Americas - Inventory Planner - Women's

Clarks; Needham (MA); On-site; USD 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Clarks is seeking an Inventory Planner – Women’s to forecast seasonal inventory and manage products from launch to end-of-life. You’ll align inventory decisions with budgets and quarterly forecasts while working cross-functionally to support performance.

The role emphasizes coordinating demand and supply planning, analyzing historical cycles, and adjusting to market trends during biweekly cycles to ensure optimal inventory and service levels.

Qualifications

• Experience in footwear demand and supply planning.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with Wholesale and Retail Planning teams to support demand forecasts and create a supply forecast that fits within company receipt budget and factory capacities while considering factory lead-time.

Skills

Demand planning

Supply planning

Merchandising

Buying

Distribution channels

Forecasting

Analytical thinking

Collaboration

Tools

Excel

Power BI

SAP

Demand Manager

Job description

Inventory Planner – Women’s

As the Inventory Planner, you will lead seasonal inventory forecasting across three seasons and oversee products from launch through end‑of‑life. You’ll play a key role in aligning inventory decisions with company budget targets and quarterly financial forecasts, working cross‑functionally to support overall business performance.

What You’ll Do

• Collaborate with Wholesale and Retail Planning teams to support demand forecasts and create a supply forecast that fits within company receipt budget and factory capacities while considering factory lead‑time.
• Maintain Demand Manager Planning System consensus forecast at an article level which sends time‑phased Available to Promise signal to Customer Service and a Factory Purchase Plan signal to Supply Chain.
• Analyze historical inventory cycles and distribution channels.
• Adapt and react to market trends during each biweekly forecast/purchasing cycle.
• Review demand forecast reports at account and channel distribution levels.
• Deliver to Supply Planning monthly factory purchase plans for current buying season that fit within factory capacity and targeted receipt plans.
• Support new ideas, processes, and be open to change as we find better ways to reduce inventory while still servicing our customers and aligning to company receipt plans.
• Share best practices and communicate information as needed.
• Responsible for executing monthly factory purchase order placement including:
• Creating monthly purchase orders and managing SKU profiles.
• Analyzing customer orders at the SKU level to ensure proper inventory balance and agreement with the consensus forecast.
• Plan and execute Direct Ship PO process in collaboration with customer service and supply planning.
• Bundle by factory, container minimums and account transit times.
• Develop historical, time‑phased demand plans within the Demand Planning System to support seasonal assortment plan targets and inform preliminary capacity requirements for Supply Planning.
• Partner cross‑functionally in weekly supply reviews with Supply Planning, Demand Allocation, and Inventory Planning teams to identify and address demand‑supply mismatches and drive continuous improvement.
• Monitor in‑season available inventory to ensure targeted stock and replenishment styles reflect correct available picture in SAP, while working with cross‑functional teams to troubleshoot CTP pictures.
• Responsible for ensuring the integrity of the data in the system including buffer stock setting, color/size/width profiles, planning, forecasting, and product life cycle flags to support seasonal assortment plans.

What You’ll Bring

• Experience in footwear demand and supply planning, merchandising, buying.
• Knowledge of different business operating models – Retail, Franchise, Factory, MCR, Wholesale.
• Successful Demand and Supply Planning, Buying, and Merchandising experience.
• Experience in key distribution channels – wholesale, retail, franchise and digital.
• Understanding of overall business operations and supply chains.
• Strong organizational skills to coordinate feedback from a variety of sources.
• Practical understanding of demand planning and inventory management processes.
• Strong computer skills including the following tools:
• Advanced Microsoft Excel (statements, linking, pivot tables, etc.).
• Data warehouse/data mart query and report development tools.
• Ability to analyze trends and use that information to effectively plan and forecast.
• Strong analytical and verbal skills.
• Demonstrated expertise in planning systems and analytics platforms (SAP, Demand Manager, MFP, Business Objects, Power BI, D360).
• Analytical/ highly numerate and able to identify key information.
• Ability to problem‑solve and manage conflict situations.
• Excellent interpersonal and motivational skills.
• Team player, goal oriented.
• Ability to analyze, interpret and act on market intelligence.
• Commercial skills to maximize opportunities that arise.
• Customer Focus.
• Delivering Results.
• Planning and Organizing.

Actual compensation within a pay range will be based on factors including but not limited to a candidate’s relevant experience, qualifications, performance, Clarks’ business needs, internal equity and any statutory obligations. The pay range for this role may be modified by Clarks at any time in the future.

We will not discriminate on the basis of sex, age, disability, marital status, color, race, religion, ethnic origin, sexual orientation or gender re‑assignment, complying with local legislative requirements.