Head of Integrated Planning
$140,000–$160,000 year
On-siteSaint Paul, Minnesota, United States
Job Summary
Lead the company's planning organization, including Demand Planning, Inventory Planning, Buying, and Merchandise Planning across all product categories. Develop demand forecasts, inventory investment strategies, and buy plans that optimize sales, margin, inventory productivity, and working capital. Own inventory health by balancing service levels, inventory turns, weeks of supply, and replenishment strategies across all channels. Partner with Product, Sales, Marketing, Finance, and Supply Chain to align inventory investments with seasonal product launches and business objectives. Lead the Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) process, driving alignment around one demand plan and one inventory plan. Build scalable planning processes, reporting, dashboards, and forecasting capabilities that improve business visibility and decision-making. Establish inventory allocation strategies that maximize sales, service levels, and inventory productivity across all channels. Oversee inventory purchasing decisions and purchase order execution in partnership with Supply Chain. Own forecasting performance, including Forecast Accuracy, Forecast Bias, and Forecast Value Add, delivering actionable insights that improve forecast accuracy and commercial results. Build and develop a high-performing planning organization focused on accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain, Finance, Merchandising, Operations, or a related field
- 5+ years of progressive experience in demand planning, merchandise planning, inventory planning, supply planning, buying, or merchandise financial planning within an apparel, footwear, consumer products, or retail organization
- 3+ years of leadership experience building, developing, and coaching high-performing planning teams
- Demonstrated success leading demand forecasting, inventory planning, Open-to-Buy (OTB), replenishment, and inventory investment processes
- Experience supporting an omnichannel business across Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) and Wholesale channels
- Proven ability to improve forecast accuracy, inventory productivity, inventory health, and product availability through disciplined planning processes
- Experience leading or participating in a Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) or Integrated Business Planning (IBP) process
- Strong financial acumen with experience balancing sales, gross margin, service levels, inventory investment, and working capital
- Demonstrated ability to influence cross-functional teams and partner effectively with Product, Sales, Marketing, Finance, Supply Chain, and Commercial Operations
- Proven success designing scalable planning processes, operating rhythms, reporting, and performance management systems
- Demonstrated expertise in demand forecasting, merchandise planning, inventory planning, replenishment, allocation, supply planning, and Open-to-Buy (OTB) principles
- Strong understanding of inventory investment strategies, assortment planning, inventory segmentation, seasonal buy planning, and inventory optimization
- Experience managing inventory health through service levels, safety stock, reorder points, lead-time planning, inventory turns, weeks of supply, and aging inventory
- Proven ability to measure and improve forecast performance, including Forecast Accuracy, Forecast Bias, Forecast Value Add (FVA), and in-season forecast adjustments
- Strong analytical and financial skills with experience evaluating gross margin, GMROI, inventory productivity, and profitability
- Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including forecasting models, financial analysis, dashboard development, KPI reporting, and executive presentations
- Experience working with ERP, merchandise planning, demand planning, and business intelligence platforms such as NetSuite, BlueCherry, Anaplan, Power BI, Tableau, or similar systems
- Ability to translate complex business data into actionable insights and communicate recommendations that influence strategic decision-making
Desired Qualifications
- Experience supporting a high-growth apparel, footwear, sporting goods, or premium consumer products brand
- Experience leading planning for both seasonal product launches and replenishment-based businesses
- Experience implementing or transforming planning processes, operating models, ERP systems, or planning technologies
- Familiarity with Shopify and modern omnichannel commerce platforms
- Experience partnering with global sourcing, production, logistics, and third-party logistics (3PL) organizations
- Experience developing inventory allocation and replenishment strategies across multiple sales channels
Hiring someone like this?
Get your role in front of qualified candidates on Sorce.