Commercial & Inventory Manager — Parts & Accessories

Mike's Bikes; Novato (CA); Hybrid; USD 78,000 - 82,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary range

Medical & dental

Paid time off

401(k) match

Industry discounts

Job summary

Mike’s Bikes in Novato is seeking a Commercial & Inventory Manager for Parts & Accessories. You’ll own regional buy, manage vendor terms, and guide weekly allocations from our DCs to stores, ensuring the right mix of SKUs across channels.

The role blends purchasing, pricing, and inventory health, reporting to the Director of Purchasing. Hybrid work model with on-site presence at the Novato DC supports fast-moving cycles and vendor partnerships.

Qualifications

• Ideally 5+ years of purchasing experience in retail.
• Knowledge of bike parts and accessories is a plus.
• Strong negotiation and vendor-management capabilities.
• Ability to manage multiple SKUs and vendors effectively.

Responsibilities

• Regional Buy Aggregation: roll up store-level selections into one regional buy.
• Pre-Order conflict checks and resolution with store-level owners.
• Create, submit, and edit stock purchase orders for replenishment.
• Source new SKUs or units to fill assortment gaps.
• Monitor pricing, margins, and promotional activities.
• Manage vendor programs, terms, and incentives.
• Coordinate weekly allocations from DC to stores.

Skills

Purchasing experience

Bike industry knowledge

Vendor management

Analytical skills

Tools

ERP systems

Job description

Join the Mike’s Bikes Crew as our Commercial & Inventory Manager — Parts & Accessories.

Mike’s Bikes is a community focused bike shop with an international reach. We pride ourselves on providing exceptional hospitality to our neighbors while also being a leading partner to the largest global brands.

The Commercial & Inventory Manager — P&A owns the total buy for everything a rider needs beyond the bike: components, tires and tubes, helmets, apparel, shoes, tools, electronics, nutrition, and more. Store-level SKU selections come to you from our Assortment & Retail Experience Managers; you roll them up into one regional buy, add the stock we hold at our distribution centers, and turn it into purchase orders across a wide vendor and distributor base, then run the weekly allocations that get product to stores. You own vendor terms, total PO volume, and our total commercial commitment — and you’re the checkpoint that catches overlapping requests, budget limits, and vendor minimums before an order is placed. This is a new role on our Purchasing team.

Our Purchasing team runs on a Hybrid Purchasing Model. Process owners run one stage of the buying cycle end-to-end across every category and region, while specialists own a product department or a region where depth really matters. Every role reports to the Director of Purchasing, who is the single accountable owner for any shared work — so you always know who makes the call.

What You’ll Do (and Love Doing):

REGIONAL BUY & ORDERS

• Regional Buy Aggregation: Roll up store-level SKU selections from the Assortment & Retail Experience Managers into one regional buy for your category, adding DC-held stock.
• Pre-Order Conflict Checks: Catch overlapping requests, budget limits, and vendor minimums before any order is placed, and resolve them with the store-level owners.
• Stock Orders: Create, submit, and edit stock purchase orders, including recurring replenishment across a high SKU count.
• Assortment Gap Fills: Source new SKUs or additional units when an Assortment & Retail Experience Manager escalates a gap that reallocation can’t solve.

COMMERCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

• Dynamic Pricing & Margin Optimization: Monitor category margin levels in real-time and execute strategic pricing adjustments, markdown strategies, and promotional pricing to hit category gross margin targets while maximizing revenue.
• Lifecycle & Sell-Through Strategy: Track product velocity and sell-through rates continuously across all channels; implement proactive clear-outs or gap-fills based on seasonal demand trends and model-year transitions.
• Sales & Marketing Alignment: Partner closely with Marketing, Sales, and E-commerce teams to design and drive targeted commercial campaigns, promotional pushes, store placement strategies, and supplier-funded marketing initiatives that accelerate slow-moving stock or launch high-priority product lines.
• Commercial Vendor Programs: Maximize financial performance by fully leveraging vendor incentives, back-end volume rebates, terms, co-op marketing funds, and special buy opportunities.

INVENTORY MANAGEMENT

• Weekly Allocations: Run weekly P&A allocations from our distribution center(s) to stores, guided by the store-level selections and inventory targets from the Assortment & Retail Experience Managers.
• Cross-Region & DC Balancing: Own stock balancing between regions and our distribution centers, so each region has the units its stores need.
• DC In-Stock: Keep distribution center stock available for store replenishment, working with Demand & Supply on reorder points.
• Inventory Health: Execute against open-to-buy, net working capital, and inventory health targets for P&A, including aged and slow-moving SKUs.
• In-bound Shipment Planning: Coordinate incoming shipments with vendors against the plan set by Demand & Supply.

VENDOR RELATIONSHIP

• Vendor Terms & Commitment: Own vendor terms, total PO volume, and the total commercial commitment for our P&A brands and distributors.
• Issue Management: Own resolution of delays, unit shortages, damage, and other order issues, working with Purchasing Operations to close them out.
• NPI & Product Lifecycle: Plan new product introductions, line reviews, SKU rationalization, and closeouts, and build the sales plan around them.
• Commercial Strategy & Pricing: Execute the category commercial plan — terms, promotions, and incentives — and keep pricing accurate to company guidelines.

DEPARTMENT STRATEGY & FINANCIALS

• Support the Director in executive vendor negotiations and contribute to department strategy.
• Drive P&A category financial performance — revenue, margin, units, and margin %.

Your Decision Rights:

• Which regional quantities do we buy: You are responsible and accountable for the aggregate regional buy, including DC stock, built from store-level selections.
• Weekly allocations: You are responsible and accountable for weekly allocations from the DC to stores.
• Who fixes assortment gaps: You own the fix when a gap needs a new SKU or more units.
• Who owns transfers and balancing: You are responsible and accountable for cross-region and DC balancing.
• Who is accountable for a lost sale: You are, when there weren’t enough units within the region.
• Pricing & Margin Strategy: You are responsible and accountable for executing pricing adjustments, promotional markdowns, and margin optimization tactics for your category in alignment with company gross margin guidelines.
• Commercial Alignment: You lead commercial push strategies with Marketing and Sales for your category.

How We’ll Measure Success (Core KPIs):

• Targets for each KPI are set with the Director of Purchasing and reviewed regularly.
• Sell-Through: P&A sell-through by brand and season versus plan.
• Category Margin: P&A category gross margin % versus target.
• Category Turns & Aged Inventory %: Category inventory turn, and the share of inventory past aging targets.
• DC In-Stock Rate: In-stock rate at our distribution centers for the product stores rely on.
• Vendor Issue Resolution Time: Time to resolve delays, shortages, and damage with vendors.

Training & Growth:

• A structured onboarding with the Director of Purchasing and each process-stage owner, so you understand how the whole buying cycle fits together
• Ongoing mentorship and support to help further your continued development
• Training partnerships and product clinics with top brands in the cycling and outdoor industry
• Cross-training across Demand & Supply, Commercial & Inventory, Retail & Assortment, and Operations
• Career advancement opportunities within Purchasing and other sectors of the bike industry

Perks & Pay:

• Compensation: Salary range $78,000 - $82,000, plus bonus $5,000
• Medical and dental benefits available for full-time employees
• Paid time off and 401(k) with company matching
• Some of the industry’s best employee discounts and perks

What You Bring to the Table:

• Ideally 5+ years of experience in purchasing, buying, replenishment, or inventory planning — bicycle, outdoor, or specialty retail preferred
• Knowledge of bike parts, components, and cycling accessories; shop or service experience is a big plus
• Comfort managing thousands of SKUs and many vendors at once without losing the details
• Strong analytical skills, including reorder points, fill rates, sell-through, and inventory turn
• Excellent negotiation and vendor relationship management skills
• Highly organized with strong attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple projects at once
• Proficiency with ERP / inventory management systems, Excel or Google Sheets, and Google Workspace

LANGUAGE SKILLS

Ability to read, comprehend, and explain documents such as vendor agreements, purchase orders, safety rules, operating instructions, and procedure manuals in English. Effectively communicate, verbally and in writing, in English.

LOCATION & TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS

This role requires 3 days per week working on-site at our Novato Distribution Center (DC). The employee is responsible for their own reliable transportation and commute to the Novato facility.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS FOR THE ROLE

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the overall duties and responsibilities of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable otherwise qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the overall duties and responsibilities. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit and work at a computer for extended periods, use hands and fingers, talk, and hear. The employee is occasionally required to stand, walk, reach, stoop, kneel, and lift and/or move up to 30 pounds solo and up to 50 pounds with assistance (such as bicycles and product cartons) during store and distribution center visits. Vision may be corrected within normal range. The noise level in the office is moderate; the noise level in stores and warehouse areas can be loud.