Hiring For Instock/Inventory Manager

Dawntech; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 1,200,000 - 2,100,000; Full time

Job summary

Dawntech Bengaluru seeks an experienced Demand Planning & Forecasting professional to own multi-horizon forecasts and translate them into purchase plans. The role requires collaboration with Sales, Category, Finance and Operations to optimize stock availability, seasonality planning and lifecycle management.

You will drive inventory health, evaluate price changes and promotions, and lead basic governance with a small team. MBA in relevant field is preferred, with 4–5 years in related roles.

Qualifications

• Post Graduate – MBA (Operations / Supply Chain preferred).
• Engineering or analytical undergraduate degree is an advantage.
• 4–5 years in operations, inventory planning, demand forecasting or related fields.

Responsibilities

• Own forecasts at category, sub-category, and SKU level; manage multi-horizon plans.
• Link forecasts to purchase plans, budgets, and S&OP reviews with cross-functional teams.
• Assess price impact, seasonality, promotions and plan inventory accordingly.
• Maintain healthy inventory, safety stock, reorder points, and service levels.
• Coordinate capacity with vendors, warehouses and logistics teams.
• Lead or mentor a small team of Instock Associates.

Skills

Advanced Excel

Forecasting

ERP systems

Power BI

SQL / Python

Inventory optimization

Education

MBA (Operations / Supply Chain)

Engineering/analytical undergraduate

Tools

Tableau

o9 / Kinaxis / Blue Yonder

Job description

Role & responsibilities

1. Demand Planning & Forecasting

• Own forecasts across all horizons at category, sub-category and SKU level: weekly forecast, rolling 46 week forecast, 3-month rolling sell-in projections, 12-month demand plan and 3-year plan.
• Combine statistical models (built in Excel and planning tools) with business inputs launches, promotions, pricing, channel plans; track forecast accuracy and bias (MAPE, WMAPE) and improve continuously.
• Translate forecasts into purchase plans, open-to-buy and inventory budgets; lead the monthly demand review within the S&OP cycle with Sales, Category, Finance and Operations.

2. Pricing, Demand Variation & Seasonality

• Estimate the demand impact of price changes, discounts, promotions and competitor activity (price elasticity / uplift) and build upside / downside scenarios into the buy plan.
• Plan seasonal and event peaks (festive season, sale events, year-end) with pre-builds and ramp-downs, and manage lifecycle events launches, transitions and end-of-life to avoid stock-outs and obsolescence.

3. Inventory Health & Capacity Management

• Deliver maximum in-stock % while keeping inventory healthy; set safety stock, reorder points, min/max levels and service-level targets using ABC/XYZ segmentation.
• Monitor days of cover, turns, ageing, slow/non-moving and excess & obsolete stock; drive liquidation, return-to-vendor and re-allocation plans with Category and Finance.
• Align demand plans with vendor production, warehouse and logistics capacity, flag constraints early and build mitigation plans (pre-builds, phased inbounds, alternate vendors or locations).

4. Supply Chain Optimization, Cost & Vendors

• Map the end-to-end supply chain and apply optimization levers — EOQ / MOQ, lead-time reduction, safety stock optimization, order consolidation, multi-sourcing, VMI, network and placement optimization.
• Identify and deliver cost reduction and waste removal across procurement, freight, carrying cost and working capital, working with vendor leadership and operations senior leaders.
• Strengthen relationships with key vendors, track fill rate, on‑time delivery and lead-time adherence, and negotiate operational changes (lead times, MOQs, order frequency, capacity) with the Vendor Manager.

5. Automation, Metrics & Financial Analysis

• Build long-term solutions that automate or simplify category processes — auto-replenishment, exception alerts, standard dashboards — working with technical teams and vendor operations.
• Use metrics to manage trade-offs and make decisions with internal and external stakeholders; analyze inventory value, working capital, margin impact and write-offs to improve the inventory position.

6. People Leadership

• Lead, coach and develop 2–3 Instock Associates; set goals, allocate category / SKU ownership, establish SOPs and build a culture of ownership, accuracy and continuous improvement.

Preferred candidate profile

• Education: Post Graduate – MBA (Operations / Supply Chain preferred); an engineering or analytical undergraduate degree is an advantage.
• Experience: 4–5 years in operations, inventory planning, demand forecasting, supply chain management and/or product life cycles, including at least 1–2 years leading or mentoring a small team. Proven record of improving availability and inventory health while reducing cost; electronics, consumer durables, e-commerce or retail experience preferred.
• Skills & Tools:

• – Advanced Excel – pivot tables, XLOOKUP / INDEX-MATCH, Power Query, what-if analysis, Solver, forecasting models and dashboards.
• – Hands‑on experience with supply chain / demand planning, inventory management tools and ERP systems.
• – Strong grasp of forecasting (time series, exponential smoothing, seasonality indices), inventory optimization (safety stock, EOQ, service levels, ABC/XYZ) and pricing / promotion impact modelling.
• – Financial acumen — working capital, carrying cost and P&L impact of inventory decisions.

• Behavioural Competencies: Self-starter with high flexibility and commitment; proven influencing skills with senior stakeholders and vendors; thrives in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment; strong prioritization, time management and attention to detail; a people leader who builds and motivates a high-performing team.
• Good to have: Power BI / Tableau; SQL or Python; advanced planning tools (e.g., o9, Kinaxis, Blue Yonder); Lean / Six Sigma; APICS / ASCM (CPIM, CSCP) certification.