Replenishment Analyst

PRIMARY FUNCTION:  
Directs and forecasts future inventory replenishment needs based on historical demand, reoccurring buys and current inventory levels. Responsible for achieving inventory turn goals, consistent in-stocks on key items, achieving customer service metrics, and working with the sales & operations teams to anticipate and respond to changing sales trends.

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:  
•    Manages and directs assigned portions of the $100+ million-dollar inventory spend.
•    Directs inventory purchases that facilitate achieving the turn goals for the department
•    Completes analysis of OTC & Fill Rate, managing action plans within the region
•    Negotiates vendor returns for deadstock & obsolete inventory
•    Manages vendor performance by providing valuable feedback and establishing expectations for order fulfillment
•    Provides analysis of deadstock and obsolete inventory & directs proper purchasing decisions to facilitate low levels of C & D inventory. 
•    Analyzes safety stock change requests from the field, managing the proper safety stock levels for items forecasted by the sales team  
•    Reviews and evaluates customer demand and the associated cost impact, providing recommended safety stock adjustments to management
 

EDUCATION: 
Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain Management, Logistics, or a related field required; equivalent recent and directly relevant professional experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.

EXPERIENCE: 
•    Requires 3-5 years’ experience managing, or facilitating, replenishment within a multi-million-dollar inventory network.
•    Strong MS Excel skills – 
•    Experience with JD Edwards E1 system a plus
•    Strong communication and leadership skills
•    Must have the capability to analyze and provide feedback to the inventory budget, understanding turn, stock-to-sales, and other commonly used replenishment metrics.

ANALYTICAL/PROBLEM-SOLVING REQUIREMENTS:  
Anticipating future demand
Purchase products to stock VSN locations for upcoming demand.  It is up to each Replenishment Analyst to maintain a working knowledge of future demand trends within their assigned region.  This will include maintaining relationships with each of the branches, the sales team, and being knowledgeable of industry trends.

Responding to changes in sales trends  
Manage proper inventory levels within their assigned regions.  These regions will have > $10 million of inventory at a given time.  It is expected that the Replenishment Analyst will monitor sales trends in order to manage acceptable week end and month end inventory goals.  Managing our working capital is of utmost importance and is a key indicator of inventory performance.

Managing Dead Stock and Overstock inventory 
Capable of identifying which inventory in the network is overstocked.  Once the inventory is identified as overstocked in the given branch, the Replenishment Analyst is expected to have the analytical capability to direct the best method of dealing with the product, whether it is redistribution within the network, return to Hastings, returns to suppliers, or obsolescence.  The Replenishment Analyst should be able to calculate all associated data points including freight, carrying cost of inventory, estimated sell-through via redistribution, and restocking fees in order to come up with the best solution. 
  
Managing to OTC & Fill Rate 
Review and analyze OTC and Fill Rate on a daily basis in order to promptly identify issues that need to be resolved.  In addition to this daily review, the Replenishment Analyst is expected to perform analysis on historical trends related to OTC and Fill Rate to ensure that Viking remains an industry leader in customer satisfaction.

Managing Supplier Performance 
Monitor supplier performance, providing feedback and action plans for improvement.