Assistant Planner – Category & Allocation Specialist

Kroger; Portland (OR); On-site; USD 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare coverage

Flexible scheduling

Employee discounts

Tuition reimbursement

Growth opportunities

Job summary

Kroger is seeking a Category Management/Merchandising professional at our Portland, OR location to execute day-to-day category planning activities, including financial forecasting, product analysis, assortment planning and product allocation. You will partner with planners and buyers to optimize open-to-buy and align with the financial plan.

Responsibilities include managing sales and margin plans, identifying growth opportunities, and coordinating allocation across store formats using JDA and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in business or 2 years of retail store managerial experience or a combination of relevant education and experience.
• Accuracy/attention to detail.
• Completed development plan for both assistant buyer and assistant planner (Level 7).
• Proficient with Microsoft Office.
• Familiarity with retail industry/technical terms and processes.
• Ability to function in a fast paced, retail/office environment.
• Organize/prioritize tasks/projects.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with the planner in the management of sales, inventory and margin plans.
• Assist the planner in executing the overall vision for the category (e.g., assortment planning, receipt flow, product allocation, inventory and margin) ensuring the right product gets into the right stores at the right time.
• Identify trends, growth opportunities, and sales deficiencies through detailed recaps and in-depth analysis.
• Partner with planner, buyer, replenishment buyer, and assistant buyer to execute changes that will affect the open to buy.
• Develop assortment plans by utilizing store volume grades, planogram versions and capacity to guide the buying team on receipt units and dollars that correlate with the financial plan.
• Execute the assortment plan and buyer's vision by allocating product to multiple store formats (department, marketplace, expanded, food), and utilizing various allocation software (James Donald Armstrong (JDA), Enterprise Allocator, etc.)
• Collaborate with the Retail Service Center (RSC) warehouses regarding any issues with JDA Allocations, including both flow through and warehouse slotted merchandise.
• Oversee a sub-set of the planner's total categories
• Locate and select assortments for the enterprise; manage vendor relationships to maximize sales, margins and minimize costs for assigned categories
• Support special projects
• Must be able to perform the essential job functions of this position with or without reasonable accommodation

Skills

Accuracy/attention to detail

Organize/prioritize tasks

Fast-paced environment experience

Retail terms familiarity

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Business

Tools

JDA planning software

Microsoft Office

Magic

Job description

Kroger is seeking a Category Management/Merchandising professional at our Portland, OR location to execute day-to-day category planning activities, including financial forecasting, product analysis, assortment planning and product allocation. You will partner with planners and buyers to optimize open-to-buy and align with the financial plan.

Responsibilities include managing sales and margin plans, identifying growth opportunities, and coordinating allocation across store formats using JDA and