Trade Planning Manager

ARI (Axcel Recruiting Inc.); Dallas (TX); On-site; USD 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

A recruiting firm is seeking a Trade Planning Manager to shape trade strategy and coordinate the annual trade planning process. The ideal candidate will have over 7 years in the branded CPG industry, focusing on pricing, analytics, and cross-functional collaboration. Responsibilities include developing promotional strategies, analyzing pricing effectiveness, and leading a team of Business Analysts. This role is crucial for achieving financial and market share goals in a dynamic environment.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in the branded CPG industry.
• 2+ years of supervisory experience managing Business Analysts.
• Strong background in CPG trade strategy with a focus on pricing.

Responsibilities

• Lead the annual trade planning process to align with company goals.
• Develop trade price and assortment strategies.
• Monitor and analyze pricing and margins to identify opportunities.

Skills

Trade strategy development

Analytical skills

Cross-functional collaboration

Pricing analytics

Post-promotional analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree

MBA

Tools

Trade Promotion Management (TPM) systems

ERP systems (SAP preferred)

Job description

The Trade Planning Manager is responsible for shaping trade strategy, price, promotional, and product mix strategies across retail channels, with a focus on optimizing gross price, trade spend, and assortment to meet the company’s financial and market share goals. This role will drive the development of analytics, reporting, and guidance, and will coordinate the execution of the annual Trade Planning process in collaboration with Sales and Finance teams.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and support the annual trade planning process, ensuring alignment with company goals.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams (Sales, Marketing, and Finance) to ensure pricing and assortment strategies are in line with business objectives.
• Develop and implement trade price, promotion, and assortment strategies to support business growth.
• Establish and manage promotional pricing guardrails, ensuring compliance across channels.
• Maintain promotional calendars, pricing models, and tools to drive sales and profitability.
• Create and implement a post-event analysis process to measure return on investment.
• Partner with Sales Managers to monitor and optimize the use of promotional spend.
• Regularly analyze pricing and margins to identify performance gaps and opportunities for improvement.
• Monitor market trends and competitor strategies in pricing and assortment to adjust company strategies accordingly.
• Work with Sales teams to develop customer-specific proposals, addressing unique pricing and promotion challenges.
• Collaborate with Sales teams to execute strategies for top customers, ensuring success in business reviews and line reviews.
• Lead ad-hoc projects aimed at enhancing growth and profitability.
• Prepare and present reports to management, highlighting sales and financial performance, and offering recommendations for improvement.
• Stay informed about industry best practices and emerging trends in pricing and promotion strategies.
• Oversee supervisory duties in line with company policies and applicable regulations.
• Additional responsibilities as assigned by management.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree required; MBA preferred.
• Minimum of 7 years of experience in the branded CPG industry, preferably within food & beverage or other promotionally sensitive categories.
• Minimum of 2 years of supervisory experience, particularly managing Business Analysts.
• Strong background in CPG trade strategy, including pricing, post-promotional analysis, channel assortment, and trade spend effectiveness.
• Experience with major retail chains across Food, Drug, Mass, Club, Dollar, and Online channels.
• Expertise in leveraging consumption data from Circana/IRI/Nielsen, ERP systems (SAP preferred), and Numerator market research.
• Experience using Trade Promotion Management (TPM) systems, preferably BluePlanner, for planning, forecasting, and evaluation.
• Strong analytical and financial skills with proven ability to distill complex data into actionable insights and recommendations.
• Proficiency in pricing analytics tools and techniques.
• Proven ability to develop creative, profit-enhancing solutions.
• Solid understanding of P&L, Price Elasticity, Trade Spend, ROI, and Gross Margin.