirements.
• Develop purchasing recommendations covering what to buy, how much to buy and when to place orders.
• Build and maintain reorder points, safety-stock assumptions and replenishment methodologies appropriate to different product categories.
• Use NetSuite and available demand-planning tools to improve forecasting, replenishment and purchasing decisions.
• Monitor inventory health, including stock availability, weeks/months of supply, slow-moving inventory, excess inventory and potential stockout risks.
• Partner with Sales and leadership to incorporate promotions, category priorities, expected demand changes and commercial opportunities into purchasing plans.
• Work with vendors on purchasing programs, availability, lead times, order timing and other commercial considerations.
• Provide visibility to leadership on upcoming purchasing requirements, inventory commitments, risks and opportunities.
• Strategically allocating inventory across our multiple locations and retail stores.
• Continuously improve the data, tools and processes used to make purchasing decisions and reduce reliance on owner knowledge or intuition.
• Work closely with the Procurement Specialist so that purchasing decisions are translated into accurate POs and reliable open-order data.
• Supporting the Operations Department with improved information and inventory management workflows
• Over time, assume meaningful purchasing responsibilities currently managed directly by the President/Owner.

Position: Senior Buyer / Inventory Planner
Organization: HockeyStickMan Inc
Location: Vaughan, ON
Canada
Salary: $85,000 - $100,000
Posting Start Date: 9/28/2026
Date Posted: 9/29/2026

What We Are Looking For

• 5+ years of relevant experience in inventory planning, purchasing, merchandising, buying, demand planning, supply chain or a related field.
• Proven experience making or materially influencing inventory purchasing decisions in a retail, wholesale, distribution or e-commerce environment.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to translate sales and inventory data into practical purchasing decisions.
• Experience with forecasting, reorder points, lead times, safety stock, inventory turns and excess/slow-moving inventory analysis.
• Strong Excel skills and experience using ERP and/or demand-planning systems; NetSuite experience is a strong asset.
• Sound commercial judgment and the ability to balance product availability, inventory investment, margin and cash flow.
• Comfort working independently and taking accountability for recommendations and decisions in a growing, entrepreneurial business.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to collaborate with ownership, Sales, Operations, Finance and vendors.
• Experience in sporting goods, apparel, footwear or another SKU-intensive retail environment is an asset.
• This is a hybrid role and will be in office 2 - 3 days a week

What Success Looks Like

• Purchasing decisions become more structured, analytical and repeatable, with less reliance on ownership for routine inventory decisions.
• HockeyStickMan improves product availability while reducing avoidable stockouts and excess inventory.
• Leadership has better visibility into future purchasing requirements, inventory risks and cash commitments.
• Reorder points, forecasts and replenishment logic are maintained and used consistently across applicable product categories.
• The purchasing function scales with the business through stronger data, systems and processes.

Status: This listing expires on: 10/14/2026

Organization Information

Name: HockeyStickMan Inc
Address: 7941 Jane St 1
City: Vaughan, ONL4K 2M7
Country: Canada
Email: [e-mail]
Contact: Nick Walsh