This role executes the Commercial driven allocation strategy and operational launch readiness for new and exclusive products, ensuring the right launch volumes are positioned in the right channels, regions, and locations to capture full demand potential. It sits at the intersection of product development, commercial, and supply planning — translating market demand insights into allocation and fulfillment plans that maximize sell-through and protect margin from launch through post-launch replenishment.
The position partners closely with cross-functional new product development teams, commercial regions, and supply planning, and marketing to monitor operational readiness, plan launch and allocation volumes, align on campaign timing and asset readiness, and track order intake against forecast as products approach their retail introduction dates.
Key Responsibilities
New Product Introduction & Launch Planning
- Track operational readiness stage gates so new products can be added to production plans, and partner with Supply Planning to integrate launch requirements into production schedules for on-time, in-full delivery
- Plan production launch volumes and fulfillment priority to meet retail introduction dates across all regions and channels
- Monitor and manage product allotments throughout the NPI lifecycle to ensure accurate supply allocation, timely issue resolution, and alignment with program milestones.
- Coordinate with Operations, Finance, Marketing, and Commercial partners on timely item setup and asset creation so NPIs/exclusives are ready for order entry and merchandising
- Incorporate confirmed Marketing campaign windows into allocation prioritization, ensuring launch inventory is positioned to support planned activation dates across regions and channels
- Lead monthly NPI/Exclusives (S&OP) meetings, sharing insights on operational readiness, supply availability, and order book position for upcoming launches
Inventory Allocation Management
- Build and manage global allocation plans for new product launch volumes, optimizing initial allocations by region, channel, volume group, and store cluster
- Manage fulfillment priority and supply positioning so launch inventory is placed where demand is greatest
- Design and plan post-launch strategic inventory across fulfillment locations to support replenishment of newly launched products
- Monitor Available-to-Sell (ATS) levels and surface excess or constrained supply for products coming to or recently in market
Demand & Performance Monitoring
- Monitor global order intake against forecasted launch volumes and planned production, flagging gaps and advising the organization on corrective action
- Develop and mature sell-through and on-time fulfillment monitoring for new and exclusive products
- Analyze demand insights, order trends, and inventory performance to drive allocation recommendations and identify opportunities to improve allocation logic and automation
- Present business insights and launch status to senior leadership
Qualifications
- 3-5+ years of experience in allocation, inventory management, demand/supply planning, merchandise planning, or retail operations, ideally with new product launch exposure
- Demonstrated ability to thrive in a fast-paced, high-volume environment, effectively managing competing priorities across multiple global New Product Introduction (NPI) launches each month.
- Working knowledge of supply chain operations, inventory optimization, and demand planning processes
- Strong program-management skills with the ability to drive cross-functional partners to deliver on deadline in an ambiguous, fast-moving environment
- Advanced Excel and modeling skills; experience with Alteryx (or similar), ERP, allocation, and BI/reporting tools
- Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to "tell the story" through data to audiences up to executive leadership
- A dependable, trust-building partner comfortable acting as a change agent and leading training to accelerate adoption of new processes
Skills Required
- 3-5+ years of experience in allocation, inventory management, demand or supply planning, merchandise planning, or retail operations
- Experience with new product launches
- Ability to manage competing priorities across multiple global New Product Introduction launches
- Working knowledge of supply chain operations, inventory optimization, and demand planning processes
- Strong program-management skills and ability to drive cross-functional partners to meet deadlines
- Advanced Excel and modeling skills
- Experience with Alteryx or similar tools, ERP systems, allocation tools, and BI or reporting tools
- Excellent communication and presentation skills, including presenting data-driven insights to executive leadership
- Ability to build trust, act as a change agent, and lead training for new processes
What We Do
Gibson, the leading iconic guitar brand, has shaped the sounds of generations of musicians and music lovers across genres for 127 years. Founded in 1894 and headquartered in Nashville, Gibson Brands has a legacy of world-class craftsmanship, legendary music partnerships, and progressive product evolution that is unrivaled among musical instrument companies. The Gibson Brands portfolio includes Gibson, the leading guitar brand, as well as many of the most beloved and recognizable music brands, including Epiphone which has been on every stage since 1873, Kramer the original MADE TO ROCK HARD guitar brand, MESA/Boogie the home of tone, and KRK behind great music for over 30 years. Gibson Brands is dedicated to quality, innovation, and sound excellence so that music lovers for generations to come will continue to experience music shaped by Gibson Brands. Learn more at Gibson.com and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Gibson TV, and Instagram.
